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However, there are also some skeptics who believe that the future of education and technology is not as rosy as many people believe. They argue that the development of these technologies has come at the expense of traditional learning methods, such as face-to-face teaching. Furthermore, they maintain that the use of technology in education is not inherently beneficial, and may even be harmful.

The future of education and technology is still unfolding, and the debate over its advantages and disadvantages will continue. However, the evidence suggests that the future of education and technology is bright and that it will continue to play an important role in the lives of all people.

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Before investing in an educational technology certification, be sure to research which certifications are the most valuable for your career. Certifications from respected organizations, such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), can provide educators with significant value.

Once you have chosen a certification, be sure to study for and pass the certification exam. Certifications from respected organizations, such as the ISTE, typically require candidates to score at least 70% on the exam. Passing the certification exam can help you build a strong resume and increase your chances of finding a new job.

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Often referred to as wireless presentation solutions, these technologies will usually be supported by an app and device that lets the user – both educators and learners – conveniently share content on a screen larger than the device they use. The content can be projected to the front of a classroom or lecture theatre, facilitating presentations. 

Let’s take a more in-depth look at these technologies and how they fit into higher education. 

A Brief Comparison

Although many people will interchangeably use these terms – sharing, casting and mirroring – they are different in a few key ways. These differences are important to consider when deciding on which presentation solution to choose. 

Screen mirroring: This tech lets you project a laptop or mobile device to a projector, TV, or another monitor. It enables you to present anything on your device, like playing a video or moving between documents. 

Screencasting: This is similar to the above but is instead meant to present online-based content, like video clips, music and movies, from your computer, phone, or tablet on a screen such as a TV. The main difference is that nothing but the content is streamed, letting you use your device, without disrupting the media.

Screen sharing: This tech involves allowing another user to access your screen from theirs. This allows for collaboration from different locations.

The Benefits

Lower costs and improved ease of use are some of the main reasons these presentation solutions have become more popular over the years. This development has been observed in higher education and K-12 environments, where one-to-one computing models have increased the demand for solutions shared from numerous operating systems and multiple devices. 

In higher education environments, educators use BYOD programs to facilitate cooperation, while also being able to scale across institutions to meet the increasing demand for these technologies. Engaging in interactive conversation quickly with many participants is one of the many significant benefits of presentation solutions. 

Screen Sharing & Distance Learning

Distance learners can also take advantage of these presentation solutions, specifically screen sharing. An online professor can help a learner with a problem or query that they might have by setting up screen sharing on their devices, allowing the educator to “take control” of the learner’s computer and show them exactly where they went wrong.

If you’re using a solution like Pedagogue – a Social Learning Management System that combines the standard features of an LMS with features from social media – some virtual classes can even be conducted using screen sharing. The educator can assume control of their learners’ screens and give a demonstration.

Conclusion

The wireless presentation solutions discussed above have become a core part of many schools and will soon become standard education. Not only are they useful in the physical classroom, but some can even be used in distance learning.

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Not Making Use of Tech

Many universities and colleges have plenty of tech at their disposal. From laptops to tablets, there are many options to choose from. Unfortunately, most professors will continue to opt for traditional teaching methods and ignore the availability of tech. This can cause most learners to miss out because tech caters to almost all learning styles. Ensure you know what is available to you, and then find creative ways to incorporate it into a lesson plan. 

Reading Lessons to Learners from Tech

How many times have you attended a presentation where the lecturer read from each one of their slides? Tech isn’t just a new way for you to broadcast your lecture notes from the front of the room. You should be finding ways to utilize it. Show videos or play trivia games. These are more interactive options than forcing learners to sit through a dry lecture where a professor reads to them. 

Sending Paper Notices

Many professors have noticed how frequently learners check their text messages and emails as they come into class. Despite seeing this, most educators are still using paper notices to send out info to learners. You can stop wasting paper and opt for a more environmentally-friendly way of reaching your learners. Send out memos via email where learners constantly have access to them instead.

Using Tech Just Because

Although you may have lots of tech available to you, that doesn’t mean that you should use it just because you can. All of the tech used in the classroom setting should serve a tangible purpose. Determine what needs each item can meet before deciding whether it is the right fit for your classroom. By choosing your tech wisely, you can make things less overwhelming for learners and more effective for the classroom. 

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They Don’t Understand Tech

Higher education administrators are the ones in charge of making purchasing decisions. They should understand how to use the products they purchase before deciding to implement them in the classroom. This helps administrators to set the tone for instructors. Understanding the tech upfront also enables administrators to understand how an education app or tool meets a specific need. 

Not Keeping School Needs in Mind

It is mind boggling how many education technology solutions are available on the market today. Higher education administrators need to be clear on their school’s needs, so they don’t become distracted by flashy tech. Talk with educators to understand their needs before planning to find tech that will meet them. This prevents you from wasting educator time, causing frustration for learners, and wasting valuable budget dollars on tech that nobody needed or wanted. 

Not Providing Preparation for Educators

Most higher education administrators wrongly assume that educators already know how to use these devices in the classroom. Although most of them indeed have laptops and tablets at home, the experience doesn’t necessarily translate. Educators still need training and preparation on effectively using these tools. 

Not Modeling Tech Use

Administrators set the standard for what is appropriate around the school. Where they need to begin when it comes to tech is by modeling proper usage. Maximize what you can do with tech to demonstrate to your staff what it is capable of. Administrators who model good tech usage set the bar high for educators and get a more realistic concept of whether the current solutions are helpful. 

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One reason is the power of tradition at colleges and universities. The time-honored dynamic of the expert lecturer sharing their wisdom with a classroom of learners, engaging with them, and motivating them to be intellectually the best they can be remains at the heart of higher education. This model has its positives as it fosters a human relationship between educator and learner, although the former impart their expertise. 

The importance of being able to work with a ‘big name’ in the higher education setting is perhaps most pronounced when students choose a thesis advisor. Most higher education professionals fear that education technology will replace this traditional teaching model, so they resist adopting it. This does not need to be the case at all: education technology is not a replacement for educators. When used effectively, it is a complement to these educators’ existing practices. 

Another reason why professors still struggle with education technology is a lack of training. Older professors did not receive any training on education technology when they were learning to teach in higher education because education technology was not around then. But even today there is a shortage of training on education technology, both in the form of ongoing training for professors and in initial training for professionals. In sum: professors still struggle with education technology because they don’t know the full range of education technology out there, and they also don’t always know how to utilize it properly.

It’s time for professors to shake off their fear of education technology and, supported by a robust institutional IT team, to begin to harness its benefits. As this summary shows, education technology has numerous advantages for higher education, such as boosting learner retention. What do you think about the issue?

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Learners assume that their educational institution will have Wi-Fi connections available for them as part of the package. That is why many institutions are investing in fast Wi-Fi to accommodate their internet-dependent learners without hassle.

Learners Need to be Connected

The University of Montana surveyed learners who were accepted but who did not enroll at the school. One of the main reasons learners did not enroll was the lack of wireless connectivity in their halls.

What was also found is that around 90% of learners own laptops and more than 70% own smartphones. This meant that the standard network ports for every dorm bedroom were no longer enough for the learners.

Thus, most university officials started to shift their focus to strengthening the Wi-Fi access in the living quarters of their institutions.

Drastic Increase of Mobile Devices

An explosion of mobile devices connected to the Wi-Fi of universities took place, with 90% of learners being simultaneously connected at some point in time. This is an increase of around 8,000 to 40,000 mobile devices connected to the network.

This type of increase forced universities to invest in much faster networks, and some of them even upgraded to 250 megabits per second for their Wi-Fi connections. This is about 20 times more than the average throughput in the US of around 10 MBps to accommodate all devices.

This was a much-needed upgrade, with new learners bringing along all their unique mobile devices that need Wi-Fi connections. This is the minimum of what learners of the future will expect when they consider enrolling in universities.

Leverage for Smart Campus Tech

One of the benefits institutions will have when they install faster Wi-Fi networks is better tech on campus. This will improve their chances of having better connectivity for worldwide interaction with universities in other countries.

It will also help improve learners’ chances to collaborate with learners in other educational institutions worldwide. Faster Wi-Fi connections will supply a strong backbone for the multitude of devices being used.

Most universities are already investing and implementing the IoT to help with campus facility management and provide a better experience to their learners.

This will help learners do online studies and stay connected to their university even when they are not there. Institutions will also be able to accommodate their off-campus learners with much faster connections.

Conclusion

Faster internet connections can benefit both the institutions and the learner while improvinglearning strategies and methods for educators. Most larger universities are already improving their connectivity options and speed to accommodate more unique mobile devices.

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The most reliable methods seem to be using real-time dashboards, which would allow the university staff to be more confident when making certain decisions. This would improve the number of learners who graduate from college with a degree and increase learner retention.

What Is Real-Time Dashboard Data Analytics?

This method can help both staff and learners decide on specific issues more efficiently. The most significant difference between real-time data analytics and conventional data analysis is that it is thoroughly reviewed as soon as the information is collected, considering all the elements and putting them in a uniform frame before deciding.

The biggest advantage of this method is that everyone will be able to reap benefits from it. On the one hand, learners will enjoy targeted advising. Simultaneously, the college personnel is more likely to keep the learners at the campus, thus ensuring financial support from federal and state officials. These officials consider the number of learners who earned a degree as opposed to how many enrolled. 

Best Practices for Data Analytics

There are many different tools that universities and colleges tend to apply to up their data analytics game. The first one is the predictive method, which considers elements, such as the learner’s background, finances and current academic success, to determine whether they need advising. This can benefit college personnel because they can perform more efficient target advising without hiring new staff, and in that way they can cut costs.

One of the many critical elements to consider when using such a method is supporting certain human biases related to race or financial situation. For this reason, tech providers or an expert analytics team tracks, and must be in charge of, such an algorithm. 

Lastly, by allowing learners to have an insight into their own data, the college will enable them to be informed on what information is taken into consideration when deciding whether they need or don’t need individual advising.

How Does It Benefit Everyone?

First, the employees will have a much better chance of predicting the rate of learner dropouts for the year. By identifying and addressing the leading causes of learners failing and giving up on their college education, the number of graduate learners can be increased.

On the other hand, college marketing experts will determine the target groups they should focus on and thus make sure that the money invested pays off. 

In the end, it is the learners who probably benefit the most, given that those who need it will be individually advised to overcome educational challenges.

Conclusion

Yes, real-time analytics can be risky if the staff takes nothing but what the algorithm decides. However, when the knowledge of analytical experts and the information provided by data analysis is put together, everyone is sure to benefit!

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This article will discuss precisely what open-source software is and how universities can use it. We will also mention how it reduces institutional costs and improves flexibility. 

What Is Open-Source Software?

Open-source software provides the user with plenty of opportunities when it comes to editing and changing the coding. In short, this type of software is released with its source code, allowing the user to edit, study, use, or share the program. 

As we have already examined, there are plenty of advantages to using this type of software. One of the many important features of open-source software is that it can be adapted to the needs and wants of the user. Also, there is an element of complete transparency when the code is used and shared. 

With this being said, open-source software is perfect for universities and other educational institutions. Below, we will be discussing why that is true based on flexibility and cost. 

Cost and Capacity

Most educational facilities use open-source software primarily because it is free from licensing costs. Seeing as thousands, if not millions, of learners are plagued by learner debt, this is a significant aspect.

Although there are no licensing costs, the school will still have to pay for additional features, such as enterprise-grade support, input into new features, extra functionality, and rapid bug fixes. However, these costs are still much lower than proprietary software, perfecting universities and other businesses. 

Flexibility

Open-source software provides universities with plenty of flexibility. This program is released with its source code, allowing users to edit, study, use, or share the software. 

This means that the university will be able to alter the code according to their needs and wants. Most educational institutions use open-source software to attract learners from around the world. Additionally, plenty of platforms can make courses, share learning materials, assess learners, etc. 

Conclusion

Most universities and educational institutions around the world use open-source software as opposed to proprietary software. There are various reasons for this. For example, open-source software can be adapted to the needs of the university, educators and learners. On top of that, there is an element of transparency when the code is used. 

However, arguably the most important and attractive aspects of open-source software are free from licensing costs. This type of software also provides the user with more flexibility and adaptability.

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