November 2004 — Industry Perspective
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The Future of Anytime, Anywhere Education
Technology is currently being used in many schools to help connect
teachers, students and families with the best educational and administrative tools available. Research firm Market Data Retrieval claims that 80% of public schools now have broadband service, which suggests that many educators have seen some form of Web-related or wireless deployment in their own schools.
As technology has improved and become more widespread, educators have been challenged to use it in innovative ways that keep students engaged, attentive and able to retain information. Many districts are now looking at anytime, anywhere access to multimedia content as a next step in accomplishing those goals and expanding the learning environment. We are entering an era where certain educational trends are encouraging the use of online, multimedia and wireless tools at unprecedented levels, which may alter the overall educational technology landscape in the future.
Numerous factors impact the educational technology landscape, but here are a few trends that could drive the next generation of technology deployment in many schools:
An increased need for multimedia education. Students are comfortable with the Web, and they like being entertained via interactive, visually stimulating mediums such as video games. Educators must grab their attention with multimedia learning tools and content in those familiar formats (especially video), or risk more and more students “tuning out.”
A reduced need for a “fixed” education environment. Educators and administrators understand that teaching, learning and administration can happen anywhere. The availability of technology which enables access beyond the classroom is a fundamental shift that is breaking down barriers and enabling new instructional approaches.
The ongoing need for family involvement. Several studies have discussed family involvement as a key factor in educational performance, and that will continue. Teachers and administrators need to increase family and parental involvement by making important information accessible to families in an interactive and timely format.
Looking to the Future
In the context of these key trends, the educational technology landscape is likely to change quite drastically in the next five or so years. Multimedia education will further materialize as the technologies used to access that content continue to evolve and improve. Anytime, anywhere access to multimedia information will be a key component of tomorrow’s cutting-edge education.
As we take a hypothetical look at schools of the future, it’s important to note the overarching trend toward wireless enablement across a variety of applications. Technology has been breaking down the classroom walls for years, but the next step is to go beyond the school grounds and provide wireless access to administrative, planning, teaching and learning tools from virtually anywhere.
It’s challenging to predict the exact technological makeup of future schools, but many of them are expected to deploy some or all of the following multimedia or multi-access technologies:
