11 Ed Tech Trends to Watch in 2017
Five higher ed leaders analyze the hottest trends in education technology this year.
The education technology forecast for 2017 could perhaps be described in a single word: change. "We're now on an exponential pace of technological change," said Daniel Christian, adjunct faculty member and senior instructional designer at Michigan's Calvin College. "Several technologies continue to converge, new forms of human-computer interaction are gaining visibility and traction, and more. The next few years will be interesting indeed!"
We asked a panel of five higher ed leaders from across the country, including Christian, to assess education's top tech-related trends for the coming year — from artificial intelligence to Generation Z. Here's what they told us.
Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality
Daniel Christian: We are on the precipice of major changes in how we interact with our computing devices. Numerous companies with deep pockets — including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Sony and others — have been researching and investing in new forms of human-computer interaction (HCI) such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR). The consumer-based products from these companies have already significantly influenced the types of hardware and software that institutions of higher education have used to deliver their learning experiences.
But to give you another idea of how potentially huge this entire area is, let's look at Magic Leap. Magic Leap is a privately owned company that hasn't really produced anything for us to purchase — yet. But already, Magic Leap is valued at $4.5 billion! These new forms of HCI will likely have an enormous impact in the near future — significant changes in how we use and interact with computing devices.
This prediction is all the more compelling when we think about combining AR/VR/MR with cognitive computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies (such as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and chatbots).
Some thought-provoking questions include:
- Will remote workers be able to be seen and interacted with via their holograms (i.e., attending their meetings virtually)? What would this mean for remote learners?
- Will our smartphones increasingly allow us to see information overlaid on the real world? (Think Pokémon Go, but putting that sort of technology into a vast array of different applications, many of which could be educational in nature.)
- How do/will these new forms of HCI impact how we design our learning spaces?
- Will students be able to pick their preferred learning setting (i.e., studying by a brook or stream or in a virtual Starbucks-like atmosphere)?
- Will more devices/platforms be developed that combine the power of AI with VR/AR/MR-related experiences? For example, will students be able to issue a verbal question or command to be able to see and experience walking around ancient Rome?
- Will there be many new types of learning experiences, like what Microsoft was able to achieve in its collaboration with Case Western Reserve University [OH]? Its HoloLens product transforms the way human anatomy can be taught.