It’s a new year and hope springs eternal for all educators, administrators, and students. There’s a good chance you may have made a New Year’s resolution or two already and also a chance those resolutions might have already been broken. As we turn the page on 2018 and shift our focus solely to 2019, let’s take a moment to focus on what might be next in education. There are always new trends emerging, but a lot of them die out just as quickly as they come to life. In the next 12 months, however, there are some trends that could wind up making a real impact on education and on the futures of children. Let’s take a look at and dissect some of these trends as we start the 2019 calendar year with a bang!
EdTech Trends to Look for in 2019
It probably comes down to who it is that you ask, but a lot of different people have a lot of different opinions about where EdTech is going to take us in 2019 (and where it should take us). A lot of change and progress has been made in the EdTech industry—especially in the last 10 or so years—but there are still some challenges faced by educators. When looking ahead to 2019, experts generally look back on the previous year to see what the happenings of the past 12 months can tell them. In this case, some of the trendy topics in EdTech (good or bad) included student privacy, student-centered learning, and student agency. At all levels of education, teachers worked to improve these areas for both their students and themselves. It’s not always easy due to budget constraints and other bureaucratic requirements, but, in large part, educators are generally able to recognize the trends or important topics in education and work to address them in a way that most helps their students.
All across the education landscape, you repeatedly hear the word ‘innovation’ and how educators and school leaders need to constantly innovate in their instruction to best prepare students for the future. Some of this innovation is in the form of experiential learning, team-focused challenges, and unique assessments that leverage technology to increase engagement and drive improved learning outcomes. Since so many K-12 EdTech tools foster a spirit of collaboration and allow students to work together, many educators are redesigning the ways in which they teach. There is a greater focus on student-led learning and this is even affecting the ways in which classrooms are designed in a lot of cases. It is also not uncommon for teachers to seek out technology tools that can be used by more than one student or group of students in the classroom—something that we would expect to continue in 2019 because of the fact that real-world work is often done in small groups and students need to start being prepared for that.
In 2019, we expect more educators to focus on using EdTech that not only teaches students the tech skills, but also the soft skills needed for the real world. Collaborating on a coding project with a robot, for example, forces students to learn how to communicate and work together effectively as well as learning the programming side of things. This should be more of an area of focus for all aspects of education in 2019 and highlighting a collaborative approach to problem solving is something teachers can easily weave into lessons. Technology is actually known to increase student engagement and reduce distractions in the classroom at the same time. So, if an educational technology tool promotes this kind of active learning and allows students to collaborate on cool projects, there’s a good chance it’s a good place to start if you’re looking for something new to use in your teaching and, more importantly, something to get kids more prepared for the future.
STEM Trends on the Horizon
It’s no surprise that educators and educational leaders are looking for every possible way to give students the best and most relevant education possible. A lot of the time, when that is the goal, discussions of how to make their learning more tied in with STEM come into play. As we head into 2019, certain educational trends are gaining steam while others are dying out and it should come as little surprise that a lot of these trends have to do with STEM education. One constant point of conversation when it comes to STEM education is the lack of qualified educators to teach kids the skills and technology they need to know. And, one of the possible solutions to this problem and to get more educators certified quickly is the emergence of micro-credentials. Teachers want to bring STEM and technology into their lessons, but a lot of them don’t really know how to do so. Since teachers are already short on time as it is, finding time to take extended courses is pretty much out of the question, but micro-credentialing can be gained through regular PD sessions or from local universities—whatever works best and is available.
Aside from this popular teacher trend, of course there are more STEM trends when it comes to engaging students. One of the most important ones is the emergence of computational thinking. Since the landscapes of technology and of the economy are constantly changing, educators don’t know exactly what to focus on when it comes to teaching future skills. Teaching computational thinking skills (how to get students to think like a computer) is a way to get around this, however, since this will give students the ability to solve just about any problem they encounter. Another area of STEM focus for the new year is digital citizenship. Just about every job in the future will require some sort of tech skills—Internet familiarity, graphic design, word processing, etc. This shouldn’t come as news, but the sooner kids are given the opportunity to work with computers on a regular basis and the sooner educators can make digital citizenship a part of their curricula, the better.
STEM learning can incorporate technology, but doesn’t always have to. As long as students are thinking creatively and actively engaged, there’s a better than good chance they are able to develop STEM skills. Another trend that’s emerging is the limitation of screen time in order to help students develop their soft skills, like communication and collaboration—two skills that are very important for the future. Finally, making time for personalized learning is something else that looks to be a focal point in 2019. It is well known that all students learn differently and personalized lessons can help them get the most out of the school day. Personalized learning can be maximized by utilizing technology and online tools to let students lead their own learning and define their own outcomes. And, of course, that should hopefully lead to greater educational experiences for children in 2019!
EdTech Trends in STEM and Beyond
In the process of writing this post, one of the trends that was mentioned most was the term ‘computational thinking.’ Both educators and professionals are beginning to realize that this is a skill that has the potential to take students to wherever they’d like to go if they are able to master it. Experts expect that coding is going to play at least a partial role in the vast majority of the jobs today’s students are going to be applying for and accepting, which means that the ability to deploy computational thinking skills is at or near the top of the list of qualities potential employers are going to be seeking. Educators are beginning to truly integrate coding into the curriculum across all subjects so that students have as much opportunity as possible to develop their computational thinking skills. Once stimulated, students tend to solve problems in a new way—a way in which workers in this new world do—by utilizing computational thinking.
Another area that looks like it will gain some popularity throughout the next year is gamified learning. Teachers are always looking to increase the engagement and interaction levels in their lessons and gamification has shown signs of promise in the right settings. Gamified learning also provides context to learning that students can understand and supplies them with immediate and often satisfying outcomes they can see as they master concepts. This also ties in with personalized learning as educators are able to leverage gamified lessons to create both face-to-face and tech-assisted experiences for their students. Since each student has a unique learning style, teachers are probably going to draw on this more in 2019 and even create individualized assessments to give each student the best possible chance for success. Technology has helped teachers take personalized learning to the next level and it can also be used to re-energize students after their Holiday break while helping them learn in the way that’s best suited to their needs, skills, and abilities. As the technology gets more intuitive, opportunities for personalization only look to become more far reaching.
On the more advanced side of educational technology, a couple of things that look to make a larger impact than they already have in 2019 are virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Virtual reality is already being used by students in elementary, middle, and high school as well as college, but not on a very wide level. Cost is a bit of concern, especially when using high-end VR systems, like Google Expeditions, but the learning experiences and in-depth, guided lessons provided make it something that’s hard to ignore. As for artificial intelligence, it’s helping improve education almost every day. AI systems can learn the best approaches for teaching in a specific classroom or with a specific set of students and actually come to help teachers by filling in any of the gaps they may miss throughout the school day. We admit, it does seem a bit scary, but AI could soon be playing a larger role—and one that actually helps.
Trends Specific to STEM Education
We love being on top of the latest education and EdTech trends—and even more so when they have to do with STEM. In 2019, there will undoubtedly be continued hype building around STEM teaching and learning in classrooms all over the world. With Computer Science Education Week taking place just a few weeks ago in December, we’re hoping teachers can capitalize on that momentum and ride it right into the new year by bringing more STEM opportunities to their students. As far as STEM-specific trends to be on the watch for, many of them will have to do with coding since that is believed to be the single most important skill today’s students can learn for a future STEM career. There will be no less than one million workers needed by 2022 in order to fill all of the STEM vacancies in the workforce, so the acknowledgement that STEM skills are becoming must-haves is driving increased STEM focus in 2019.
At the top of the list of STEM trends for 2019 is a greater focus on teaching kids different ways in which they can code. By programming a computer or simply programming a smaller piece of technology, like a robot, students will start to learn how to really think. Coding is used constantly in all sorts of computer science-based careers and statistics continue to show that computer science majors are among the highest paid of recent college graduates. So, if a student wants a shot at a top job, they’re going to need to learn how to create the code. Another trend that’s likely to take place in STEM education is the teaching of teachers. How can today’s students learn the coding skills they need if their teachers are unable to teach them? There is no more denying that today’s students need to be taught certain STEM skills—most notably coding—so it’s pretty likely that there will be a greater focus on professional development that equips educators with the skills to teach STEM in the best way possible.
Without going into much detail on some of the other likely trends for the upcoming year, we’ll briefly mention a few others of note. One of those is incorporating STEM into other subjects, which will allow kids more practice and, of course, help them to continue build STEM skills throughout the school day. Another is making more time for play, which will pave the way for more open-ended learning and opportunities for creativity. It also means that educators might be giving less homework, allowing students to spend their time away from school relaxing and refueling for the next day. Besides those, another trend (if you can call it that) to look for in 2019 is the emergence of more school makerspaces. Makerspaces already exist in a number of schools and libraries around the world, but, with so much being made about creativity and hands-on experiences, there’s a good chance the amount of schools with makerspaces is going to shoot up—and continue in that direction in following years. Whatever trends do shape out (and all of these are great), we just hope educators can give their students something new and STEM-focused this year!
Digital Trends for 2019
So, when it comes to EdTech, there is the physical and the digital. The physical EdTech options include a lot of the hands-on tools, like robotics and engineering kits, for example. And, of course, on the digital side of things, you have online or computer-based programs, like Flipgrid or iMovie, for example. As the 2019 calendar year really gets going, school systems are doing all they can to keep on top of the latest in digital learning. Rather than waiting for new technologies to come to them, educators should actively research and discover the best new digital tools for their students. While digital transformation in education tends to move somewhat slow, there’s no reason that should be the case. Also, when it comes to digital trends in education, they aren’t dissimilar from what’s happening in other industries and, with that, let’s take a look at what to expect in the (digital) classroom for 2019.
It’s been in the pipeline for a while now, but many within the education industry are predicting a large jump in the use of augmented and virtual reality in learning during 2019. Virtual reality, for example, is so valuable in helping students actually experiences things like history, travel, and how STEM concepts are applied in the real world. With the emergence and updates to systems, like Google Expeditions, using AR and VR in the classroom is now much more attainable and a bit more affordable for the amount of technology and curriculum you’re getting. There are also a ton of VR learning apps that pair with this content and so many different ways to bring virtual learning to students. As the year goes on, there will only be more content released, which educators can use to enhance their virtual reality devices in the classroom—whether they’re simple and smartphone-based or full-scale solutions.
Another digital area that could grow in 2019 is the Internet of Things. Schools have been using the IoT for a couple years now, but not in an educational sense. If they were using the IoT, they were probably using it for things like security or energy efficiency. Now, however, the Internet of Things is more likely to be used in an academic sense. For example, teachers could share test results or student progress with other educators or parents in real time. It could track when homework and assignments have been completed or uncover how long it takes students to complete a particular assignment, giving teachers access to usable data they’ve really never had before and doing it in such an easy way. This will help teachers gain a better understanding of which of their teaching methods are working and which may need to be adapted to better reach their unique set of students. It’s 2019 and the technology is getting stronger. It’s up to educators to use it the right way or risk slipping behind.
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