Education Trends in 2021: The Future of Education Amid COVID Crisis!

COVID-19 effect has trickled down to the world of education as well and the education leaders are experimenting with remote teaching. The fact that Coronavirus pandemic has transformed various aspects of human life and will continue to do so, and higher education is no exception.

In fact, with the onset of the pandemic, the future of higher education is taking shape as various universities and colleges prepare to bring in a new era of online education. According to a blog piece by Edvantic – the World’s Education Company – there are three trends that will or are defining the future of education and especially the future of higher education.

Let’s take a look at these three trends shaping the future of education.

1. Colleges/Universities will reevaluate their current arrangement and shift to hybrid model of education: The onset of the pandemic has forced the colleges and universities to relook at their mandatory four-year residential programs to earn a degree. But no more. The future of education can be or rather is the hybrid model of education wherein the lectures will be delivered both offline and online. The education trends during the pandemic saw a sudden shift towards digitalization in education as well. For instance, the lectures, especially at the college level, require minimal personal interaction, so they can be recorded as multi-media presentations and made available to the students so that they can watch them anytime anywhere. Another interesting example is the teaching of Pythagoras’ theorem, which remains the same all over the world. Technology can be used for delivering such kind of education. Technology can play a huge part in imparting this education. Result: Colleges will be able to commit more resources to research-based learning and personalized problem-solving.

In addition, students will also have more opportunities as well as resources to explore, as they don’t have to mandatory reside and devote their four years at the campuses. The time away from the campus can be utilized to complete things, which they were not able to complete earlier like faculty office hours, interactions, as well as career guidance. This hybrid model – representing the future education – will not only save resources for colleges and students but will also help them make education more affordable for everyone.

2. Alliances between tech giants and universities: As Scott Galloway – a marketing professor at the NYU Stern School of Business – says the COVID pandemic has ‘greased the wheels for large tech companies’ entry into the world of higher education. Interestingly, colleges and universities have already been searching for technologies that can be deployed, thus ensuring that all the students have access to online learning platforms. And the giant tech companies are the best bet to offer these technologies.

According to the experts, the post-pandemic future education will see partnerships between the global tech giants and world-renowned universities and colleges. The partnerships like MIT and Google; Microsoft and Berkeley allow universities to expand their enrollment dramatically through hybrid online-offline degrees without sacrificing their standards. Result: Students will not have to compromise on their choice of colleges and will easily get through their favorite college. A win-win situation for everyone in the world of education.

3. Assistance in changing the mindset and behaviors of both the professors as well as the students: The global pandemic threw light on the fact that not every faculty is comfortable with the transition to virtual classrooms. In addition, there is a huge digital divide between those who have never taught online before and those who are adept in the latest technology (read younger faculty). The same is true for students. There are students who are not comfortable with online lectures. Considering that a huge part of the college education is the campus experience, along with socialization with their peer group, this online learning platform will need more convincing.  Implying that for the hybrid model of future education to be put into practice there is a staunch need to change the mindsets of both professors as well as students. Both students and professors need to understand that the learning curve of online platforms is small and they won’t have to spend much time in grasping it.

The future of education and the future of higher education is still uncertain yet there are some exciting times ahead. The pandemic has driven the global experiment in virtual education as well as remote teaching, interesting to note is the dramatic change in perception toward online education as it has grown in importance.

The use of technology and remote learning will shape the education trends in the near future and the future of education and the future of higher education looks promising.