Top 7 Education Trends to Look Out for in 2019

Education trends are influenced by technology like never before

What are education trends in 2019?

As a part of the educational ecosystem, stakeholders experience many things over the course of the year as part of the endeavor to school children well. When they become repetitive or cyclical, these experiences can be termed education trends.

As the world turns, so does the educational ecosystem. Education trends are inherently dynamic in nature and change year on year, based on the needs of the various stakeholders in the school, the demands of the world they are preparing students for and what resources are available in the world.

Education trends are important to track in order to know that your educational institution is modern and up to date, if not ahead of the curve. After all, a good educational institution is trying to produce scholars that will take the world forward with their skills and hard work. Not those who will be overwhelmed and forever playing catch up with it.

What sort of factors influence education trends in 2019?

There are many considerations to keep in mind when analyzing the educational ecosystem. From stakeholders who are the key players in this space, such as parents, teachers, students and management to changing pedagogies being recommended by an expert and policy-making bodies, the factors that influence education trends in a given year are many. Briefly stated, education trends are influenced by technological changes, new methods of learning, new methods of teaching, the economy, the goals of management and teachers, the direction the school is growing in, the demands of the workforce and the job market. Education trends are a product of all these factors and more.

Below we discuss in further detail what are the trends we can expect in the coming year.

What are some education trends we will see in 2019?

A good predictor of trends to expect in 2019 is technology. Technology drives a lot of innovation in organizations, and the education ecosystem is no different. Thus, based on Gartner’s technology trend predictions for 2019, read on to find out what to expect in the coming year.

1. Autonomous Things

From drones to self-driving cars to a detergent that is ordered at the push of a button on your washing machine, the rise of autonomous things are going to have a big impact on humankind. We can already see how automated things are taking over highly repetitive or process driven jobs outside of the educational ecosystem. Things are no different when it comes to education trends. Increasingly, in the classroom, we will see the use of autonomous things as teaching aids, learning aids, and general classroom aids. All these autonomous things would work in symbiosis to deliver optimum results for everyone, from teachers to parents to students. Since they are self-motivated and require minimal human input, they would also seamlessly blend into the background even at places like a school or in a classroom.

2. Artificial Intelligence Augmented Analytics

If you are a modern educational institution, you already have the data-rich education trend down pat. Essentially, this means that you are already systematically collecting, storing, and analyzing data to help with your decision making and policy thinking within the school. For 2019, we have an education trend that is supercharging this kind of logical thinking – augmenting existing analytics through the use of artificial intelligence. This education trend is not only a time and energy saver, but it also helps schools grow more organically by deeply analyzing and modeling technology on it.

3. Digital Twins

Imagine an omnipresent and omniscient presence for your organization that required minimal input from humans and instead runs almost entirely by itself. Such a presence would be called a digital twin of your organization and is an education trend that seamlessly integrates the real world with the virtual world. Imagine doing this for your classroom or the whole school – it would help bring the school to students in geographically far-flung locations while also giving them a real, seamless school and classroom experience.

4. Digital Ethics and Privacy

As the lines blur between our reality and the virtual world it is more important than ever to uphold the importance of digital ethics and privacy. This is in order not just to be kind and fair to the world, but also to protect those who are vulnerable, such as students. Digital ethics and privacy will be a big influence on education trends, primarily because students in school would benefit them the most from early learning of the importance of this issue. A student who is informed of this education trend is thus set up for success because they know how to manage and protect themselves.

In a world with social media skills, data leaks, data terrorism and the like becoming increasingly common, education trends that champion digital ethics and privacy are a vital part of a student’s learning. It is important to especially teach younger students about digital ethics and privacy because they are the most persuadable and vulnerable to malicious elements who may seek to exploit or harm them. And education trend like digital ethics and privacy must thus be implemented with utmost haste in order to prepare students for what lies out there on the world wide web.

5. Smart Spaces

Smart spaces are literal physical spaces where technology and humans come together to interact in interesting, innovative, and delightfully surprising ways. Smart spaces are forecast to be a technological trend for 2019, making them an education trend also. This is one education trend that fits in nearly seamlessly with existing setups like a classroom or a lab that would take well to technological enhancements. How would this education trend play out in real life? Imagine a classroom with smart boards, artificial intelligence-driven analytics, using learning management systems, using automated things like drones or robots to accomplish process driven tasks, etc. It is, in fact, an education trend that is already coming to life in some educational institutions.