Educational Trends 2024

Goodbye to Conventional Teaching Methods

Education, like many other industries, has been modernized over time, and the common classroom in which the teacher was the absolute source of learning has become a thing of the past. Today’s students and young people have at their fingertips new technologies that allow them to learn without a teacher, and that is why teachers have to start implementing these same tools and innovate so that learning is effective in our classrooms.

Educational Trends for 2024

Today, with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, a variety of tools have emerged that can not only help us reduce time in performing administrative activities, but can also help us connect better with our students.

In this article I will introduce you to the educational trends for 2024, which are not all new, but they do present updates that will improve your performance.

Gamification

Gamification in education is not a recent trend, but it is still a growing trend. It consists of using game elements to make learning more engaging and fun for students. Through challenges and rewards, teachers can encourage motivation and interest in learning, all through play.

Gamification is evolving thanks to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). There are platforms that combine gamification with AI to enhance the learning experience. For example, Kahoot, a well-known platform, has incorporated AI to suggest activities such as multiple choice or true/false questions. Although AI offers useful suggestions, teachers still need to review and adapt these ideas to ensure that they align with specific educational objectives.
To mention a few tools, we have:

It is going to be more and more common to see this type of tools powered by Artificial Intelligence that allow us to create gamification activities in a faster and much simpler way, always maintaining the important intervention of the teacher to ensure that the topics addressed meet the established learning objectives.

Collaborative Classrooms

This trend focuses on collaborative learning. We speak not only of the integration of many online education tools but also of face-to-face strategies, so that students not only use online tools to learn, but also participate in face-to-face group activities.

Collaborative learning involves working in teams within the classroom, where students are grouped together to complete tasks and projects together. This way of learning allows students to develop other skills such as:

It fosters students’ autonomy, as they learn not to depend solely on the teacher as a source of knowledge.
It helps develop important skills such as empathy, critical thinking and communication.
It reinforces soft skills such as leadership and coordination of activities, which are valuable in professional life.

Within the collaborative classrooms we can find the following tools:

Miro

Canva that has integrated its Infinite Canvas whiteboards
Zoom and Google Meet have also integrated collaborative whiteboards.
Jamboard

Microlearning

Microlearning refers to those micro courses or small, short and concise learning units that allow for rapid learning. It consists of dividing the education into small modules, usually through courses of no more than 15 videos, with videos of no more than 10 minutes. Although it should be considered that this approach is ideal for teaching specific concepts, and not for covering complete educational programs such as a school year.

Students are more motivated to complete more courses when the content is presented in these learning “capsules” because the information is more direct and less tedious. Platforms such as Domestika, Udemy or Coursera are already applying this technique to offer focused and specialized courses, which requires instructors to have great skill and experience in their subject, as you must be able to take the most important and explain it in a very specific way.

The popularity of platforms such as TikTok, which uses short videos, demonstrates the success of this format among young audiences. This suggests great potential for applying Microlearning in education, using short videos to capture students’ attention and keep them interested in learning.

EDTECH

In this trend we have three technologies, let’s start first with:

VIRTUAL REALITY, AUGMENTED REALITY AND METAVERSO: These technologies offer immersive learning experiences, allowing students to learn through direct experience and interaction in virtual environments. So a student could be looking at the solar system directly on his or her desk.

AR is particularly affordable as it does not require a large investment. This makes it easier to implement in educational environments, both for teachers and students. On the other hand, VR presents certain challenges, such as high cost. Implementing a VR lab in schools can be costly, not only because of the price of the equipment but also because of the need for specific facilities and spaces for its use.

The tools you can start implementing in your classroom are:

Despite these limitations, both VR and AR have a promising future in education. They offer unique experiences that can enrich the learning process, providing students with opportunities to explore and learn in ways that were not possible before.

MOBILE LEARNING: It consists of adapting educational content to mobile devices, which are increasingly common in the lives of young people and students. Today, many students have access to a cell phone and often use it to take online classes. This means that when designing courses and educational materials, it is important to consider that students will access them primarily through a vertical screen of a cell phone.

To effectively adapt content to mobile devices, there are useful tools such as Canva, which facilitates the creation of visually attractive materials suitable for vertical screens. Other applications such as Zoom, Nearpod, Kahoot, and D-ID, (which allows you to create avatars) also offer mobile versions. These tools make it easier for students to interact and learn from their phones, enhancing the learning experience.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: This tool plays an increasingly important role in education and is present in many modern tools and applications. Its main advantage is that it facilitates the creation of a wide range of educational materials, such as presentations, content, assessments, rubrics and videos.

The use of AI in education helps us to generate higher quality materials. It allows educators and students to focus on more creative and analytical aspects of learning, while AI takes care of the more routine and repetitive tasks. This not only saves time, but also enhances the overall learning experience.

Some of the tools we can implement are:

A very important recommendation regarding the implementation of Artificial Intelligence, is to work hard on the generation of Quality PROMPTS which is “the language of Artificial Intelligence”.. In other words, it is knowing how to ask the IA for what you need so that the results are useful and tailored. The secret is to ask in a very specific way what you need, so that exactly what you need is generated.

It is important to highlight what Artificial Intelligence in education promises us as a trend, and that is:

Personalization of learning
Early identification of learning disabilities
Fast and specific feedback
Automation of administrative tasks
To help educators better understand the individual needs and abilities of students.

STEAM approach

STEAM programs, which encompass science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, aim to integrate all of these areas into the educational program. The idea is to develop skills in each of these disciplines in a balanced and complete way.

This trend in education is crucial because it fosters more comprehensive and diversified learning. For example, in a STEAM class, students might work on an art project such as building a model, while applying technology and science concepts. This allows students to experiment and learn in a practical and creative way, combining different areas of knowledge.

Wellness and Mental Health

Wellness and mental health have become more important in the educational setting, especially in the wake of contingency and prolonged isolation. During this period, an increase in cases of depression and other mental health problems was observed, which has led to raise awareness about the importance of emotional well-being in the learning process, since a person who is not emotionally well cannot learn in the same way.

In response to this need, strategies such as active learning, socialization and monitoring have been implemented to support mental health in education. Mental health is now considered a priority in education. Therefore, Artificial Intelligence tools designed to assist in emotional monitoring have emerged, such as Yana “You Are Not Alone”, Jenny, Cici and Our Family Wizard. These tools, while not a substitute for professional intervention by a psychologist, can offer additional support, such as suggestions for mood-enhancing activities, relaxation exercises, and personalized follow-up based on the individual’s mood and emotions. These tools carry a personalized monitoring according to the mood and emotions of each person.

Conclusion

The integration of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, collaborative learning, and VR and AR platforms in education has the potential to close access and quality gaps in education globally. These innovations not only improve student interaction and engagement, but also offer educators powerful tools to improve their teaching methods.

The educational trends for 2024 represent a significant advance in the way we approach learning and teaching. The implementation of these technologies is crucial, as they offer personalization in the educational experience, allowing each student to learn at his or her own pace and according to his or her interests and needs.

References

Digitales, D. [@DocentesDigitales]. (2023, December 14). Educational Trends 2024. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM6MiMyfylY
Digitales, D. [@DocentesDigitales]. (2024, January 12). Artificial Intelligence for Socioemotional Skills Development . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir9qvwlf-gY