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A greater emphasis on measuring educational outcomes, coupled with new efforts to modernize college classrooms, is likely to drive technology adoption on campuses in the next couple of years, according to the NMC Horizon Report, 2018 Higher Education Edition. The report was recently released by Educause, which has taken over the project from the now-defunct New Media Consortium. The report looks at key trends, challenges, and developments facing technology adoption in higher ed. The types of technologies most likely to be adopted include analytics that can help institutions track at-risk students and customize the learning experience. Makerspaces for activities such as 3-D printing and virtual reality are also on the rise, as these functions become more mainstream in the work world. Adaptive learning technologies and artificial intelligence may require another two to three years before they have much impact on colleges and universities. Technologies such as robotics and mixed reality ...

A 2017 survey of chief academic officers (CAOs) found that more than 85% said they believe digital learning tools make learning more efficient and effective for students. In addition, 92% said adaptive learning has great potential to improve learning outcomes and nearly 90% would like their faculty to use the technology more often in entry-level and gateway courses. Students clearly agree, as 94% responding to the fourth-annual McGraw-Hill Education digital student trends survey said using digital learning technologies helped them retain new concepts and 60% said the tools helped to improve their grades. “Powerful digital learning technology can customize the learning experience for every student, helping him or her understand challenging concepts more fully and empowering them to improve their classroom performance,” said Scott Virkler, chief product officer, McGraw-Hill Education. “As these solutions continue to make inroads on college campuses, we look forward to seeing even more ...

With a new year come new predictions for higher education. eSchool Media asked a number of educators, edtech specialists, and others for their thoughts for the annual trends report. This year’s edition identified 25 trending education topics for 2018, including some anticipated to affect K-12. Not surprisingly, digital media of various types factored into many of the trends. “Artificial intelligence to advise how each student learns best and adapts materials for them will transition us for the future and lead to the careers that students depend on higher ed to open up,” said Laural Stiller, solution marketing manager for higher education, Hyland. “Employer demand for career-ready candidates will drive the continued growth of immersive learning experiences like virtual and augmented reality to provide real-world practice at scale,” said Matt Seeley, product director, career education, Cengage. “With industrial networking and connectivity between laboratory equipment, the instructor, an...

Colleges and universities often talk about student success as their core mission. A study from edtech provider Unit4 found nearly three quarters of institutions are making organizational changes to make student success happen. The survey of 150 IT decision-makers found that 80% said they had invested in technology to support student success and 62% had recently overhauled their portals, self-service options, or apps to improve the student experience. One fifth of respondents said that more than half of their new technology was custom-built, while a little over 60% reported that less than half of their technology was custom-developed. While strides are being made, use of artificial intelligence, chatbots, and mobile applications continues to lag behind other investments. “The fact that today, over one in five of those we surveyed have not modernized their student mobile experience, and have no automation in their core systems to support early alerts for at-risk students is deeply conc...

Many K-12 pupils are now accustomed to using their own computing device in school every day and more are learning from course materials created or customized by their teachers rather than standard textbooks. Those are two of the edtech trends identified in EdSurge’s annual Edtech Outlook report on emerging innovations. About 60% of K-12 kids now go to schools with a 1:1 ratio of pupils to devices, most often some sort of tablet or netbook. That has changed the mix of learning materials available to teachers, who no longer have to rely on traditional textbooks. In many cases, teachers are heading to online educational marketplaces to download free or low-cost materials to fit their particular lesson plans, instead of molding lessons around the textbook. “[Publishers’] slow transition to digital has cost them significant market share as lower-cost, more nimble startups have undercut their performance,” said the report. Teachers are also turning to artificial-intelligence apps to complem...

Almost 90% of college students stated it’s important that the institutions to which they apply be technologically savvy, according to a survey of 1,000 students by educational software and services provider Ellucian Co. However, the report also found that 58% of respondents said their college, of all the companies and organizations with which they’re involved, was furthest behind in providing a personalized digital experience. That sentiment was even stronger for students on two-year campuses (71%) than for their counterparts at four-year schools (53%). The experience they’re looking for extends beyond edtech, with 97% adding that campus technologies to support them outside the classroom are equally important. Almost all students (94%) said they believe that connecting with fellow students, faculty, course suggestions, deadline reminders, and event calendars based on their interests and academic performance would be conducive to fostering a greater emotional attachment to t...

More college professors are turning to the video screen to complement lectures and classroom activities, according to a recent survey which tracked the use of video in education. Conducted last May and June by Kaltura, a provider of video products and services, the survey showed that video is most commonly deployed by schools to assist distance learning programs, with 73% of institutions using video for remote classes. About 70% are showing videos during class and 66% are assigning videos to supplement other course materials, according to a report in Campus Technology . Although 65% of respondents said they’re video-recording professors’ lectures for students to view later, they admitted not every class presentation is recorded. Most schools record less than 25% of lectures. Lack of equipment is the main reason; cameras are usually installed in only the large lecture halls, not regular classrooms. However, almost half of respondents indicated their institutions would expand recording i...

As electronic devices have become ubiquitous for children of almost any age, and many districts either provide devices or implement bring-your-own-device programs, schools are now being tasked with teaching digital citizenship, a catch-all phrase for safe, responsible, and appropriate use of online resources. One major initiative in which they can participate is Google’s Be Internet Awesome campaign. This month, Google expanded that program to educators with its free Digital Citizenship and Safety Course . The aim is to provide instructors with the basic skills needed to ensure their students remain safe and have a positive online experience. The course comprises 12 lessons divided among six units, with topics that include savvy searching, maintaining your online reputation, setting strong passwords, evaluating the credibility of digital sources, and avoiding scams and phishing attacks. Teachers can then incorporate what they learn into their own curricula.