The Evolving Classroom. What's Next?

Recent surveys show that 86 percent of parents and 79 percent of teachers feel positive about the role technology plays in the modern classroom.

Over the last few years, many schools throughout the world have made attempts to utilize technology to enhance the learning experience for their students. Things have progressed a lot in a short timeframe, and even more progress is expected moving forward.

What features will future classrooms have that modern ones don’t? How will teaching change in the future to accommodate different types of learners?

Read to learn more about how school is evolving for K-12 students, from a technological standpoint as well as a learning standpoint.

Personalized Learning

Over the years, educators and others have started to realize that not all students learn in the same way and that some teaching methods are not effective for everyone. Enter the power of personalized learning.

Personalized learning is all about customizing and adapting educational methods and techniques to ensure the learning process is suited to each learner. It treats students as individuals and shows respect for their distinct learning styles, as well as their backgrounds, needs, and past learning experiences.

Once upon a time, the idea of providing customized learning options for each student may have seemed laughable. With the help of new technology and its prevalence within most classrooms, though, it is easier than ever for teachers to provide students with individualized lesson plans and the specific tools they need to succeed.

Flexible Assignments

Building off of the concept of personalized learning, the use of flexible assignments can also be helpful for students with all kinds of learning styles.

Not all students have to take in information in the same way, and they don’t have to do homework in the same way, either.

By offering flexible assignments tailored to each student’s learning style, teachers can make it easier for students to solidify their understanding of various subjects. This also cuts down on frustration and helps students to feel empowered, even when they’re working on assignments that are challenging for them.

Mobile Learning and eLearning

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, students all over the globe were kept out of school and required to carry out their learning at home. Some students gathered with their classmates via Zoom, and others worked independently, carrying out their own self-guided study, often with the help of online learning resources.

Even though most students have returned to in-person schooling, the use of mobile learning and eLearning tools has stuck. It will surely continue to stick around for years to come, too.

Mobile learning and eLearning tools, such as language learning apps, can help students to expand their knowledge and gain more insight outside of their traditional classroom setting. Many of these programs also gamify the learning process, which can make it more engaging and enjoyable, particularly for students who struggle to learn in more conventional ways.  

Virtual and Augmented Reality

The technology inside of the classroom is more advanced than ever before, and it’ll only get more sophisticated in the future. Some of the greatest additions to the modern classroom are virtual reality (or VR) and augmented reality (or AR).

Virtual reality involves the use of a computer that generates a new environment for the user. It takes users out of the real world and brings them into a new location. In classrooms, the use of VR can take students on trips to all kinds of destinations, from the Grand Canyon to a tour of the White House.

Augmented reality is similar to virtual reality, but it gives users more interactive opportunities to engage with a virtual world.

A great example of augmented reality is the game Pokemon Go. However, there are also lots of educational AR games that students can participate in in the classroom for a more engaging learning experience.

Cloud Computing

Many people think of cloud computing as a tool used by tech companies. What they don’t realize, though, is that it also has a place in education.

Cloud computing lets students instantly access and store their homework, textbooks, and more. Because these documents are stored on remote servers, their backpacks will be lighter and they won’t have to worry about lugging heavy books back and forth each day. They’ll also be able to work on their assignments anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection.

Cloud computing allows students to collaborate more easily with their classmates when they’re working on group assignments, too. They don’t even have to be in the same room to do homework and get things done.

Cloud computing in education can also produce significant cost savings. For example, rural Canada’s Wild Rose school division has maintained its own data center for years. Recently, they shifted their storage to Microsoft's Azure cloud, which results in savings of $12,000 per year. They also freed up their IT crew to focus on other tasks.

Deep Learning

These days, many teachers are focusing less and less on rote memorization. Instead, they’re prioritizing skills like critical thinking and deep learning.

When teachers instruct using deep learning principles, they do less lecturing and more questioning. By asking their students a series of thoughtful, open-ended questions, teachers encourage them to develop a deeper understanding of various subjects.

Deep learning is more interactive than traditional learning, and it requires students to do more analysis and interpretation. This type of learning is more engaging than traditional learning, too.

Increased engagement, in turn, results in better knowledge retention and sets students up to use the information they’ve gathered in real-life situations, not just in the classroom.

Biometrics

Biometric data (fingerprints, facial changes, breathing rate changes, etc.) can be used to better understand students and evaluate them — not just from an academic standpoint, but from a more holistic perspective.

Biometric data enhances the modern classroom and the modern school in a variety of ways. For example, the use of fingerprint scanning can streamline the attendance-taking process and minimize human error.  Fingerprint and iris scanning can make it easier to keep track of students and keep them safe while in school, too.

Other types of biometric data, such as monitoring heart rate and breathing rate, can help to assess students’ level of engagement and overall state of wellness in the classroom. For example, if a student is showing signs of anxiety (such as a racing heart rate), a teacher can pull them aside privately and check in with them.

Emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion

When considering the concept of personalized learning, it’s easy to wrap one’s head around different learning styles and a method of teaching that accommodates them.

It’s not enough for teachers to only think about different ways of learning, though. They also need to think about students’ diverse backgrounds and how they can be respected and included in the classroom.

When teachers don’t factor in a student’s race, for example, and the ways their experience as a member of that race has influenced them, they’re neglecting a major part of that student’s life. This, in turn, can leave the student feeling overlooked and disempowered.

Now and in the future, educators and administrators are working hard to make classrooms more diverse and inclusive places. They want to ensure that all students feel they belong and are respected by their teachers and their peers.

Micro-Schools and Pods

In the wake of the pandemic, many small groups of students started to gather in “pods” to work together and learn as a collective, rather than everyone working independently. Some also formed “micro-schools,” which are small groups run by teachers who emphasize each student’s individual growth.

Even though most students have returned to in-person schooling, there are plenty of others who are still learning via micro-schools and pods. This can be a good alternative for students who have special learning needs or who work better in small groups than they do in a large classroom.

Increased Focus on Creativity

For the last several years, there’s been a major emphasis placed on STEM (short for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) in classrooms throughout Canada (and the rest of the world). In the future, though, there will be a greater emphasis placed on creativity.

The world needs innovative people more than ever before, and teachers are starting to catch on to this fact.

The arts and humanities help students to learn to think in new ways and come up with creative solutions to all kinds of problems. These skills will come in especially handy when students graduate from university and enter the workforce.

Prepare for the Classroom of the Future

It doesn’t matter if you’re a parent wondering what your child’s classroom will look like or an educator who’s eager to implement a more modern form of teaching. The information outlined above can provide more insights and help you prepare for the inevitable shift toward a more tech-savvy classroom.

Remember these points moving forward so you can feel more confident and more informed about what the future holds.