Education has always been a hot topic among intellectuals and reformers. It has seen quite a change in the last decade or so, but not significant enough to get noticed. The new era of learning is still focused on keeping students in the classroom in the hopes that they will bring a better future to themselves and to society as a whole.

The current education system has always been focused on a batch study where individual growth is never focused on. With the expansion of the internet, things have changed drastically, as now, anyone can do self-study using YouTube, Udacity, or TED. However, this still doesn’t solve the imperfections that the current education system carries.

Emphasis Should Be on Wisdom

Wisdom is the accumulation of knowledge, experience, and good judgment. Children are never taught how to use wisdom to make decisions. Also, our classroom environment revolves around sharing information and knowledge, and not its practical implementation.

The current classroom environment doesn’t work for everyone. The challenges remain as teachers need to create a framework where everyone fits in and not the other way around where individual growth is not at all prioritized. The current education system fails miserably when it comes to individual growth, socialization, and connecting with others. Students do stay in a classroom, but they hardly interact with each other during learning. This leads to no flow of ideas and makes learning a stagnant process. So, how do we solve them? Let’s explore the possibilities.

“What's gotten in the way of education in the United States is a theory of social engineering that says there is one right way to proceed with growing up.” ― John Taylor Gatto

New Technologies to the Rescue: AR, AI, and Big Data

The growth of technology has seen its roots grow into education. The three important technologies that we think will impact the education in future are AR, AI, and big data. It is on us to utilize these technologies to make learning more personal and help individuals improve their critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and overall ability to work on different problems and fields.

Immersive Education

To facilitate the next generation to get a proper education, we need to utilize immersive education using AI, AR, and big data. Computers have already started providing the playing field for the learners, whereas AR is now focusing on making it more immersive than ever. With virtual reality headsets readily available in the market, it is now possible for learners to transform their learning experience. Smartphones are providing the necessary tools to enable it. They are cheap and can be paired with cheap and durable virtual reality headsets such as Google Cardboards.

When it comes to the true AR experience, technology like Microsoft Hololens completely transforms how we visualize and learn. With AR devices, we can easily transform our learning experience and enhance creativity with the use of visuals. The images and the surroundings look real and can open a new perspective to the learners. For example, you can easily transform your open room into a solar system where you can interact with planets and other objects.

Using AR will also unlock the possibility to learn abstract concepts much faster. Visuals always can interact with our brain in a meaningful way. Students in a classroom will also feel fascinated when they see, feel, and interact with the topics that they are learning. There are already AR education apps available in the market. Some of the notable ones are MyLab, a chemistry-related AR app, and Universe Sandbox, which let you explore the universe.

Machines and Learning

Artificial intelligence is transforming our world as we speak. It is already into sports, finance, self-driving cars, and so on. Its impact on education is yet to be seen. So, will it be able to transform education? The question can be answered by looking at the student-teacher relationship. AI is now capable of learning about us. Text-to-speech and voice recognition advancements also enable machines to interact with us. Examples include Cortana, Siri, Amazon Echo, and so on.

With all the necessary tools, only time will tell when AI will be able to replace or at least help teachers understand students and their requirements. It can become the perfect teacher that revolves around the learner's needs.

The capabilities of artificial intelligence are endless, and we have just started to explore its possibilities. Self-driving cars, for example, are a prime example of how artificial intelligence can be used to improve the world around us. With AI, we will be more connected, will be more inclined towards learning meaningful things, and will be able to customize our path accordingly.

Learning From Data

To understand how we learn, we need to map data to reveal patterns. These patterns in return will enable academics to understand important concepts such as self-learning, group learning, or creative learning. With a huge amount of data generating every single second, it is up to the data scientists to understand the data and make sense out of them. The educational analytics age has just started, and we are on the brink of the breakthrough of changing how we look at education.

The headsets, online learning platforms and another form of technology collect data that learn about how students interact with their learning material. For example, headsets can track the pupils' movement and figure out what type of information attracts them the most. It is learning about their interests using the information that they generate while learning.

Final Thoughts

Our education needs a change, and we are almost on the brink of the revolution. The current technologies can not only help us understand our learning habits but also transform the classroom learning experience using AI, AR, and big data. Our education system can only improve from here onwards. All of this will lead to a better society where we will have the patience to learn and understand. The impact will also be on career counseling and personal performance where the learning path will be catered according to an individual.