Abstract
This chapter gives an insight into technologies that can improve the learning experience of the students in higher education and increase their academic results. The authors look at online learning technologies like the massive open online course and how they can be used to flip the classroom in order to get higher student engagement and satisfaction. Methods like problem-based learning and active learning are also addressed together with ways of increasing student motivation like gamification. The use of social media in education is also addressed. In the second part, the authors share their experience with using some of these technologies. Although these technologies have become widely available, each teacher needs to find the right tools and methods specific to his/her own class and use them accordingly.
TopTechnologies And Methods Used In Education
There are many technologies that have been tried and tested in educational environments, some with greater success than others. This chapter is not meant to be an exhaustive enumeration of said technologies but focus on some of the most common ones. In the author’s view, these are the technologies and methods that hold the most promise. The internet is the single most disruptive technology in modern education. It has opened a new world of opportunities for sharing content and connecting people. By structuring resources, online learning became available. Experiments with this new type of learning has led to other concepts like blended learning and flipped classroom. This way the student could benefit from both the offline and online worlds. Student engagement and satisfaction became a main issue and new models have been developed to motivate and engage the student. Problem-based education and the use of social media yielded results and let the way to active learning. Game elements can help improve the student learning experience and student data analytics can give the instructor an additional insight into which methods works and which don’t. Finally, the perspective of the teacher and the challenges that he/she might be facing while using these technologies is discussed.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Massive Open Online Course: A course provided through an online platform that allows open access to its content and that can be accessed by many users.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Learning that is done by starting from a problem and by finding the solution the learner is guided to the concept that is being taught. In PBL the student starts from the application and gets to the theory.
Technology: Refers to digital and information technology that involves the use of electronic devices to access a cyberworld.
Blended Learning: A method of learning that combines both online and in-class learning. There are many ways in which these two learning methods can be combined which gives a very broad definition to the term.
Fixed Broadband: Technologies used to provide high-speed internet to a fixed location like a residence or business. These technologies include cable, DSL, fiber optics.
Flipped Classroom: A type of blended learning where the teacher gives students material to study at home (accessible online) instead of lecturing and solves problems, presents case studies and gives examples in class instead of giving out homework.
Gamification: The use of game elements such as points, badges, leaderboards in non-game contexts such as business or education with the purpose of motivating the user and increasing work satisfaction and productivity.
Active Learning: The process through which the student actively engages with the content that he is being taught instead of just passively attending a lecture.
Social media: An online environment where users can create and share information in virtual communities.
Mobile Broadband: technologies that allows high-speed mobile access to the internet, like a portable USB modem, tablet, or mobile phone, etc.