What will higher education look like post-pandemic? Educause, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote higher education using technology, is on top of things. The nonprofit has identified technologies, practices, and trends that will shape the education sector once the pandemic ends through a recently conducted study.

Through the trend selection process, the potentially long-lasting effects of the pandemic couldn’t be ignored. While we still need to see whether or not they’ll trickle into the future, as of now it is difficult to imagine that higher education will go back to as it was pre-pandemic.

Pexels | There’s no doubt that the education sector was one of the most affected in the last year

Technological Trends for the Education Sector

The report identifies the following trends for the future:

1.     Development of Online Faculty

With the creation of new technologies, the faculty need to gain in-house training and support. With the inclusion of remote capabilities for instructional design and technological support, the investment in faculty development needs to remain consistent to ensure the faculty’s skills and technological literacy remain on par with that of the tech-savvy students.

2.     Increase in Learning Technologies

Due to the pandemic, many already existing (but mostly ignored) learning tools became mainstream. Once indifferent or resistant to tools like virtual classrooms, videoconferencing, and team-based platforms, education professionals came to rely heavily on them during the lockdown. These technologies are only expected to increase in the coming years.

3.     Adoption of Hybrid Learning Models

Over the last year, adoption of hybrid or blended models accelerated more than ever before. Faculty and students have discovered new means of engaging with one another, with a particular preference for the flexibility of moving between in-person and remote study. In the case of future crises, institutions will be able to follow through with their course with minimal distractions.

Pexels | Teachers had to rely heavily on technology for the education sector to function properly

Other Details of the Report

Educause’s report also highlighted the most followed trends in the economic, social, political, and environmental realms, which are as follows:

Economic:

-Uncertainty in economic models,

-demand for different/new workforce skills, and

-decrease in higher education funding.

Social:

-Widening the digital divide,

-Remote learning/work, and

-Mental health issues.

Political:

-Rise of nationalism,

-increase in online globalization, and

-public funding for higher education.

Environmental:

-Reduction in work travel,

-climate change, and

-sustainable development.

Pexels | Lockdown helped bring many essential trends to the attention

Wrapping It Up

All in all, the report offered a very interesting and enlightening read. If you wish to go through it, it can be accessed here.