Image attributed to: Articulate Content Library
Although it is impossible to predict the future of Educational Technology in 2030 with great accuracy, observed trends and research can provide educators with clues. One area these clues point us to is a greater focus on digital resilience among both educators and the learners we support. If we are able to build our digital resilience instead of feeling paralyzed by the increasing pace of technological change, as educators we should be able to find ways in which AI-enabled technologies in particular can enhance our pedagogical practices rather than render them obsolete.
Defining Digital Resilience
What is Digital Resilience, and how is it different from Digital Literacy? For the purposes of this discussion I will leverage definitions provided by Eri et al. as they reflect on the post-pandemic experiences of educators and learners in post-secondary studies. They have defined Digital Resilience as being “the ability of learners to overcome technological difficulties and persist with online learning as they adapted to the changing trends in higher education.” (Eri et al., 2021, p. 4). This definition is further defined as having four distinct themes: control, resourcefulness, involvement, and personal growth. (Wadi et al., 2020, as cited in Eri et al., 2021). Digital Resilience, the authors explain, is an evolution from Digital Literacy which focused more heavily on fraud avoidance, cyber-bullying, and online safety. (Eri et al., 2021, p. 4). As we move towards the year 2030, as educators we must find ways to build digital resilience, help our learners to do the same, and identify how we can resourcefully leverage emerging technologies to enhance learning in the future.
Building Digital Resiliency Skills
Even when I was in high school in the late-1990s, Educators rightfully focused on Digital Literacy as a key skill for learners, and we continue prioritizing this topic in school curriculums in Ontario where I am located (Curriculum and Resources: Digital Literacy, 2020) and across other Canadian provinces. However, our ability to build digital literacy skills among Canadian learners and educators could improve significantly if we were to build a national digital literacy strategy (Hadziristic, 2017, p. 6 – 7). We know that building digital literacy skills and digital resilience – the ability to adapt quickly and effectively to evolving technologies – is a top skill learners will need if they are able to be agile in the face of changing technologies and acquire necessary job skills such as data science and computer programming (Marr, 2022).
In their research, Byeongwoo Kang proposes the COVID-19 pandemic increased the pace of change in EdTech, from what was a “modest pace” and only on a voluntary basis, where students did have access to live-streaming classes and interactive eLearning courses. Now most universities offer online, interactive courses and distance learning models which continue to evolve rapidly as limitations are addressed by EdTech companies and advancing pedagogical techniques (Kang, 2021, p. 30). With the previous “modest pace” of change Kang describes fading into the distance, it is upon educators to keep themselves and their students ready for the rapid pace of change we will experience now until 2030.
To adapt to this steady pace of change, educators should critically examine new technologies by evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in order to prepare students for the rapid change in technology. In his book 25 Years of EdTech, Martin Weller points to the analysis of Neil Selwyn who provides the opinion that a key role for educators to play as educational technology advances is to be self-critical while evaluating the possibilities these tools offer, identifying their biases, and evaluate the technology as critically as possible (Selwyn, 2014 as cited in Weller, 2020, p. 170). In their evaluation of the topic, Eri et al. (2021) recognize that digital resilience is not just a skill for educators, but for students too. They observed that the pandemic and the introduction of emergency remote learning caused educators and students alike “to undergo intensive training using whatever support structures that were available to facilitate and promote teaching and learning.” (Eri et al., 2021, p. 4). By 2030 we can expect the demands on technology to support educational innovation to increase. In their essay on the accelerating pace of EdTech, Ari Beckingham and Larissa Pschetz discuss the increasing pace of elementary school EdTech change being linked to industrial values of productivity (2023, p. 263). This trend of rapid technological change in learning relies on evolving learning technologies and a requirement for both students and teachers to become competent in changing technologies quickly, and Digital Literacy a key skill for future resiliency.
As we look to the future pace of change, I believe we can expect students and their teachers to adapt with agility to the evolution of technology, allowing both audiences to learn and grow in a rapidly-changing world.
Augmenting the Role of Educators with AI-Enabled Technology
As we approach the year 2030 and the possible field of teaching and learning, the 2021 Educause Horizon Report provides some clues on what we might expect the role of the educator to be, with six themes most likely to rise in importance: Artificial Intelligence, Blended and Hybrid Course Models, Learning Analytics, Microcredentialing, Open Educational Resources (OER), and Quality Online Learning. (Arbino et al., 2021). Of these technologies, advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the topic I expect will change the role of the educator the most, and therefore we must examine critically to determine the best ways it can improve learning. I agree with Martin Weller in his blog post on AI-Generated Content that AI will not eliminate the important role teachers play in education (Weller, 2022), and we can already see Virtual Agents helping to augment the role of the educator in learning contexts.
I recall first hearing about AI-Guided Virtual Agents used for tutoring and guiding learners at the Institute for Performance and Learning’s 2018 conference. During his session entitled Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Online Learning: Challenge and Opportunity, Stephen Murgatroyd described the use of IBM’s AI-Guided Virtual Tutor. IBM’s Virtual Agent posed as a Teaching Assistant named Jill Watson, without learners knowing they were interacting with a Virtual Agent. Jill supported undergraduate students to answer on their course content to such accuracy that at Georgia Tech University she was awarded “Tutor of the Year”. Murgatroyd further explained how the technology was providing students automatic feedback on assignments by comparing submissions to a rubric, using facial- recognition software to identify learners who are potentially disengaged or distressed, and reducing time-to-proficiency by guiding learners when newly using complex software solutions (Murgatroyd, 2018). Following Murgatryod’s presentation I remember feeling cautiously optimistic about AI-Guided Virtual Agents. Like many educators I feel the pressures of increasing class sizes and decreasing resources, so technology which could provide educators with analytics on learner performance so we could spend more meaningful time helping supporting learners or providing context to the content they are teaching is promising.
As we approach teaching in the year 2030 I would expect Virtual Agents to support educators and learners to become much more common as they prove they can provide insights into student performance, and as they continue to evolve in providing students instant and increasingly accurate answers to their questions.
Conclusion
In time we will learn if the future of teaching and learning in 2030 is as optimistic as I have proposed it might be. I am hopeful that our greatest opportunities depend on students and educators building digital resilience, and for educators to identify which technologies can help to enhance student learning. I am often inspired by the following quote attributed to Albert Einstein: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” (as cited in deBeer, 2018, p. 12). This art of being an educator cannot be replaced by machines, and it speaks to the role educators will continue to have in the year 2030. Educators will continue to play the role Einstein envisioned decades ago if they are able to build digital resilience and critically choose the best evolving technologies to help learners.
Post note: What is your impression of the technologies and pedagogies I’ve chosen to highlight in this speculative future essay? What resonated with you most, and where do you have a different opinion? AES
References
Transferable Skills: Digital Literacy. (2020, 2023). Ontario Ministry of Education: Curriculum and Resources. https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/program-planning/transferable-skills/digital-literacy
Arbino, N., Pelletier, K., Brown, M., Brooks, D. C., McCormack, M., & Reeves, J. (2021, April 26). 2021 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2021/4/2021-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition
Beckingham, A., & Pschetz, L. (2023). Rethinking pace, context and modes of learning in EdTech design. In Education Data Futures: Critical, Regulatory and Practical Reflections (pp. 263-274). Digital Futures Commission.
deBeer, L. (2018). Project SPARK: The Story of Inspiration in Today’s Classroom. New Jersey English Journal, 7(1), 22.
Eri, R., Gudimetla, P., Star, S., Rowlands, J., Girgla, A., To, L., Li, F., Sochea, N., & Bindal, U. (2021). Digital Resilience in Higher Education in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: Student Perceptions from Asia and Australia. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 18. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1325876
Hadziristic, T. (2017, April). The State of Digital Literacy in Canada: A Literature Review. https://brookfieldinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/BrookfieldInstitute_State-of-Digital-Literacy-in-Canada_Literature_WorkingPaper.pdf
Holmes, W., & Luckin, R. (2016). Intelligence Unleashed: An argument for AI in Education [Report]. UCL Knowledge Lab. https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/corporate/global/pearson-dot-com/files/innovation/Intelligence-Unleashed-Publication.pdf
Kang, B. (2021). How the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Reshaping the Education Service. The Future of Service Post-COVID-19 Pandemic, Volume 1: Rapid Adoption of Digital Service Technology, 15.
Marr, B. (2022, January 21). The 2 Biggest Future Trends In Education. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/01/21/the-2-biggest-future-trends-in-education/
Murgatroyd, S. (2018, October 18). Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Online Learning: Challenge and Opportunity [Conference session]. Institute for Performance and Learning Annual Conference: Performance and Learning in the Digital Age (2018). Toronto, ON, Canada. https://performanceandlearning.ca/
Weller, M. (2020, February). 25 Years of Ed Tech. AU Press—Digital Publications. https://read.aupress.ca/projects/25-years-of-ed-tech
Weller, M. (2022, December 12). 25 Years of Ed Tech Blog. 25+ Years of Ed Tech: 2022 – AI Generated Content. https://blog.edtechie.net/assessment/25-years-of-ed-tech-2022-ai-generated-content/