The exquisiteness of learning is that it holds much scope for adaptability, flexibility and innovation. With technology intervening in all aspects of our lives including learning, the drive for creating accessible paths to quality education has only grown stronger. Undeniably, the future of learning is technology.
One of the upcoming modes of learning promotes “learning by doing” or experiential learning. The fact of the matter is that there is really one way to learn how to do something, and that is by doing it. If you want to learn how to drive a car, design a building, throw a ball, or be a management consultant, you can master these tasks only by ‘doing’ them. History, itself, has witnessed youths who have been apprenticed to masters in order to learn any skill.
The ‘Google age’ has fundamentally changed the paradigms of education and learning. Today, students have unlimited access to knowledge, and educators, previously the ‘knowledge source’, are now merely someone who helps disseminate textual learning.
This shift in the current system was inevitable, as conventional methods were failing to keep up with the changing scenario. The major shortcoming of our mainstream educational system is the lack of practical training and assessment. There is no standardized testing and assessment system through which education providers or even students can assess, evaluate and account the learning capability of an individual. Building a holistic learning environment is the need of the hour; we need to explore new ways of being accountable to progressive ideals in an age of skills-based learning and standardized testing.
When talking about accountability, there is much confusion. It is important to know that in this digital age, we cannot evaluate students with a paper and pen. Our existing learning models need to be upgraded in order to help educators develop better ways of assessing students and school performance.
This can be initiated only through tech based platforms that work on augmenting an individual’s learning experience. Using artificial intelligence and augmented/virtual reality we can add immense value to the learning process.
By tech-enabled platforms we mean learning systems that empower students to self-evaluate and assess themselves, tremendously improving their skill capabilities. For example, learners who are looking to enhance their presentation and communication skills, can upload their videos in a mock-up scenario, which will be automatically compared to expert speaker videos, as well as videos of other students who have answered the same question. Through continuously feedback and comparison with peer/expert videos, inbuilt habits and neural pathways are replaced by new ones, and the learner moves towards acquiring new ingrained capabilities.
This constant cycle of feedback and self-assessment is how learners can augment their learning capabilities. Through well-aligned constructive modes such as through video lectures, ‘live’ classes, games, quizzes and online demonstrations, learners can control their own learning by self-evaluating and manipulating objects to derive and acquire understanding and knowledge. The obvious benefits have led to a growing need for innovative learning concepts and associated enabling technologies, which can support such integration.
Accountability is one of the most powerful tools that will help improve this relationship and establish a more beneficial learning environment for students. Our education system needs to embrace technology that supports new-age learning modes to enhance the learning experience of a student, and eventually build a successful learning environment, that actually works.
The article is contributed by Pratik Marwah- Co-Founder & COO of iAugmentor.
