Tag: Education
Fingent Ranked as a Top Software Development Company in Education for 2022 by Online Degree!
Here’s another feather on our hat!
Fingent ranks amongst the “The Best Software Development Companies In Education – 2022” listed by the leading consumer education website, Online Degree!
This year’s focus is a huge testament to the work done by Fingent to address the most critical development issues that educators and students are currently facing in online and distance learning applications. Fingent’s digital products, learning systems, and custom software solutions for education are more intuitive and user-friendly and help drive better results with technology for educational institutions across the globe.
“With technology in the game, enabling people to quickly grasp concepts is not tough anymore, provided the right technology is implemented correctly. That’s where Fingent comes in! We make technology simple to access so that it can be leveraged to perform and provide the best!”
– Dileep Jacob, Senior Vice President – Global Operations, Fingent.
OnlineDegree.com is an educational platform founded by edtech startup veterans and academics in higher education. The site has appeared in hundreds of media outlets and publications for its work to educate working adults, academic professors, and administrators on various ways to improve the affordability and accessibility of higher education.
Ranking amongst the Best Software Development Companies in Education for 2022 is a big honor for Fingent and a step forward to many more innovations in the field of education. We believe in enabling industries to step into the future with smarter methodologies, renewed visions, and improved capabilities derived from the right technologies. Connect with us today, and learn how Fingent can help drive innovations and take your educational organization to new heights.
Educational institutions were among the most impacted aspects of society when the coronavirus unleashed its hold on the world. Over the course of 18 months schools, colleges, and universities all around the world have faced more than their fair share of problems. No matter how difficult adapting to a completely different mode of teaching and learning is, many institutions faced the challenge head-on, pivoted, and caught up with the rapid change successfully.
In this blog, we will examine the challenges that loomed in front of the admission and college selection process and how rising technologies like VR & AI have helped tremendously in successfully dealing with these challenges.
Read more: The future of Augmented Reality in EdTech!
The Pandemic – A Massive Challenge for Students
Transitioning into the university lifestyle is usually a very significant part of an individual’s life brimming with feelings of anxiety, trepidation, and excitement. Adding into this already complex intersection of negative emotions, the aggressive transmission of COVID-19 has altered the higher education landscape on a colossal scale.
The pandemic created exponential threats to a student’s experience of streamlined higher education. Poor psychological outcomes, increasing levels of social anxiety, inducing feelings of lethargy, and reducing overall academic performance are predicted in the recent college students. To top it all, new applicants are facing the most difficulty deducing if a college is a good fit for them or not without ever entering the campus because of the pandemic restrictions.
Admissions and the College Selection Process During The Pandemic
The pandemic has forced universities and colleges to alter admission policies in recent years. There are constant updates in admission procedures that everyone must be aware of, whether it’s the extension of application deadlines or a change in how the admissions department will be evaluating applications.
1. New Selective Process
Many institutions dropped stereotypical testing methods and canceled extracurricular activities, and admissions counselors have changed how they examine and evaluate applications. Admission staff are encouraging potential students to showcase their caliber, personality, and passions during admission, particularly how they pursued the latter accompanied by a world plagued by COVID-19.
2. Efflux Of Applications
Since most popular universities and colleges decided not to consider SAT/ACT scores, they have faced a surge of applications creating greater diversity in the application pool. This hope is slightly misleading. Theoretically, it may seem as though the students have a good chance at admission, but this does not always translate into reality as these institutions still remain very selective.
3. Prosperity In Medium-Level Institutions
A great number of students who didn’t find acceptance in popular institutions found their hope in Medium-Level Institutions
4. Travel Restrictions
Due to travel restrictions, colleges provided online platforms for applications and even conducted interviews for admission through online mode.
Decrease In College Enrolment and Its Effects
Although universities and colleges have tried their maximum to keep admission procedures streamlined, College enrolment has seen a massive slump due to the pandemic. There is a drop of almost 1 million college students enrolling in higher education since before the pandemic began. Compared with the fall semester before the pandemic in 2019, undergraduate enrolment has dropped a total of 6.6%, representing the largest two-year decrease in more than 50 years. Thousands of students, many from low-income families were forced to delay school or drop out because of the pandemic and the economic crisis it has created.
Health and economic factors play into why hardly any students are enrolling in college during the pandemic and why people are opting for better-paying jobs instead of spending money on college. Given that cost is still the biggest obstacle, it isn’t surprising that prospective students suggest “free college” for a bigger impact on them finishing or returning to college – a very interesting insight that legislators are currently debating on.
The impact of having students not enrolling in college affects their individual earning potentials, as well as the economy of the country. Research shows that getting even a simple post-secondary education can lead to higher wages, lower unemployment, and greater lifetime earnings. Without this, fewer people graduate with the skills, credentials, and degrees required for a higher-paying job, which means unemployment for the student and a lack of a skilled workforce for the community.
Read more: Answering the top burning questions on AI implementation for businesses!
The Timely Rise Of VR & AI
“Change is inevitable and the disruption it causes often brings about new opportunities.”
Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial intelligence (AI) are two cutting-edge technologies on the rise today. Their practicality has been proven in a number of fields and in the midst of the pandemic, these technologies grow greater.
Higher education administrative processes have started using AI to recruit, admit and enroll students. It acts as a powerful instrument in nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in universities and it can accurately estimate demand, which means it can predict with precision how many applications to accept to achieve prime enrolment numbers.
Here are a few ways how AI helps:
- AI-backed software scores an applicant against a set of significant factors based on past applicants and builds software for higher education. This is comparatively easier and faster than admission officers assessing each and every application on their own.
- AI eliminates situations where an admissions officer might know an applicant and be biased, robotically flagging a personal connection that exists between two parties.
- AI can customize, speed up and personalize the admissions process for intercontinental students, including visa processing, housing selection, and course registration.
- AI has the latent to create interventions for students suffering from homesickness or social isolation and is thereby an important tool for student welfare, ultimately attracting more student applications.
#1. How Fingent Utilized AI-enabled Chatbots To Create Enhanced & Engaging Learning Experiences
Fingent helped the University of North Carolina develop an AI-driven ecosystem powered by IBM Watson that facilitates students to interact with an AI-enabled Teaching Assistant(AiTA). Multiple Chatbots are set up to manage a wide range of student inquiries. Also, important documents and teaching materials are uploaded with keyword and tag searches to make them easily accessible. The environment enables to create a healthy student-teacher relationship, instruct and engage students effectively, and improve students learning experiences.
Virtual Reality on the other plays a major role in providing a mode for students to experience the campus without even stepping into the college or university with Virtual Reality Campus Tours. At Fingent, we were able to capitalize on this for our clients. By applying the latest mobile technology and 360-degree panoramic video abilities, we helped build apps that swiftly connect students with campuses of their choice through their mobiles, reforming and simplifying the complete search process. Deploying Virtual Reality to innovate campus visits is also helping increase admission rates from underprivileged areas of the country, allowing students to seamlessly find the right courses and campuses from anywhere!
Here are a few ways how VR helps:
- A VR package allows overseas students to get a sense of what the community and campus are like.
- It creates a high-quality image of the college and by using cost-effective devices like Google Cardboard, keeping costs in check becomes a less daunting task.
- With the help of VR, you can give enrolled students (who have not already seen the campus) a more profound sense of campus life and community. The idea is to charm them to make time for an in-person campus tour.
#2. More On Gear Up – Deploying VR For Campus Visits
GEAR UP is a virtual reality-based app that helps high school students experience a college campus through Virtual Reality and 360 Video. GEAR UP creates direct connections to college campuses and curates the college choice process. It empowers individual exploration and is completely free to download, making it easily accessible. It invites students to explore colleges and focuses more on first-generation students. The Introductory videos are anticipated to assist students in finding a suitable college to fit their interests and give them a sense of where they might want to attend. GERA UP is created as an initiation to help increase the number of students from low-income backgrounds who seek to obtain a secondary or post-secondary education.
College admissions, learning experiences, and in a way, the entire education industry is on the brim of a massive revolution. Deploying technology seems like the only way to tackle the ever-growing challenges and adapt to the fast-evolving world. It’s time now to step into digital transformation. Connect with us today and partner with one of the leading custom software development and technology consulting companies!
In simple terms, EdTech is the practice of leveraging IT tools and technology into the classroom to create an inclusive, more engaging, and personalized learning experience. As per industry research, EdTech is expected to reach $680.1 billion by 2027, growing annually at the rate of 17.9%.
Many EdTech companies are digitizing college and competitive learning. These companies have realized how AR acts as a value-added service and improves engagement. By 2023, Augmented Reality is expected to surpass $5.3 billion opening doors to several opportunities for educational institutions and businesses.
How AR works in education?
AR improves the real-world environment with text, sound effects, graphics, and multimedia. Simply put, it improves our immediate surroundings by layering digital content on top of the graphic representation of the real world. AR includes 25% digital reality and 75% existing reality. It means, AR does not replace your environment with the virtual but it integrates virtual objects into the real world.
Owing to the increased attention span among students and the ability to deliver varied information engagingly, teachers are vouching for the use of AR in classrooms. Going ahead, AR stands to benefit students by inducing a problem-solving attitude, delivering learning gains, providing motivation, improving cognitive skills, enhancing interaction, and enabling collaboration. This results in a positive attitude among students making the investment in AR worth it.
Let’s consider a situation wherein a history lesson, students are being taken through a module on Egypt to understand how the pyramids were built. Digital projections and visualization using AR can have a lasting impact on students that will not only help them learn these concepts but will also help them retain them and avail answers related to them, in their exams. Simply put, AR technology can provide limitless possibilities for students and teachers alike.
Read more: Impact Of Augmented Reality In Education Industry
Benefits of AR in education
Augmented Reality offers several perks in the education sector.
1. Easy access to learning materials
AR helps replace textbooks, physical forms, and printed brochures thereby reducing the cost of learning materials. Augmented Reality makes it easy for everyone to access the material from anywhere.
2. An immersive and effective learning system
Augmented Reality helps students gain knowledge through compelling visuals and immersive content. Additionally, speech technology provides students comprehensive details about a topic in a voice format thereby engaging them. Simply put, AR in education targets a major information-gathering sense in humans.
3. Encourage students and spruce up their interest
AR makes learning interesting, effortless and improves collaboration and capabilities. Additionally, it ensures the classes are less tiring by providing opportunities to implement hands-on learning approaches that can increase engagement, improve the learning experience and help students learn and practice new skills.
4. Memory
Augmented Reality helps bring lessons to life and helps students remember essential details. For example, a teacher can use AR technology to create memorable interactive uses instead of presenting photographs on a projector showcasing life in Colonial America.
5. Cost-effective
While the cost of AR equipment is often cited as a barrier to adoption, most smartphones today are equipped with the hardware needed to run AR apps. AR can lower educational costs by replacing expensive textbooks thereby making them easy to implement.
While AR offers several benefits, some common reasons cited for the slow adoption of the technology in the field of education are;
- Lack of funding
- Bulky AR equipment
- Concerns over AR educational content and its academic value
Read more: E-Learning Taking A New Front: How Can LMS Technology
Use cases of AR in education
Here are the most prominent case uses of AR in the education sector.
- Star Chart is a notable example of AR in education for astronomy students. The app highlights the constellation on the screen when students point their devices at the sky and provides them with a detailed description of the constellation. The app includes information of over 12,000 stars and 88 constellations.
- Complete anatomy is a cross-platform app developed for med students and physicians. The app provides students with over 17,000 human body structures as 3D models. Students can interact with each of them conventionally as well as by projecting body parts on a flat surface.
- The JigSpace app can be a useful AR tool for both education as well as business fields. It helps you create a project demo in a short time. The app allows you to upload 3D models, place them on slides and adjust them according to your needs before presenting them to the audience.
Ways in which AR can be incorporated in the education sector
1. Augmented classrooms
Marker-based AR apps are a popular way of incorporating AR into the conventional classroom. Students can simply scan their textbooks and the app will provide them with illustrations on complicated theoretical explanations. Students can experience first-hand the principles of a subject in a highly fun-filled and interactive way. With AR, the quality of training in critical subjects like science, maths, technology, and engineering could improve vastly.
2. Augmented homework
With AR, teachers can assign students worksheets such that they can explore educational concepts at their own pace and from the comforts of their homes. For example, if the students are unable to crack the answers given in the worksheet, they can simply scan the worksheet with an AR-based app and get pointers towards the right answer.
Dispelling common myths about AR
1. AR is too futuristic
While AR has gained rapid growth in recent years, the term was first coined 25 years ago by Boeing researcher Thomas Caudell. Though many people may not be aware of AR, it is all around us. Interestingly, we don’t need to be technically oriented to experience AR. For instance, say you are watching the live broadcast of a swimming championship. The banners you see with the winners’ names floating on the water surface are nothing but AR.
Simply put, Augmented Reality offers unlimited opportunities and it can be used in many ways to create incredible audience engagement.
2. AR is highly expensive
On the contrary, AR can be cost-efficient compared to other media solutions. Often, in this industry, low price implies low quality especially if it is custom-made. However, in most cases, it could be a one-time investment and the returns can be far higher than what you expect. AR can help achieve a higher level of crowd engagement that is not possible using traditional forms of advertising.
3. AR is difficult to use
Previously, special headsets and programs were required to use AR. However, today, it is not the case. Technology has advanced and users can experience AR by simply pointing their phone’s camera at the source material. They can experience AR with a simple click!
Watch video: Augmented Reality in Education | Transforming Learning Experience
Conclusion
With advances in mobile technologies and hardware, Augmented Reality is becoming a more accessible and widely used technology. As it can be seen, AR has huge potential in the education sector and it is the right time to invest in it.
To get the most out of AR and a comprehensive strategy for your education business, feel free to contact us.
How Technology is Transforming Classroom Learning
There’s no denying that technology has completely transformed the way we live and steadily it is becoming more and more predominant in the classroom as well. From improving the communication between teachers and students to enhancing presentations and lessons, to organizing curriculum calendars, there is no limit to the ways to use technology in classrooms to set up a successful life for students outside of school.
Today, many educational institutions are offering courses that no longer need students to study in a traditional classroom. 92% of teachers said that the internet has a significant impact on a student’s ability to access resources, content, and materials, according to the Pew Research Center.
Benefits of using technology in the classroom
Here are a few advantages of using technology in classrooms.
1. Improves collaboration
Many technology-based tasks involve aspects that require students to seek help from their friends or teachers. Teachers have observed that when students are assigned to tasks, the students who are more technologically advanced assist those who are not.
2. Incorporates different learning styles
Each child is different and it can be challenging to adjust a study plan to fit every student in the classroom. Thanks to technology in education, it is possible to modify the lessons. For instance, kids who might want to draw during the class can create an infographic to demonstrate their capabilities and understanding of the concept which a teacher might not have previously seen or assessed.
3. Creates an engaging environment
While most people consider technology to be just a distraction, it is not so. When used correctly, it can help encourage active participation in the classroom. Using laptops, computers, tablets, etc., in the classroom can help bring more interaction and fun into learning, thus making lessons more interesting.
Read more: Impact Of Augmented Reality In Education Industry
4. Students learn essential skills
Using technology in classrooms, students can gain the knowledge and skills essential for problem-solving, critical thinking, collaborating with others, and improving motivation and productivity. Technology can also help develop several practical skills such as creating presentations, writing emails, learning proper online etiquette, and understanding the difference between reliable and unreliable sources on the internet. These skills are very important and prepare the students for the future.
How to use technology in the classroom?
While traditional classroom learning is still prevalent, many educational institutions are willing to embrace technology. Here are nine creative ideas to use technology in classrooms to enhance learning.
1. Schedule your online classes
Google Calendar allows you to create and share a class calendar that will keep the students informed about the class, duration, announcements, and important dates. Teachers can easily email the class calendar link to the students. This will help both the teachers as well as the students to stay organized and come prepared for each class.
2. Use virtual manipulatives
While there are manipulatives such as blocks, ten blocks, coins, and tangrams to visualize mathematical concepts, virtual manipulatives are more effective.
Virtual manipulatives help students to comprehend complex concepts. So, incorporating virtual manipulatives in classrooms is not just going to benefit the students but also appealing to hands-on-learners.
3. Digital field tours
One of the popular and cost-effective ways to use technology in classrooms is to take digital field tours. Apps such as Google Streetview allow you to virtually explore parks, forests, and even national and international landmarks from the comforts of the classroom. For instance, a virtual tour of the Grand Canyon can help students learn about the location or the subject and help them learn beyond books.
4. Use Social Media
Much of our time is spent on social media today. So integrating social media into the classroom is a great way to use technology in classrooms. For example, creating a WhatsApp or Facebook Group for a particular class allow students to post discussion topics. You can even consider developing interesting Twitter hashtags students can use to discuss lessons or ask questions.
5. Create digital content
Digital content related to what students are learning helps them display their individual creativity as well as showcase learning. Provide options like blogs, videos, eBooks, podcasts, flyers, or other digital means that will help students to express themselves.
6. Gamified learning
Make learning fun by incorporating gamified learning. Simply create a virtual scavenger hunt by giving the students a list of questions for students to search and find the correct answers. You can even consider forming groups or pairs of students to encourage teamwork and collaboration.
7. Include videos
Videos help students remember important concepts longer than reading. Teachers can record videos such as whiteboard explainers, peer presentations, classroom activities, etc., and share it with the class via Google Classroom, YouTube, or Gdrive.
Videos will help visual learners to learn at their own pace. Also, videos will help establish a better connection between teachers and students while comprehending clarity.
8. Podcasts
Motivational podcasts, interviews, and online courses can aid the teaching process in the long run.
Some examples of podcasts that teachers can include in the classroom are;
- Podcasts blogs
- Lectures from other teachers
- Researches on academic topics
Teachers can take it to the next level by asking the students to create their podcasts.
9. Multimedia lessons and presentations
By incorporating visual effects, music, videos in the presentations, they can be made more enriching for students. Teachers can consider inviting virtual guest speakers via Skype, Google Hangouts, and Facetime to engage their class during the slideshow or digital presentations. This will boost engagement with lessons.
Some of the future trends in the education industry
1. Student-centered learning
The future of education will be student-centric learning. Teachers need to adopt personalized teaching and learning practices. Flexibility in learning will result in imparting quality education to students. Flexible learning patterns will gain prominence in future classrooms.
2. Edutainment
The concept of blending learning with entertainment is opening the doors to thinking forward. Technology can be used to focus on slide shows and online videos. Technology innovations like Augmented Reality (AR) are already replacing pens and chalk pieces in the field of education and will bring about significant changes soon. A study conducted by the University of Georgia has shown that the introduction of AR makes 72% of the students more likely to participate in classes. Building such participation is a critical aspect of education.
Media learning is helping students to hone their creative skills and stay in touch with educational events that are happening across the globe. Videos, educational podcasts, simulations, and recorded audio-visual lessons are trends that transform traditional classroom learning and teaching.
3. Adaptive learning
The adaptive learning curriculum is personalized learning that allows students to work on instant feedback given by their teachers and improves student engagement.
In the future, students will be categorized and trained based on their inherent strengths and capabilities. Appropriate learning tools can be recommended to reveal students’ budding talents and bring them to the fore. The adaptive learning pattern will not only keep the fundamental interests in mind but also the individual needs of the students.
Fingent helps schools, universities, colleges, educational institutions, NGOs, and training centers to develop customized LMS platforms that come with aptitude-based smart learning tools. This makes sure that you can have a more interactive learning atmosphere. Customized LMS allows you to cultivate more transparency and communication between the instructor and the learner, which works to improve performance significantly.
Read more: E-Learning Taking A New Front: How Can LMS Technology Help
Integrating technology into the classroom allows more effective communication between the teachers and students. It empowers students to take responsibility for their learning by participating in projects and learning activities, giving feedback on lessons, and understand how to use technology in classrooms creatively and safely. Get in touch with our custom software development experts today and know how we can help you bring technology in classrooms more effectively.
How Is Augmented Reality Revolutionizing Education Industry?
Augmented reality is the latest breakthrough technology in the digital space. It has been almost half a century from when the concept of Augmented Reality first appeared in 1968, and as Augmented Reality (AR) is penetrating deeper, its uses continue to increase.
By 2022, worldwide shipments of smart glasses are estimated to reach 32.7 million units. And by 2025, the global augmented reality market is anticipated to grow noticeably to about 198 billion U.S. dollars. With such significant growth, it makes sense to consider how AR can benefit our daily lives. In this blog, we will discuss its impact on the education sector in particular. Let’s begin by understanding what AR is.
Read More:
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality is the bridge that connects the real world with the virtual world. Its popularity is growing rapidly in every industry from social media filters to surgical procedures. As the word augment suggests, AR enhances what we hear, see and feel. It has categories based on various technologies. Some of those categories are marker-based AR, markerless AR, projection-based AR, and superimposed AR. This makes AR useful for various industries.
There are various industries such as public safety, tourism services, entertainment and so on that are leveraging AR. For example, AR aids the automotive industry by assisting with various parameters such as navigation and speed. It helps people not to lose focus while driving because the application can be projected from a console on the glass which only the driver can see. In Healthcare, there are numerous AR applications that support the video platform and can project augmented hands on the patient. Wherever the surgery is taking place, a senior surgeon can guide a beginner in his surgery.
With many more industries benefiting from AR, let’s see how the education industry is revolutionizing with AR.
The Role of Augmented Reality in Education
AR is set to revamp the world’s conventional learning model. It can bring about a positive change in the location and timing of classes and make learning more engaging. Today’s learning process is becoming much more tuned to bring in the elements of interaction and creativity. By providing visual representations, AR helps students acquire, process, and remember information. Thereby, it helps them to test out their knowledge in practice.
AR technology has also helped students to learn and understand their surroundings. The British Museum has already begun using AR technology to help students understand certain displays. It has proved useful in providing students practical knowledge of subjects such as math or science. Let us look into a few more benefits of AR in the educational sector.
1. Edutainment versus Education
AR makes lessons fun learning. Today’s generation is not a chalk and board generation. Studies reveal that students are easily bored with standardized methods of teaching. The reality is that students tend to remember what they see more than what they learn by rote. AR takes them to the next level by helping them not just to see, but also experience and participate. As a result, AR delivers a positive impact on the students by giving them edutainment.
2. Simplify Complex subjects and Exemplify Abstract Concepts
AR breathes life into complex subjects that students are expected to learn. It can bring added creativity, interactivity and engagement to complex and abstract subjects. It simplifies the learning process. Both the teachers and the students likewise can thus take control of the educational process through AR.
Each student’s level of understanding and the pace of learning differs. Certain AR apps allow you to create personalized learning materials. Such apps allow the tutor to create content for the individual needs of each student. This way, students will get to learn complex subjects quickly and easily.
3. AR-Enabled homework
AR can also help students do their assignments and homework better. The fact that today’s generation is tech-savvy can be harnessed to promote education in a way that will appeal to the students.
AR emphasizes important concepts. By making images and information “pop out” of a textbook, AR can break the boundaries of textbook learning, which has been sidelined as boring and tedious and make it interactive and absorbing.
4. Use what they already have
According to the Pew Research Center, 95% of teenagers have access to smartphones. It makes sense to use this to their advantage in education as well. Neither parents nor teachers have to spend extra dollars on buying gadgets for AR learning. The AR app on an existing smartphone is all that is required for interactive learning.
5. Practical Knowledge at AR Labs
For various reasons, schools may choose to limit the scope of practical demonstrations. This is another fact that will change through the use of AR technology. With AR, students can perform practical experiments without the need of the physical lab. This is extremely helpful for professional courses. Students can also gain knowledge about safety procedures and potential hazards in the lab.
Augmented Reality is the Real Future of Education
According to a survey on the impact of interactive technology on marketing students, it is said that 87% were likely to attend the class, 72% were likely to participate and 70% students said that they improved their understanding of specific concepts. If this is true with interactive technology, how much more of an impact would AR have on the student’s attendance, participation, and understanding?
The children of millennials who are born between 2010 and 2025 are called Generation Alpha, which is considered the most technology-infused. AR education is poised to be the norm rather than the exception. According to the forecast, the AR market is expected to reach $60.55 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 40.29%. Undeniably, AR is the real future of education.
Watch more on how Augmented Reality is creating an impact on the Education Industry.
This video is made using InVideo.io
Fingent is on a go, to revolutionize education sectors with AR technology. With various education application platforms, Fingent is already helping organizations create effective collaboration between students and teachers. To know more about how Fingent can help you provide an effective and efficient learning ecosystem with emerging and trending technologies, get in touch with our experts today!
Impact of Blockchain On Education.
Through its tenets of decentralization, transparency, and security, Blockchain has created a new type of internet. It has radicalized the way transactions occur and continues to make great strides in virtually every industry imaginable. Although best known for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, the scope of Blockchain technology doesn’t end there by any means. It has found application in Finance, Healthcare, Real Estate, and many more industries.
Related Reading: Check out these digital innovations that can help you conquer business competitions of 2020.
In this blog, we will discuss how blockchain technology can have a significant impact on Education.
What Is Blockchain And How Is It Creating an Impact?
The word blockchain comes from the core principles of this technology, where secure blocks of data are bound together in chains using cryptographic principles. The record or ledger of data is time-stamped and immutable and is managed not by a single authority but by a cluster of computers. This enables a verifiable and decentralized record of transactions between two people.
What makes blockchain unstoppable is that this record is public and distributed between many computers called nodes. This allows for validation of the data from all the computers in the network, making it open and transparent, at the same time ensuring that no single entity controls the flow of information or transactions. A vital aspect of this information flow is that digital information can never be copied, only distributed. This makes the blockchain technology a fortified channel for information flow.
Let us look at a few reasons why blockchain technology is becoming one of the most impactful technologies today.
1. Unmatched Security
Transaction verification is one of the key aspects of blockchain technology. A transaction must be requested through a wallet and sent to all the computers in a blockchain network. Each of these nodes or computers must verify the transaction against a set of predetermined rules in that network. The information is then stored in a block and encrypted with a hash. Once this hash is verified by the nodes, the information stored in that block is permanent, immutable and secure. Any alterations to the data by hackers ultimately alter the hash and the entire chain of transactions linked to the hash. This means that the information cannot be altered or misused by anyone. Another added layer of security is Public-key cryptography, where there are two keys – a public key, which others can know and a private key exclusively for the owner. This way every transaction is secure and critical information required by financial services, governments, and other entities are protected.
2. Better Transparency
Blockchain technology makes transaction histories transparent. Being a type of distributed ledger, the nature of the blockchain technology permits changes to be made only through the consensus of all network participants who share the same documentation. Even a single change in the transaction record would mean that all subsequent records will have to be altered. The change will also require the collusion of everyone in the network and that means everyone is aware of any change. This ensures transparency and places a high level of accountability for everyone who handles the document. The transaction history also provides an audit trail of where the information originated from, and every instance of when transactions occurred and changes were made. This helps in ensuring the authenticity of the assets and prevention of fraud.
3. Increased Cost and Time Efficiencies
One of the main reasons for time and cost efficiencies with blockchain is that it cuts out the need for third-party mediation. Instead of relying on third-party intermediaries for verification and the movement of information, blockchain uses cryptology to enable direct transactions between two parties. Proving the authenticity of ownership of an asset is done through the blockchain and the nodes in the network instead of the time-consuming process of knocking on the doors of central authorities or other intermediaries. Recordkeeping through a single ledger also cuts out the clutter of error-prone manual processes, thereby saving time and money.
Related Reading: Read on to know how Blockchain is reshaping the supply chain industry.
Blockchain Revolutionizes Education
As discussed, security, transparency and time and cost efficiencies are some of the reasons why blockchain has found application across industries. In the words of Don and Alex Tapscott, authors of Blockchain Revolution (2016): “The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”
Now let’s see how this applies in the field of education.
1. Student E-portfolio
The importance of credentialing in the field of education has become more apparent in this day and age where holding a degree just doesn’t cut it anymore. Employers want to see evidence of what the student is capable of outside academic goals like is obtaining a degree. Speaking about the need for universities to keep up with this demand, David Schejbal, the Vice President and Chief of Digital Learning of Marquette University, says: “What we really need is a broad set of credentials that are able to provide the kind of just-in-time learning that many folks need throughout their lives. We need transcripts that reflect transcripts that help students document in some verifiable way, what they’ve demonstrated they can do.”
Blockchain makes this possible by providing secure and verified credentialing and record keeping of student information. This is provided as a model where all of a student’s competency indicators are collected and shared securely. These indicators will include badges, certificates, letters of recommendations, citations and other details which add to the credentials of a student.
The Ledger Project is an interesting concept that looks ahead at a revolutionized education system in the year 2026. In this scenario, all your learning credentials are tracked on “Edublocks” through blockchain technology. This will help employers match their exact needs with the right student candidate and also help students obtain scholarships and funding for their education.
Blockchain is finding a practical use in this context, even today as major players like Sony Global Education with its use of blockchain to securely share student records and MIT with an open standard for verifiable digital records.
2. Cost Savings on Courseware and Research material
Another area where blockchain can be useful in education is in making courseware accessible and affordable. One way is in cutting out intermediary fees in the purchase of software. EBooks, for example, can be fitted with blockchain code and shared through the network. This will eliminate the fees charged by portals like Amazon and credit card fees. The books could be accessed straight from the authors themselves. This would mean major savings for both students and authors. Video tutorials and much more can be accessed this way.
3. Copyright And Digital Rights Protection
The unmatched security provided by Blockchain is an asset when it comes to protecting intellectual property. WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) passed a record-breaking filing mark in 2018 with 253,000 patent applications. This was an increase of 3.9% in 2017. The amount of intellectual property being created is extraordinary and many researchers, academics and students are contributing to the innovation pool daily. Blockchain will help them create, share and control their intellectual property in the way that they want. San Jose State University is an example of how blockchain is being used to create “community content repositories”. With its Library 2.0 movement, the university is enabling effective curation of digital contents and protection of digital rights.
Related Reading: Check out how Fingent helped a non-profit organization digitize the education system.
There are many other ways in which blockchain technology is influencing the Education sector. Reach out to us and find out how this can be leveraged for your company.
Learning Management System or LMS has been a powerful tool used in the Human Resource (HR) and Learning & Development (L&D) departments since decades. This digital system that administers, documents, tracks, and reports activity of each employee grew phenomenally with over ten-billion-dollar of industry spends. Although such learning management content system plays a vital role in updating the employees, the system is touted to be the downfall. The question is whether LMS is really fading into obscurity or is there more than meets the eye.
Where Does the Problem Lie?
LMS is a total desktop solution that offers not just e-learning solution, but even manage enrollments, instructor-led training, offer classroom resources and keep track of individual performances as per compliances. After the digital boom, LMS systems stayed their course and the rest of the world evolved around them. The underlying problem was that the system got rigid while the learning ecosystem changed completely.
Need to Rehash
With every changing trend, Learning Management System will have to adapt and modify to ensure that it doesn’t go out of the window. The lack of integration and less degree of customization options has until now hampered the growth of LMS market. The idea is to consider the dramatic changes that have occurred and create an innovative, future-proof LMS.
How to Update?
LMS should be no more limited to a desktop and should be provided on multiple devices for better accessibility. This includes seamless learning via a smartphone, laptop, and tablet in addition to the desktop. The option to provide a mobile learning experience with short, manageable lessons will increase engagement. Another idea to proactively change is adding a customized system that offers a personal touch with respect to the learner’s need. Gamification of the entire content also helps in providing a better learning experience for the learners.
There are a lot of data generated via LMS that should be used to devise better strategies by the L&D department. The design of LMS should not be daunting and should have a user-friendly UI that motivates them to learn more. A well-planned design enhanced an automatic workflow is a perfect way to improve productivity, efficiency, and engage the employees to get involved. Adding some lucrative tools that are ancillary to the cause of LMS can add some weight to its worth. Also, as per its name, learning content management system should not just focus on providing learning experience but also offer all-around learning management.
How Will Learning Management System Benefit From This Change?
With cloud-based LMS’s on the rise and change in various tools that rehash the system completely, the growth of the LMS market is evident. The many advantages that it will offer are easy use, cost-efficiency, accessibility, flexibility, multi-platform support, and personalization for a successful L&D strategy.
The Future is Bright
According to a new research by Zion Market Research, LMS market is growing at a steady rate and is valued at around USD 5.19 billion in 2016 with the scope of reaching USD 19.05 billion in 2022 with a CAGR of almost 24%. The major factor for such a prediction is the requirement of information and high-quality education to stay in the market. Learning Management System that evolves with time and offers cost-effective learning in an efficient way can do very well.
With growing trend, everything is replaced or changed and Learning Management System is no different. But continuous evolution and significant changes that will connect and engage all types of users is a definite way of keeping the employees sharp. We offer such powerful e-learning tools that will enhance the scope of your company and provide an incredible way to educate your staff.
According to Mashable, Australian schools from now on, are going to replace History and Geography with coding as per their new digital technologies curriculum. As reported by The Australian, this new curriculum ensures that 21st-century coding is taught in primary schools from year 5 and programming is taught from year 7. This is as part of Australia’s new move to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects at a primary level. Education minister Christopher Pyne made this last act right before he became Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.
Pyne said, “High-quality school STEM education is critically important for Australia’s productivity and economy well-being, both now and into the future.”
He also talked about the need to train teachers for this new approach in teaching. Earlier this year, he had mentioned the need to strengthen the country’s skills in science, technology, engineering and maths and also digital skills that are essential for the technology-oriented environment in this 21st century as well.
For this purpose, the Government of Australia will be putting in 12 million Australian dollars into four separate STEM areas. That is, computer coding introduction, innovative maths curriculum development, a site for a P-Tech styled pilot school and summer schools that provide funds for underrepresented students in STEM. Christopher Pyne said, “We know that as computer-driven smart-technology expands into every aspect of our recreational and working lives, there is an ever-growing need for highly skilled workers in this global growth industry. All children will need to understand is computational thinking and how it can contribute to their future.”
Similar successful programs have been run by the United States and the UK as well, both of which had been quite successful. For example, Code.org and “Hour of code” which were implemented in the United States with the help of Google and Microsoft. The UK introduced its curriculum last year. Following their path, the Australian Govt. also seeks to equip its children with the necessary skills to work in a technology-filled world.
Estimates say that up to 75% of the rapidly growing occupations in Australia, are most likely to require excellent skills in Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths, that is the STEM subjects. Such being the importance of technology education, it seems like the right thing to do for Australia. As a matter of fact, it is actually high time that they implemented this concept because, this has been on discussions for quite some time now, especially among Australia’s top technology executives such as Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes. He said, “Technology education in primary and high school is going to be one of our biggest fails as a country in 20 years time if we don’t fix it and it may already be too late if we don’t move very fast.
If you look at what other countries are doing, we’re miles and miles behind and I think it’s as critical as Maths or English to every single job that’s going to be done in the economy in 20 years time and education takes a long time to flow through.”
With all this, it seems like the world is slowly coming to terms with the fact that technology is not only here to stay, but is bound to improve and that technological disruption is not really a choice, but a way of life. As children get introduced to technology at their young age, they get the chance to adapt themselves to it and will also be skilled enough to survive as technology takes over most industries. With the theoretical knowledge, they will also learn practical side of the Science, Maths and everything in their curriculum that makes technology possible, and thus have a basic understanding of how things work.
Even though this concept has been approved by most people, their Prime Minister, Tony Abbott was not quite supportive of it. He said that he didn’t see the point in teaching primary school children coding and programming.