6 strategies that use digital connectivity to boost the quality of higher education
We are living through an age when everything around us is receiving a digital makeover, faster than even the speed of a bullet train. We are moving towards a future that puts a great deal of emphasis on collaboration, communication, and innovation, all of which can be achieved through technology.
Amidst widespread process of digitalization, accessibility to the internet plays a crucial role in the sphere of teaching and learning. The Internet now serves as a potent channel of global connectivity that provides endless possibilities to not only gather knowledge about the world but also communicate with the world.
There have been a lot of discussions and experiments in the past decade regarding the potential of a technology-driven system in the education industry like coursework help service. In fact, there have been considerable investments from both public and private sector that went into school funds and related professional development, which has encouraged the incorporation of technology into the process of imparting quality education. In order to enrich the process of teaching and learning in a globalized era, educators need to find credible ways to interweave digital media and technology with the process of higher education.
Now listed below are some strategies, which if integrated appropriately can open up a new vista of opportunities in terms of learning and education.
- Implementation of adaptive learning technology
The adaptive learning technology is still in a nascent stage, similar to where learning analytics technology was a couple of years ago. Although it’s not completely developed, adaptive learning technology definitely comes with the potential to leave a strong influence on how teaching and learning are carried out in the course of the next three to four years.
Adaptive learning technology presents a non-linear system to provide instructions and solutions in higher education, adapting to the student’s interactions and suggested the performance level and ultimately predicted what kinds of content and resources the students need at a certain point in time to make progress. So in simple terms, it is a kind of automated tutor.
- Initiating a Mobile-First approach
In the past, there was a lot of debate on the prevalence of the digital divide, where some students could easily access the digital equipments, while the others were deprived of it. Even though this issue is yet to resolve completely, the situation has improved considerably in the recent years. Coupled with lower costs for hardware and the revolution in mobile computing in the past decade have altered the landscape to a great degree. Mobile computing is a disruptive technology in teaching and learning, and the positive thing is that it will continue to be so in the coming years.
- Accessibility to the global networks that pave the way for knowledge
Initiatives should be taken to provide the learners with a global platform where information is gathered and evaluated. When students participate in these networks, it fosters a clear cross-cultural understanding while discussing various issues that’s been going on around the world. This process of information exchange is possible by combining the information gathered from different cultures and contributing on a global scale in order to enhance the existing knowledge as well as provide new knowledge.
There are many instances of online collaborative efforts that can be mentioned as an example, like The GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) which is organized by NASA. The program is operated in collaboration with the National Science Foundation in 110 countries, and it involves many educators, community leaders, and scientists in compiling and gathering the relevant information internationally about critical environmental issues.
- Enhancing the process of media literacy on a global scale
The digital connectivity allows students to recognize, evaluate, and be acquainted with the media from across the globe, including international news sources that can be accessed in both local languages and English translation. This way the learners are encouraged to build a comprehensive awareness of how and why different people, events, communities, and cultures are depicted in the global mass media and how all this becomes a contributing factor to form different contexts and influence cross-cultural understanding.
Students would find that a single news story has been interpreted in multiple ways by different media organizations. Thus, it defines how the piece of news is perceived by people from different countries.
While pursuing higher education, students can use various foreign media channels while performing research and evaluate the reasons why different sources present the news from different angles as part of their observations.
- Emphasis on the personal opinions behind different issues
Familiarize the students with opinions coming from different parts of the world through digital media channels, such as blog posts, podcasts, and videos as well as dialogue via comment boards, video-conferences, and any number of collaborative technology tools.
Students can connect with the ‘citizen journalist’ reporters on the Internet. These journalists can often be seen either breaking the news about any ongoing incident or commenting on those issues. Students have the scope to evaluate the ways in which the perspectives presented by those journalists are different and/or similar to the media reports Rather than focusing on the opinions of others, students must communicate their own views via a number of youth-to-youth global sites, such as Youth Media Exchange or TakingITGlobal.
- Connecting with the global audience through online publishing
These days, while pursuing higher education, students not only share the vital observations connected to their research through technology adopted within a classroom but also share their knowledge worldwide through a variety of online publishing tools and websites which boasts of a global audience.
Publishing the research is as easy as starting a blog on WordPress or Blogger and other similar programs. For a more advanced set of features, students can consider Oracle Foundation’s ThinkQuest competition for students.
These innovations are estimated to be explored further and are set to challenge many of the primary models that are crucial to the formal education as it is practised in most regions. It will be intriguing to look back on at the end of the year to see which ideas have gained momentum and which new innovation has made its way into the education industry which will help with maintaining global connectivity to boost the quality of learning.
Author Bio: Ava Lee is a guest lecturer in a reputed university in Australia. She has acquired her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Queensland. Previously, she has been associated with Griffith University as a visiting faculty. She has also been a part of academic writing company for three years provides academic writing help to the students.
