NEW DIGITAL TRENDS

The year 2020 has been a turning point for new learning and development tools. The Coronavirus pandemic has catalyzed global experimentation in remote teaching and will keep bringing these changes for 2021. The enormous growth of technological capacities in the past few years, together with variety of media and learning-support tools are helping teachers and institutions to offer their students the rigorous education they need to thrive.

Four educational trends for the new decade

Some of the following education trends have been around for the past few years, even so, its benefits and implementation have not been as relevant as they are now. One thing all of these four trends have in common is the key role of technology in their implementation.

M learning

Mobile learning, or m-learning, is the educational strategy that takes advantage of digital content through mobile electronic devices, such as tablets or phones. This trend might be confused with E-learning. However, E-learning consists of using electronic technologies as computers to access a digital educational curriculum outside of the classroom, while M-learning can be accessed through multiple devices. The new player m-learning not only differs from e-learning devices but in content and time. The contents of m-learning tend to encourage non-formal learning and typically shorter content and simple task than e-learning. E-learning and m-learning share similar elements that make them a flexible strategy to generate many areas of opportunity.

According to Intuition Global Knowledge Solutions1:

• 70% of learners felt more motivated when on a mobile device as opposed to a desktop.

Gamification

Using games as a teaching tool seeks to encourage self-motivation and self-learning. This type of learning facilitates the internalization of knowledge in a more interactive and creative way, generating a positive experience for the user.

According to EI Design2 “80% of the learners say that their productivity would increase if the learning approach used in their university/ organization is more game-like”.

The key to gamification is the way to reward the user based on the goals achieved. One of the biggest benefits for students from using gamification is the high learning engagement they experience while using. It enables them to obtain a higher recall, retention of knowledge and reinforcement of key concepts. Gamification is a key solution to maintain engagement in online programs which are usually difficult to keep at adequate levels. Once students control the basics of a subject gamification comes to play. It enables them to obtain a higher recall (sticky learning) and reinforcement of key concepts.

User-centric education

User-centric is the strategy of placing the user at the center of the experience throughout the different touchpoints of the learning process.

Also called personalized learning helps to give reinforcement to those who need it and even enables to provide a greater degree of depth to those students who want to investigate beyond the level of the course. The concept is simple, yet complex at the same time: The platform ‘learns’ from the student as he interacts with it and readdresses him to tasks according to his level. Its benefits provide: Acquiring response from student's feedback and their use of the system. To use different alternatives and adapted learning sequences, until the student masters the desired knowledge and to provide students with personalized data-based feedback that allows them to correct their mistakes and learn from experience.

Blended learning

Blended learning follows a methodology that combines asynchronous encounters with face-to-face (synchronous) encounters. In the past years, different models have emerged. In the more self-directed models, teachers change their role to a “tutor” as he stops being a source of knowledge to become a guide. At first glance, this flexibility looks promising, as teachers and schools clearly recognize that the industrial model does not fit our hyper-connected world however placing students in computer rooms by themselves is not the correct path.

How successful will these trends be?

Is it possible we can shift to a hybrid model? We are about to find out.

The use of technology will be gradually implemented in the educational environment as well as in corporations to help and proceed with individualized solutions. To be at the forefront of this new educational landscape, educational institutions and centers should commit significant efforts for the development of innovative technologies and methodologies for learning.

COMLIGO believes that best learning experience for students is achieved when live learning with native qualified Spanish teachers is combined with the latest technologies for education.

COMLIGO learning platform enables students worldwide to learn Spanish with an engaging methodology for online learning, and their learning experience is enhanced with the interactiveness provided by COMLIGO mobile app.

1 O'Donnellan, R. (2019). Mobile Learning: Latest Data, Stats and Trends - Intuition. Retrieved 17 November 2020,

from https://www.intuition.com/mobile-learning-latest-data-stats-and- trends/

2 Pandey, A. (2018). Gamification in eLearning Facts [Blog].