Journal 2: So, What’s Next?

  

DUNG, NGUYEN THI KIM

Journal 2: So, What’s next?

Technologies are changing rapidly. As a result, it leads to the changes of learning and teaching in the future. I think that changes will bring both advantages and challenges. When finishing reading the New Media Consortium / Educause New Horizons Report I got many new things and I have new look in applying technology in education in the future.

Nowadays, more and more people expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to. That is the hot trend that will impulse the development of technology with new tools and effective services. I think that is the reason why our teaching will change in the near and far future. To save time optimally, instead of going to school, people tend to learn online. Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning and collaborative models. There is a new emphasis in the classroom on more challenge-based and active learning. Challenge-based learning and similar methods foster more active learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. 

As technologies such as tablets and smartphones now have proven applications in higher education institutions, educators are leveraging these tools, which students already use to connect the curriculum with real life issues. It changes the way people interact and communicate with information as well as their surroundings. We call it “Mobile learning”. I think it is the most popular way for people to learn. Therefore, the way of teaching will be changed to meet with learners’ demands.

With that several trends of technology, I am sure it will create challenges in both teaching and learning. There are some challenges which we both understand and know how to solve. Such as: the gaps between technology and pedagogy. However, there are some difficult challenges that people know but they cannot be solved immediately. That is how to guide learners to narrow down the abundant sea of information on the Internet.

In the future, I think educators will train learners to become creators. In other words, many online courses will be designed for students to discover new things by themselves. The system of education will change too. People around the world can enjoy the same course.