2020 has shown significant advancements in how Australians can leverage education. Institutions have recognised that the power of digital has forced them to alter business models to align with consumer demands and competitive pressure. Not only does our education need to advance in its curricular capabilities to keep up with technological advancements, institutions also need to ensure their own technology is adaptable to an ever changing environment.

What do we expect to see in 2021 and beyond?

The future of technology in education is evolving. Many of today’s technologies can no longer support the modern K-12 or university experience. Others cannot be optimised, modernised or even transformed appropriately for a modern technology environment. 

“How do we build technology that will support and complement our business needs and capabilities?”

If you’re looking for technology to support your future business need, we recommend looking for solutions that optimise:

• Data Privacy 

Education Technology has become an essential during COVID-19, with students across all walks of life and learning using a range of devices and software to support their learning endeavors. Many state education departments and schools already have guidelines and practices in place in relation to vetting software. However, it’s inevitable that additional software and apps will be used that are often untested or approved. As a result, the privacy of children and young people is left exposed if schools and departments don’t properly consider the risks involved in using these.

• Learning Analytics 

Online learning systems have the ability to capture learner behaviors and leverage the learner data to provide a variety of stakeholders with feedback, like how to increase learner engagement, improve teaching and learning outcomes and enhance educational decision making.

There was a proliferation of online content for 2020 which learners tolerated, but during 2021 organisations should be digging into the effectiveness of online learning and measuring impact to deliver high-quality experiences. These insights can be optimised leveraging learning analytics to measure student satisfaction.

Higher education institutions are beginning to use analytics for improving the services they provide and for increasing student grades and retention. Learning analytics is an important component of new technology you wish to implement as the data will differentiate your educational experience compared to your competitors.

• Implementation Support

Introducing new technology doesn’t always come with an internal champion to support an organisation in its implementation. Ensuring the technology comes with appropriate resources, training, and a customer success manager, will help you implement faster and avoid delays.

EdTech will be evolving faster than ever before

Education is essentially an information industry and is highly impacted by the evolving digital capabilities throughout society, including increasing expectations from students, staff and faculty. COVID-19 accelerated pre-existing education sector trends, such as the adoption of technology in schools and the rollout of infrastructure to enable that technology. Ensure you have planned ahead with new technical adoptions to meet future budget requirements.

According to HolonIQ, digital expenditure as a proportion of overall expenditure in global education and training, will increase to 5.2% by 2025. Education institutions may have acquired new technology to get through virtual learning and converting content online, but these processes put into play will require reiterating for a long-term solution.

The Role of the CIO in Education will increase in responsibilities

According to Gartner, by 2024 25% of traditional enterprise CIOs will be held accountable for digital business operational results. The world will continue to be consumed by the digital vortex and the role of the CIO will take on further organisation-wide responsibilities.

The responsibilities of CIOs in education will only increase, with the growing need to evolve administrative and academic systems to adhere to the learning business strategy that their institution officials seek to move beyond reactive measures and move into proactive strategies that match the current moment.

We hope you found this blog useful! To learn more on education technology subscribe to our newsletter. Crystal Delta is a global software engineering practice specialising in education. Contact us today for more information on how we can support your EdTech journey!