The Future of Technology in Education & Tutoring

Nobody ever could have anticipated that the education system would be turned upside down the way it has the past year. Through the use of technology and Zoom, students across the United States were still able to attend school. There were arguably many limitations with the system that we have right now, and not all present technological software can be in every person’s home due to lack of access.

The concept of Zoom for students can be seen as something that is extremely advanced for this day and age - where students who were normally in elementary or middle school classrooms, could be seen on different screens and still attend classes. Although it has been reported that the majority of students prefer school to be in-person instruction, there are many ways in which schools, pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, are trying to incorporate technology into instruction.

Whatever the preference may be, technology is increasingly being used to improve and personalize learning. Tutoring is a great example of personalized learning, and there are many online tutoring companies that serve students. There are also non-profit organizations like Step Up Tutoring that originated during the COVID-19 crisis, with the goal of providing free services to families who cannot otherwise afford it. 

What’s Happening Now

According to the American University's School of Education, more than 30 million primary and secondary school students use Google education apps. Teachers are on board with this new shift in education as well, where 75% of teachers believe that digital learning content will replace textbooks by 2026.

There are several trends in technology that the School of Education at American University highlights as “creating and improving” education.

Learning Management System (LMS)

• LMS is a type of technological platform that creates and tracks online training initiatives, and where students can access this material uploaded by their teachers remotely. These platforms include Google Classroom and Schoology, where teachers can help input assignments, and other important information at the beginning of the school year. Additionally, it can be used for collaboration or to organize students’ completed work. 

• The app Remind is a great example on how educators can communicate with students and parents on their schoolwork. Remind isn’t just used for schoolwork;  non-profit organizations like Step Up Tutoring have tutors use it to communicate with parents about their student’s progress.

Gamification

• Gamification uses algorithms to create educational games to make a personalized and engaging learning experience for students. Gamification can include software like Khan Academy, which uses interactive games to support their more than 5,000 lessons in various subjects. LAUSD classrooms often use St Math, a PreK-8  instructional program that uses puzzles and games to “build conceptual understanding” for mathematics.

Coding and Robotics

• There are robotics programs and coding initiatives being introduced to school media centers. This allows for teachers to adapt to the curriculum in order to teach these new technological skills.

Smart Classrooms

• Smart classrooms can include things like biometric devices, voice recognition technology, and natural language processing “using sensors and artificial intelligence (AI)”. The goal is to create more personalized and individualized learning experiences.

Looking Forward - The Future Of Science

While we have some new technologies being used in classrooms today, there is research being conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create a learning experience that implements science. Here are some projects that the NSF is currently funding in integrating technology and science in the learning experience.

Games and Simulations

• There are developing projects that involve student group work, where students can be placed into urgent situations and be tasked with solving problems (e.g., making measurements or analyzing data). One example is known as RoomQuake, where a classroom becomes a “scaled-down simulation of an earthquake”, while students take readings on “simulated seismographs” in the room.

Connecting physical and virtual interaction with learning technologies

• This is currently being conducted with the “In Touch With Molecules Project”, where students manipulate a physical model of a given molecule, while simultaneously a camera reads and visualizes the models with scientific phenomena.

Interactive 3D imaging software

3D software is changing what students can do in the classroom, from being able to practice making a motor or building a battery, and working with images like the layers of the earth or human heart. Using 3D imaging software also has the benefit of providing a cost-effective learning approach to providing objects that schools usually cannot afford.

Augmented Reality (AR)

• Although AR is currently in classrooms today, the NSF is investigating how AR can be used to investigate our “context and history”. For example, there are projects being developed for history education using a framework developed for “historical inquiry education”. This is executed through mobile devices complemented with AR to “augment their field experience at a local historical site". AR technology also allows students to look across different time periods and to see and experience the site from “social” perspectives”. 

How Technology Can Help Improve Tutoring

There is still not enough sufficient evidence to determine how effective technology is in improving student outcomes, and much of the research available has been done with college learning environments. A study found that there are benefits to the online learning environment as well, where students who used both tutoring and computer-based instruction had a significantly higher passing in comparison to students who didn’t use both services.

Online Tutoring can create opportunities for students who are from under-resourced communities. For example, Step Up Tutoring provides free tutoring for families with students from Title I schools within the LAUSD school district. 

In LAUSD schools, the average class size is 26 students per class in grades K-3 and more than 30 students per class in grades 4 through 8. Research has shown that class size is “an important determinant of student outcomes and one that can be directly determined by policy.” There are plans in place for LAUSD to increase the number of employees for the upcoming summer and new school year. Nevertheless, there are students who can still benefit from a more personalized learning approach.

The Digital Divide In Education

Although many of these opportunities seem attainable on the surface, reality paints a different picture. There are schools and communities where “access to devices and Internet connectivity” are either unavailable or unaffordable. This is known as the digital divide. 

However, there is promise in closing the digital divide. Last March the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a “resolution to close the digital divide and improve distance and hybrid learning”. Additionally, there has been increased funding through the federal program E-Rate in providing “high-speed wireless access” for U.S. schools and libraries. 

Thankfully, there has been action made by school districts as well. Students who attend LAUSD were able to be given iPads during the pandemic. LAUSD also reached agreements with Verizon to provide “unlimited internet” to students without access. Although these are not permanent fixes to the digital divide, this is a great step forward into achieving digital access for all.

How You Can Help

There are many interesting and innovative programs in development to create better learning environments for students. Due to the pandemic, not all students have access to these in-person opportunities. However, there are opportunities through the use of distance education incorporating things like tutoring.

Step Up Tutoring encourages the use of collaboration in providing assistance with students to complete their homework, through a variety of creative and innovative classroom applications that students have available to them. Step Up’s mission is “to innovate and scale-free online tutoring for families who cannot afford private tutoring”.

Let’s be a part of the EdTech future and combat education inequality together. Sign up to be a virtual volunteer tutor here.