Modernising Education in the Digital Age [Part 2]

Following on from our previous post, this post considers our view on the application of another emerging technology in education, namely Immersive Technologies. To briefly recap the previous article, we believe that the field of education is ripe for a major technological breakthrough. Here are our views on how this may be achieved:

Immersive Technologies

The pandemic has showcased the proof of concept and the consideration of moving to an online classroom environment. University of the Potomac conducted a survey showing that 74% of students learn better in a traditional classroom environment over an online classroom. Common criticisms on the current online classroom model is that it diminishes classroom interactions. As such, this is a scenario in which technology can be used to empower the educational process instead of undermine or replace it. Virtual Reality implementation in education will allow us to emulate the traditional classroom setting with all its nuances in a digital space.

Aside from smoother facilitation, social aspects of such implementation are to be considered: lower administrative costs from schools, reduced carbon footprint from students commuting, time saving on households by avoiding school traffic rushes, lower risk of teachers harming students and vice-versa. Above all, it allows education to be transformed from an activity to a mobile product that can be delivered to rural or dangerous inhabited areas where teachers may be in short supply.

Naturally, there are challenges involved in such implementation: cost of a virtual reality headset by each household, loss of social opportunities offered in school such as shared lunches or playground interactions, distractions from a student’s household hindering the learning experience. All these would need to be factored in the rollout process.

The topic of implementing new technologies in school has been and will be hotly debated in the years to come. With all that has been written, it is important for us to remind ourselves of the role of technology within education. Attempts to disrupt or replace education (MOOCs, LAUSD’s iPad initiative, to name a few) have not yielded promising results in the past. Instead, we should look at any emerging technologies with an objective lens: what works, what doesn’t work and what we can carry forward.

Perhaps it won’t be current technology that changes the face of education, but it may inspire the next thing, which inspires the next thing, which may greatly enhance the teaching experience and the field of education.

Tom Chu is a Data Science Consultant at Deloitte Hong Kong in GMT+8, and co-founder of thinkHER ambition in GMT+1 (BST)