Undoubtedly, 2020 was a tough year for the higher education system. The pandemic affected everybody engaged in schooling, including students, faculty members, and administrators. The circumstances significantly modified the forms of teaching and learning, so students as well as instructors had to follow new rules. The challenges caused by the Coronavirus outbreak set new trends in education. Keep reading and you’ll find out how different the studying process is going to be in 2021.
Artificial Intelligence Adoption
According to the survey conducted in 2019, many educators were skeptical about the implementation of AI. The studies also revealed that only 41% of higher institutions had a clear strategy of applying AI. But the situation is going to change dramatically this year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more education providers start realizing the vital role of technology in education. It has become obvious that AI can make a great impact on the quality of training. Since AI has entered the higher education realm, both instructors and learners benefited from it thanks to the optimization of the academic process and the automation of workflows.
Prevalence of Online Learning
The pandemic made students study in non-traditional settings. In 2020, everyone had to resort to online tools for learning since in-person education became impossible. This enabled people to engage in studying, regardless of time or location constraints.
The opportunity to study online ensures that all students will keep gaining new knowledge and skills in 2021. As reported by Pew Research, nearly 97% of Gen Zers or centennials (people born between 1996 and 2012) use at least one of the major online platforms, which means that online learning is in trend. Thus, the education process is less likely to be interrupted by external circumstances this year.
Bigger Diversity
The switch to online education makes it possible for students to enroll at an institution located in a distant part of the world. What’s more, it gives an opportunity to study for people with extraordinary life circumstances who are not able to attend in-person classes.
It got much easier for institutions to welcome students from different racial and ethnic minorities, so they can guarantee a student population’s heterogeneity in 2021. Because of today’s circumstances, the barriers that inhibit proper diversification were broken.
Mental Health Care
According to the study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, 19.9 million of the 20 million students enrolled in universities in 2019 faced mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, etc. For sure, the fear of getting infected with the Coronavirus or losing loved ones because of the disease affects the overall mental health condition and makes the situation even worse.
Therefore, there is an urgent need in increasing mental health awareness among students. This year, more and more universities are going to offer free mental health screenings that hopefully, will encourage young people to monitor their mental health status.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the creation of novel approaches and programs aimed at boosting psychological knowledge. As a result, 2021 is predicted to be the year of the improved psychological well-being of students.
The Use of Essay Writing Services
Studying in a non-traditional setting may be extremely difficult. Many students complain that it’s almost impossible to complete all the home tasks without going to the library. The home environment is often highly distractive, so it’s hard to focus on the assignments and submit them on time. Luckily, there is a solution making student’s life much easier, which is https://writix.co.uk/ – a leading essay writing service in the UK. Writix helps young people struggling with homeschooling make the most out of their study by delegating some of their assignments to professional writers. Such agencies are definitely a trend of 2021 in the higher education system.
Virtual Reality Incorporation
Virtual Reality is considered a game-changer in the higher education sector. Currently, instructors are looking into ways to adopt VR in pedagogical approaches. It’s been proven that VR technology contributes to the learning engagement and motivation of students. It also enhances exploratory and contextualized learning as well as expands experiential learning opportunities.
The number of institutions that deploy VR is projected to grow rapidly in 2021. It is going to be used primarily in science and medical fields, so even remote students will be able to take part in lab exercises.
Filling the Skills Gap
With the advance of technology, education systems should focus on giving future employees knowledge, skills, and competencies that are in demand in the current labor markets. Hence, in 2021, degree programs and courses will be modified to meet the needs of modern learners and help them keep up with the evolving workforce.
By addressing the needs of students and putting greater emphasis on broadening the variety of their skills, institutions are going to solve the escalating skills crisis. Hopefully, it will help businesses in different industries grow more efficiently.
Author’s Bio
Michael Turner is an academic writer and educational consultant. Michael creates academic works for students who are not able to keep up with their studies. He also takes part in developing curricula for educational initiatives and delivers assistance in managing schools.
Main Photo by Charles DeLoye on Unsplash
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
