The trends behind today’s digital classroom

The UK boasts around a seventh of the teaching spaces across Western Europe, and continues to lead the way in adopting new and innovative technologies for a better educational experience. As part of our Higher Education 2020 campaign, we’ve broken down some of the major trends in the digital classroom, as well as how these are expected to develop.

Over the years, technology has become an essential part of our everyday lives. We now live in an age where students are far more tech-savvy than their teachers – 40% of students would describe themselves as having “very good” digital literacy, compared to only 23% of teachers1. With rising availability of online entertainment and social media, many educational professionals are waking up to the fact that traditional one-way dialogue is no longer the most effective way for lecturers to connect with the students of today.
We’re seeing a trend towards more mobile devices being used by students to access content, as they become accustomed to consuming media on-the-go and being in constant contact with their peers. In response to this, we’re now seeing teaching spaces responding to this shift by investing heavily in device-agnostic, mobile-friendly, web-based platforms that can be used both in the classroom and for home learning. AV manufacturers are also offering wireless presentation solutions, allowing multiple devices to connect to a central display in the classroom for content sharing and group collaboration.

This increased interest in connected, mobile systems allows for the evolution of the ‘flipped classroom’, where students watch lessons online and spend their classes on collective group learning. Previously, this concept has existed primarily in higher education, but is now increasingly seeing adoption in secondary education due to the availability of compatible AV solutions. These solutions are intuitive for today’s generation, aiding in collaboration and allowing students to easily share their screens with their peers as part of the lectures.

To compliment the increasing uptake of the flipped classroom, we’ve seen the role of video continue to grow beyond its initial role of simply reiterating static content in the classroom. Higher education facilities are now capable of using video to provide feedback, deliver assignments, and share portfolios by encouraging students and staff to stand on both sides of the camera. 90% of education decision-makers believe that video will play a major role in the future of education, while 70% of higher education institutions are already using webcasting systems to extend the impact of content¹.
Today’s digital classroom is increasingly being defined by mobile-friendly, feature-rich solutions as the way students consume content evolves. Manufacturers, integrators and ultimately the end user are continuously learning and adapting as a result of this, providing new, innovative solutions for a better educational experience.

¹The State of Video in Education 2015 (A Kaltura Report, 2015)