In fact, homeschoolers currently make up 3.4% of American school-aged children.Īnd because of the coronavirus pandemic, homeschooling has been an even hotter topic over the past couple of years.īut a lot of homeschooling is still conducted with old-school pen and paper, using workbooks that can be expensive or outdated. Interest in homeschooling in the US has been increasing for years. But makerspaces are often used for tech projects.įor example, students are using littleBits kits to learn programming. They can be used for any creative endeavor, like creating books or art. Unrelated to AR and VR, makerspaces are physical areas of a classroom, school, library, or community center that allow students to build things by hand. And autistic kids can rehearse scenarios they're likely to encounter in the outside world.Īnother type of immersive learning is 'makerspaces'. Students with disabilities can use VR to see things they can't physically access. VR is also assisting special needs students.

And for adults, Interplay Learning lets tradespeople learn skills like HVAC repair and solar panel installation. While Google Expeditions lets classes take virtual field trips to places like Mount Everest and the Louvre. While a real expense for many schools, VR can actually be used to save money on physical equipment.įor example, Danish startup Labster provides interactive VR laboratories that STEM students can run experiments with. Products like Adobe Aero are making it easy for anyone to build AR objects. Using AR, students can see 3D depictions of dinosaurs, chemical elements, the human body and more. One way is by enhancing the visual learning process. Separately, the total value of AR in education is expected to reach $5.3 billion by 2023.īut how can these technologies be used to teach? Cheaper units means that more schools can use them as a standard part of their curriculum. The price of a standalone VR headset is already lower than ever, and expected to drop further to $200 by 2023 (and even lower for mobile-based VR units). And it’s one of the biggest edtech trends happening right now. EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY The 8 Most Interesting EdTech Trends Of 2021Įducation technology has the opportunity to improve learning outcomes for hundreds of millions of children and adults worldwide.īut what are the biggest trends in edtech for 2021? And what’s coming around the corner?Įxtended reality (XR) is an umbrella term for augmented reality, virtual reality, or the combination of related technology with the real environment.

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