The State of Instructional Technology in 2024

The technology scene for educators has morphed extensively over the past decade, leading to changes in educational approaches and new innovations in teaching. From a teachers’ perspective, up to the events of 2020 and the subsequent lockdowns, there had been two general schools of thought: Traditional teacher centered instruction consisting of lecture, reading, and “book work”, and student-centered instruction focusing on project-based learning in groups. There had been other approaches of course, such as a reverse classroom (where students do readings and content study at home then apply it in the classroom) but many of these strategies were untested and rarely pragmatic with the resources and structure of schools and homes. The increase in access to internet and devices is changing that faster in the past 4 years then all the innovations of the past 40 years! The pandemic served as a catalyst for the spread of technology into the educational field like never before!

Consider this: What is the purpose of technology? How do we determine its best use? The truth is that we develop technology to fulfill a need and provide a capability we biologically lack or to efficiency of a task and sometimes that leads to multi-purpose items. Can’t reach the apple high in a tree: Time for a ladder! Have a room full of people spending hours on tedious calculations: Design a computer to crunch the numbers (oh wait, these things can run systems too)! An ancient tribe of early humans would gather around the fire for warmth, but quickly discovered that you could use it to clear vegetation, cook food, or scare off dangerous wildlife. They also discovered it’s a great place to socialize, leading to collaboration, goal setting and culture at large. Fast forward to today and many educators are reassessing what technology can do for education.

Considering the impact of the internet and social media on America’s youth, it may seem, surprising that it took so long for schools and teachers to adjust, but an important thing to note is that, though the internet has been around for a while, much of the software platforms that enable safe and efficient use of the internet in the classroom wasn’t made until the pandemic spurred the tech sector to do so. Now teachers have access to several free or affordable platforms to use in the classroom for engaging and meaningful lessons. These platforms have allowed teachers to implement new teaching strategies.

One area of specific growth has been in gamification and game-based learning. Gamification is essentially turning learning activities into games to engage children and harness competition as an engine for learning. New apps such as Blooket and Gimkit have really brought this concept to a new level, allowing reviews that both primary and secondary students enjoy. Game-based learning is using games as platforms for learning. Games such as Minecraft (which is an older, but still very popular game) to encourage world building using science, social studies, and math leverage technology to challenge children, drive critical thinking, and engage in high level learning as outlined in prominent teaching theory such as Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning. Instead of sitting and listening, the computers and platforms require the student to be an active participant in the learning, which is vital for the current generation of students. Kids today live in a digital world!

Another area of note is in asynchronous learning: A type of learning in which students engage with material on their own, at their own pace and proficiency level. Given the nature of learning during lockdown, the need for student centered instruction ballooned. The tech sector created several new systems to allow teachers to create and share content that students could use on their own. More than just readings, many of these systems require active engagement and provide instant and meaningful feedback to promote growth. There are many teachers now that act as facilitators in the classroom, creating content on these platforms, which allows them to spend more time individually helping students, rather than lecturing or delivering content directly. This has opened new opportunities for differentiation of instruction (a term in education that means personalized instruction to meet the specific needs of a student) and in theory allow the teacher to focus on the children who need the most help, while ensuring that students who excel are properly challenged.

The Private Industry Council is watching these changes and has begun to adjust to allow meaningful use of technology when providing services to our clients. For example, many of our programs are utilizing asynchronous platforms, noting the needs of the people we serve and the fast pace of modern life. We will continue to monitor the newest uses of technology in education and to harness the power of innovation to promote workforce development and human services for the communities we serve!