“Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add on, an afterthought or an event” – Heidi – Hayes Jacobs
We are today a part of the 21st century and with everything around us changing at a rather rapid pace, the one thing that probably remained unchanged for quite long as the education sector. In fact, for almost a hundred years, education remained the same. But, as they say, the only thing that remains constant is change; it was destined that the education industry would also change.
With technology cropping into every minuscule part of our lives, students today read from eBooks instead of reading from textbooks, and teachers write on smart boards instead of writing on blackboards. But, is that all that can be defined as the luxuries of education technology? Clearly, EdTech is far so much more than just all this. Sometime back the usage of computers and technology in the field of education started as a mere experiment, however, today this experiment is changing the way people look at education.
Digitization in the field of education does not only mean reformatting textbooks, but it means architecting an entirely new level of opportunities which will open a new spectrum of understanding for the students. Today, the times are such that students look forward to going to school and getting amazed with newer ways of learning the same things in a predefined and structured way.
Today, the broad and limitless world of EdTech has generated the power to create more efficiency, reduce costs and take education to a whole new level of standardization. Let us look at why Education Technology holds so many opportunities in the coming future.
EdTech is cost-effective: Do you know how much the education industry rakes up every year? If one is to look at the market globally people spend almost $4 trillion on education! When you look at traditional education it encompasses much expenditure such as the cost of teaching staff, the rent of the school building, transport and conveyance, amongst many other things. EdTech, on the other hand, has given a chance to lower and reduce all these humungous charges. So rather than carrying loads of books, schools will tell students to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), so that they can save the equipment charges and slash down their IT budgets.
A Hunger to go the EdTech Way: The Asian education system is the biggest in the world which has 600 million students enrolled in schools on a yearly basis. With youngsters these days hogging on to the tech world, there is no denying that anything that introduces and accepts technology will be only more than welcomed by the students as well. The future is here, and it is already getting all the students up to speed with the latest norms of the education sector.
Effective user engagement: There are several types of learners when you talk about student types. There are some who are aural learners and there are some who learn the best verbally. With the advent of technology in the education sector, the use of multimedia and infographics has made learning and teaching more fun and interesting. Including more videos and game-based programs has effectively engaged students and creatively.
Standardized Education: Along with engaging learners in innovative ways, the one major thing that EdTech has bought about is the equality and standardization of the learning process. Today, a student can access education and learn through various formats of online applications and eLearning modules. There is a lot of options available and the more a student learns the more the appetite to learn the EdTech way increases. A student sitting in the US can go through the same content that is available to a student sitting in Japan or India.
Online Tutoring: Technology has probably helped so many students clear their doubts in a more effective and flexible manner. With the advent of technology in the education sector, teaching has evolved completely as well. Now, sitting in a classroom full of students is not the only way of going about things. If a student has trouble understanding certain tough concepts or has some doubts, they can take the benefits of online tutoring for Math, Science, English, etc. anytime, anywhere, online from subject matter experts. Imagine, sitting in America and attending tuition conducted by a tutor in India!
Overall, EdTech has been a journey of reinventing and innovation. The journey of traditional education to that of technology-based education has been an uphill task and one that is yet not complete. From online tutoring going from desktop to mobile and now the introduction of virtual reality, EdTech is transforming at an unprecedented pace. It will take a lot many open minds and spirited like-minded people to take forward the route of EdTech and believe in the plethora of opportunities that it will provide.
Guest article written by: 
Aditya Singhal is the co-founder of CrunchGrade, an online tutoring platform for students. It is his passion and vision to incorporate technology with education to help students not just thrive but excel through e-learning mediums and tools. He had worked with Kurt Salmon Associates, a reputed American Management Consultancy. Reach out to him on Facebook, LinkedIn here!