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  • Education /

Modern Education: A Significant Leap Forward

dulingo

  • Updated on  
  • Nov 25, 2022

Modern Education

The advancement of human civilization is significantly influenced by education . Since the beginning of time, the way that people learn has changed significantly over time and continues to do so as a result of developing technology. However, thanks to the internet and other digital technology, online learning environments are becoming more popular than traditional classrooms. The spatial restriction of a physical classroom has been entirely eliminated by the current educational system, benefiting a wide variety of pupils simultaneously throughout the world. We shall shed some light and talk about Modern Education in this blog.

This Blog Includes:

What is modern education, traditional education vs. modern education, which one is better, need for modern education, what is the purpose of modern education, modern education in india, traditional education and modern education, traditional education: tried and tested, modern education: a welcome change, the wheel of modern education, smart education: the advent of online learning, grading & assessment in modern education, the three main ingredients for effective modern education, modern education: a sample study, why finland’s schools outperform most others across the developed world, benefits of modern education, disadvantages of the modern education system, challenges faced by modern education system, modern education speech.

Modern Education is the latest and contemporary version of education that is taught in schools and learning institutions in the 21st century. Modern education doesn’t just only focus on prominent academic disciplines of Commerce, Science and Arts but also aims to foster critical thinking, life skills, value education, analytical skills and decision-making skills in students. Modern Education also makes use of the latest technology such as mobile applications, audio and video platforms like YouTube, Podcasts, E-books, Movies, etc. to educate learners and make the learning process more engaging and interesting.

We have all been educated in a teacher-centric classroom, a system where the teacher is in upfront and the students are seated in nice neat rows, listening to the lecture and taking notes. This system has been, and to some extent, still forms the core of our education system. Schools have relied on it for decades, and have only recently undergone major changes. Living in the 21st century, technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives. None of us can deny that it has brought about nothing short of an overhaul of our world, and more importantly of our educational system. From chalkboards to whiteboards and now to smart boards, technology has become our main source of research, knowledge, and teaching. This blog is going to shed some light on the modern education system and how it is replacing traditional methods of teaching.

Both traditional and contemporary education is connected to and distinct from one another. There was a point in our nation’s early history when there were no schools. The education or information is passed down to the children from their ancestors. At the time, this expertise was primarily concerned with survival abilities. The people who lived in jungles received their education from their predecessors, who demonstrated to them how to build tools, use animal skins for various uses, and hunt for sustenance. They received instruction on their rites and practices. Their respective beliefs were discussed in class.

They imparted moral lessons to them through the tales of their gods and monarchs. In India, the monarchs used to send their sons to institutions known as gurukuls. They learned how to wield various weapons, how to defend themselves, and how to assault their adversaries at these gurukuls. Additionally, they learned the fundamentals of governing an empire . These kinds of schools weren’t intended for the community. The royal families were the only ones who had access to it. The expertise that their parents possessed was passed on to the other children in the empire by them. The value of education grew across the nation as the democratic government was created in the next years. Schools were opened where any kind of student could come and learn. Modern education was established at this time.

Both types of education have their own place and importance in society. We cannot categorise education as good or bad. Traditional education was good in its time, and modern education is good in its time. Actually, it depends on the individual. It all depends on what the individual wishes to learn. Traditional education is unquestionably better for learning about one’s customs and religion. Modern education, on the other hand, is beneficial to those who wish to learn about science or mathematics. Both types of education are equally important. Our culture is frequently associated with traditional education. And it is beneficial, if not essential, to learn about one’s own culture. Everyone should know their religion’s stories and beliefs, as well as their traditions and culture. Similarly, it is critical to keep up with the world in terms of modern developments that are taking place today. This expresses the significance of modern education. Modern education is required to keep in touch with the rest of the world and to understand what is going on.

The academic curriculum needs to be modernised not simply to keep up with the times, but also to better educate students about the rapid breakthroughs in technology. Becoming flexible to changing times, helps students become skilled at employing both conventional abilities and technical competence with equal ease.

The existing educational system does ordinary people an injustice by limiting their potential, making it impossible for them to handle the intricacies of both private and public life. Since there are many different issues facing mankind in today’s competitive world, the educational system must be made adaptable enough to educate pupils for this dynamic environment .

Here are the key purposes of modern education:

  • To foster essential life skills, critical thinking, decision-making skills and analytical competencies in its learners.
  • To facilitate a positive approach towards diversity, inclusion, compassion and a sense of responsibility in students.
  • To create a fun and engaging learning process.
  • To incorporate educational technology to make the learning environment more experiential with a key focus on real-world applications of concepts.
  • To ensure that learning and education reach every corner of the world whether through physical classrooms or online learning.
  • To build an equal relationship between the teacher and learner and foster the curiosity of students and teach them to inquire and ask questions rather than the passive traditional approach.

The Indian education system has its deep roots in ancient oral learning as well as the Gurukul education system which later was transformed into formal education by the British. Here are the salient features of modern education in India:

  • Modern education in India was brought by the British colonisers in the 1830s along with the English language which is credited to have been introduced in India by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay.
  • While metaphysics and philosophy were earlier studied at Nalanda University, the new modern education system brought by the British focused on academic disciplines like Science and Mathematics.
  • As India became free from the British, basic education was made compulsory, especially for 6-14 years of age with schools constructed all across the country.
  • The modern-age education system of India in the 21st century is constituted of a new approach to learning from online education to skill-development courses, digital learning platforms, a grading system as well as the use of educational technology in the classrooms and a newly introduced New Education Policy !

Notes on Modern Education

Want to study the importance of modern education and how it is different from traditional education? Here are some important study notes on Modern Education:

Teaching styles have changed significantly over the years. The traditional way of imparting education primarily employs recitation and memorization techniques whereas modern education involves interactive methods for effective learning. The following paragraphs elaborate more on both approaches.

The conventional education method focuses more on teaching and passing on information and knowledge to learners. It focuses more on recitation than on anything else. For example, students are made to sit in silence while one student after another would take turns reciting a lesson until each one had been called upon. The teacher will listen to each student’s recitation who is expected to learn and memorise the assignments to the word. Traditional education methods rely heavily on replication-based assessment in practical and written exams as well. However, how traditional teaching methods were utilized more than ensured that students were rewarded for their efforts, used class periods efficiently and exercised clear rules to manage student behaviour. Traditional methods are based on established customs that had been used successfully in schools over many years.

Why is modern education important? Modern education significantly differs from the traditional methods of teaching and is widely practised in schools today emphasising more on science and technology. Progressive modern education focuses more on the student’s needs rather than assuming that all students are at the same level of understanding. It is activity-based comprising of questioning, explaining, demonstration and collaboration techniques. Embodied in the BEd Syllabus , this form of education teaches imaginative, creative thinking and visualization. 

Amongst the core features of Modern Education, Online Education has become a quintessential part of the learning process and pedagogy in the contemporary age. Offering an immense scope of learning anything, anytime and anywhere, the Internet has become a vast pool of knowledge welcoming people of all ages to furnish their skills and expand their expertise in different fields of study. Further, online learning is just a constituent of Smart Education which utilised technology to facilitate an interactive process of teaching and learning. The importance of technology in education is imperative today and you can learn anything and anywhere just with the help of a functioning network connection and a smartphone, tablet or computer, utilizing tools like MDM for education .

Apart from the approach to teaching and learning, another unique aspect of modern education is the introduction of a grading system that focuses on providing students with certain grades rather than marks to eliminate the quantification of a student’s knowledge about a subject. While marks were the major element of assessment in traditional education, modern education has brought forward a grading system which is a better way to provide students with an overview of their knowledge and understanding of different subjects. With this advanced marking pattern, students are relieved from the scoring pressure and teachers are also able to highlight the areas where a student needs to work more on and where they can focus on helping the student perform better.

Modern education comprises various learning and teaching methods including the popular ‘space learning’ wherein students are encouraged to quickly switch through activities. It is a learning method in which the condensed learning content is provided with a 10-minutes break for physical activities. For example, students would be provided with 15 minutes of PowerPoint presentation and then allotted 10 minutes of sport. This method aims to improve their learning abilities. It is claimed that physical exercises help brain cells to create a connection that they need to remember the course. Furthermore, it has the additional benefit of allowing people to relax.

Modern education is aided by a variety of computer technologies, the internet, and projector presentations to make studies interesting and interactive for students. It encourages students to engage with the real world, and analyse everything that happens in different life spheres. Students are taken to respective sectors and industries where they witness the practical application of concepts they learned theoretically. These methods help improve the quality of education and improve the engagement of students effectively. 

Also Read: Importance of Value Education

In particular, the advantages of modern education can be summarised as:

  • Modern education is a dynamic way of learning enabling students to learn a lot faster. The interaction between students and teachers helps students understand better.
  • Enabling students to participate in physical activities to improve their efficiency is another advantage. Modern education allows students to do a lot more than just learn and helps them become more social and interactive. 
  • Cocurricular activities, recreational activities, drama and art in education help students to become creative, industrious as well as the patient. This is one of the factors that make students look forward to schooling. 
  • Modern education comprises screening classes and lectures which are scheduled at specific timings, this helps to make students punctual and consistent. 

Lack of interpersonal interaction: Courses taken online are self-paced. It is challenging for the students to build relationships with their peers. little to no face-to-face interaction and little social engagement.

The likelihood of becoming distracted: The likelihood of becoming distracted is quite high for students who are less focused and lack motivation. The students wander off course and end up doing something different.

Learners get isolated: since they don’t engage with the outside world, which increases the likelihood that they may feel lonely and alone.

1. Conformity:

Employees are required to abide by a set of rules to accomplish corporate goals or targets, which may limit their freedom and creativity.

2. Loss of Responsibility:

The people feel less accountable for the general expansion of the business as a result of the development in the specialisation. Even though their employees are not receiving the required training and development, it has been observed that firms frequently blame “ globalisation ” for all of their problems.

3. Lack Of Proper Communication:

There is frequently poor communication between various sectors

and teams as a result of overcomplication and shortened deadlines, which has a detrimental effect on the company’s overall performance.

Good morning to everyone in this assembly. I will discuss my opinions regarding the Indian educational system in my speech. People with more education may be easier to drive but harder to lead. Additionally, it makes governing simple but enslaving difficult. It is true that a man is just marginally better than an animal without education. Therefore, true education is the development of the mind, and it is necessary for living a happy life.

Education in India at the Present Time It is true that the Indian educational system is not the greatest. It is fairly monotonous and ineffective due to the lack of revisions and upgrades. Students are not very interested in their education. The issue of student’s lack of enthusiasm for learning is caused by a variety of issues.

People hold the traditional educational system responsible. The system has created a very reflecting image of education and study. Education is more about inquiry than it is about working hard to pass exams and assessments. But it seems like the existing educational system is a hardship.

Lack of computer-based education Only concentrating on books and paperwork is the part of our educational system that is the most onerous. I just want to know why schools don’t eliminate paper from the educational process! In the modern world, computer-assisted methods should be used to provide education. The entire educational system should be automated for all tasks.

Indian Education System Improvement By imposing unnecessary constraints and rules, schools and instructors risk distorting the joyous pursuit of education. Teachers need to entice students with the allures of education, learning, and acquiring information.

Teachers must explain to the students the excitement involved in the process of transmitting knowledge. Classroom instruction must be more entertaining than dull.

Our administration has implemented a number of programmes to address the flaws in our educational system. Consequently, it is a fantastic start. Although education has advanced significantly, much more work needs to be done in the near future.

Conclusion Therefore, if we want to protect our independence, it is absolutely necessary. Our nation has seen how a small number of Englishmen governed this area for more than a century. This resulted from the absence of a real educational system. This should never happen again, and the only way to prevent it is to have an ideal school system. The real education system would enable us to control our fate.

Thus, we hope that this blog on modern education helped you gain some modern perspectives on new methods of learning and teaching. We at Leverage Edu , believe in pushing your potential and bringing out the best in you. If you’re planning to pursue higher education and need assistance, get in touch with our experts and start your career today! 

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Very well explained the modern education system how it will change and how it will work in a positive manner. You can also go for interactive training rooms. If you want your employees to enjoy the initial on-borading days, then head on to automation services provided by lightomated to build interactive training rooms. They use best quality and standardized products like hi tech audio sytems, speakers, remote controlling, etc

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Education transforms lives

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Transforming lives through education

Girls at school

Transforming education to change our world

UNESCO provides global and regional leadership on all aspects of education from pre-school to higher education and throughout life. It works through its Member States and brings together governments, the private sector and civil society to strengthen education systems worldwide in order to deliver quality education for all. As a thought leader it publishes landmark reports and data for policy-makers, implements programmes on the ground from teacher training to emergency responses and establishes and monitors norms and standards for all to guide educational developments.  

Right to education in a ruined world

Southern Italy, 1950. Three children are huddled around a makeshift desk made out of reclaimed wood, scribbling in their notebooks. The classroom has an earthen floor and roughly clad walls. The children’s clothes are ragged. They are wearing home-made slippers because shoes and the money to buy them are rare commodities in the war-ravaged south. 

Although World War II ended five years earlier, the scars of conflict are still visible in this black and white photo from a report commissioned by UNESCO from legendary photojournalist David Seymour. 

At the time when the photograph was taken, less than half of Italy’s population could read and write and just a third completed primary school. 70 years later, these children’s grandchildren enjoy an over 99% literacy rate. In the wake of the war, UNESCO led a major education campaign in Europe to respond to the education crisis, to rebuild links between people and to strengthen democracy and cultural identities after years of conflict. The emphasis then was on the fundamental learning skill of literacy.  

Immediately after World War two UNESCO led a major education campaign in Europe to respond to the education crisis, fix and rebuild links between people and strengthen cultural identities after years of conflict. David Seymour’s images show the extent of the fight against illiteracy led by the post-war Italian government and non-governmental organisations backed by UNESCO. 

Looking back at the deprived surroundings Seymour captured in his photo essay, one can see the extent of success. Seventy-one years later, those children’s grandchildren enjoy a 99.16 per cent literacy rate. 

Similar programmes were held across the globe, for instance in devastated Korea where UNESCO led a major education textbook production programme in the 1950s. Several decades after, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Korean citizen Ban Ki-Moon expressed the importance of such a programme for the country's development: 

The flowering of literacy

In a Korea devastated by war and where UNESCO led a major education textbook production programme in the 1950s, one student, Ban Ki-Moon, now Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, saw the world open up to him through the pages of a UNESCO textbook. Several decades after, he expressed the importance of such a programme for his country's development on the world stage.

Reaching the remote villages perched atop the Andes in Peru during the early 1960s wasn’t without its challenges for UNESCO’s technical assistance programme to bring literacy to disadvantaged communities. While Peru’s economy was experiencing a prolonged period of expansion, not all Peruvians were able to benefit from this growth which was limited to the industrialised coast. Instead, Andes communities were grappling with poverty, illiteracy and depopulation. 

Today, the number of non-literate youths and adults around the world has decreased dramatically, while the global literacy rate for young people aged 15-24 years has reached 92 %. These astonishing successes reflect improved access to schooling for younger generations.

Photojournalist Paul Almasy has left us the poignant image of a barefoot older man while he’s deciphering a newspaper thanks to his newfound literacy skills.

The classroom at the UNESCO mission in Chinchera, in the Andean highlands of Peru, had allowed the old man to discover the world beyond his tiny village.

However, there are still huge obstacles to overcome. Data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics shows that 617 million children and adolescents worldwide are not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 it is still the case that globally more than 450 million children - six out of 10 - have failed to gain basic literacy skills by the age of 10. And beyond literacy programmes, massive investments in skills for work and life, teacher training, and education policies are needed in a world that is changing ever faster. 

Global priorities

Africa, home to the world’s youngest population, is not on track to achieve the targets of SDG 4. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is expected to account for 25% of the school-age population by 2030, up from 12% in 1990, yet it remains the region with the highest out-of-school rates. Girls are more likely to be permanently excluded from education than boys. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequalities, with 89% of learners not having access to computers and 82% lacking internet access to benefit from distance learning. The lack of trained teachers further jeopardizes progress towards SDG4: pre-pandemic only 64% of whom were trained at the primary level and 58% at the lower secondary level.

As part of its Priority Africa Flagship 2022 – 2029 , UNESCO has launched Campus Africa: Reinforcing Higher Education in Africa with the objective to build integrated, inclusive, and quality tertiary education systems and institutions, for the development of inclusive and equitable societies on the continent.

Gender    

There are immense gender gaps when it comes to access, learning achievement and education, most often at the expense of girls and women. It is estimated that some 127 million girls are out of school around the world. For many girls and women around the world, the classroom remains an elusive, often forbidden space. UNESCO monitors the educational rights of girls and women around the world and shares information on the legal progress toward securing the right to education for women in all countries. Despite important progress in recent decades, the right to education is still far from being a reality for many girls and women. Discriminatory practices stand in the way of girls and women fully exercising their right to participate in, complete, and benefit from education. And while girls have difficulty with access, boys face increasing challenges, and particularly disengagement , from education at later stages. Globally only 88 men are enrolled in tertiary education for every 100 women. In 73 countries, fewer boys than girls are enrolled in upper-secondary education.

UNESCO's Her Atlas analyzes the legal frameworks of nearly 200 states to track which laws are enabling---or inhibiting---the right to education for girls and women. This interactive world map uses a color-coded scoring system to monitor 12 indicators of legal progress towards gender equality in the right to education.

Monitoring the right to education for girls and women

What makes me proud is that soon I will finish building a new house. I have already been able to buy a cow and I will soon be able to have another pond

Madagascar’s coastal Atsinanana region is known for its lush rainforests and fish breeding.

The country has a young population, but only one out of three children can complete primary education. Among those who are able to finish primary school, only 17% have minimum reading skills, while just a fifth of them have basic maths competencies. Once they leave school, children face a precarious labour market and unstable jobs, just like their parents.

Natacha Obienne is only 21 years old, but she is already in charge of a small fish farm, a career that is usually pursued by men. As one of the many out-of-school women in her area, she was able to set up her own business after vocational training taught her the basics of financial management and entrepreneurship, as well as the practicalities of breeding fish.

She understood that fish feeding depends on the temperature of the water. If it’s well managed, a higher number of fish is produced. ‘I immediately applied everything I learnt’ she says.

The classroom she attended changed the course of her life and she hopes other young people will follow in her footsteps.

I no longer depend on my parents and I am financially independent

She’s not alone. Around 3,000 youths in Madagascar have been trained since the start of the UNESCO-backed programme, some of whom have set up their own business and achieved financial independence. Education was the best way to ease people's emancipation.

Like Emma Claudia, 25, who after her vocational training started a restaurant with just a baking tray and a saucepan.

What does my family think? They are surprised and amazed by my evolution because I haven’t been able to complete my studies. I don’t have any school diplomas.

While Natacha and Emma Claudia have been able to transform their world through education, millions of children out of school around the world are still denied that dream.

Discrimination against girls remains widespread and nearly one billion adults, mostly women, are illiterate. The lack of qualified teachers and learning materials continues to be the reality in too many schools.

Challenging these obstacles is getting harder as the world grapples with the acceleration of climate change, the emergence of digitization and artificial intelligence, and the increasing exclusion and uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We resumed school a while ago and it’s been stressful. We are trying to retrieve what we lost during quarantine, the worst thing about not being in school is the number of things you miss. Learning behind a screen and learning in person are incomparable.

Aicha is lucky to be able to continue her education. Her country has the highest rate of out-of-school children in the world – 10.5 million – and nearly two-thirds are women. To compound the problem, Nigeria’s northern states suffer from the violence that targets education.

In Russia, too, Alexander and his school friends had to cope with virtual learning and the lack of interactions.

All Russian students were moved to online studying. Needless to say, it was a rough year for all of us, several friends were struggling with depressive moods. They were missing their friends and teachers. So did I.

To protect their right to education during this unprecedented disruption and beyond, UNESCO has launched the Global Education Coalition , a platform for collaboration and exchange that brings together more than 175 countries from the UN family, civil society, academia and the private sector to ensure that learning never stops.

Building skills where they are most needed

Crouched over a pedal-powered sewing machine, Harikala Buda looks younger than her 30 years. Her slim fingers fold a cut of turquoise brocade before deftly pushing it under the needle mechanism.

Harikala lives in rural Nepal, where many villagers, particularly women, don’t have access to basic education. Women like Harikala rely on local community UNESCO-supported learning centres to receive literacy and tailoring skills. In a country where 32% of people over 15 are illiterate, particularly women and those living in rural areas, education is the only route to becoming self-reliant.

I have saved a small amount. My husband’s income goes towards running the house, mine is saved. We must save today to secure our children’s future

Having access to a classroom is the first step to creating a better world for the student, the student’s children and the student’s community. This is a lesson that matters a lot to

Kalasha Khadka Khatri, a 30-year-old Nepali mother. She grew up in a family of 21, with no option to go to school. Two of her children didn’t survive infancy because she was unable to pay for medical treatment. After acquiring sewing skills at her local community learning centre, Kalasha can now provide for her family.

Harikala and Kalasha were able to learn their skills through the support of the UNESCO’s Capacity Development for Education Programme (CapED), an initiative that operates in some 26 least-developed and fragile countries. 

Reimagining the future of education

As the world slowly recovers after the COVID-19 crisis, 244 million children and youth worldwide are still out of school. And a 2022 survey by UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and OECD finds that one quarter of countries have yet to collect information on children who have and have not returned to school since the pandemic started.

Rebuilding how and where we learn requires policy advice, stronger education legislation, funds mobilisation, advocacy, targeted programme implementation based on sound analysis, statistics and global information sharing. Quality education also calls for the teaching of skills far beyond literacy and maths, including critical thinking against fake news in the digital era, living in harmony with nature and the ethics of artificial intelligence, to name a few of the critical skills needed in the 21st century. 

UNESCO  captured the debate around the futures of education in its landmark report from 2022 entitled Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education.

The Transformative Education Summit , that took place during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, as well as the Pre-Summit hosted by UNESCO to forge new approaches to education after the COVID-19 crisis, address the toughest bottlenecks to achieving SDG 4 and inspire young people to lead a global movement for education. World leaders committed to put education at the top of the political agenda. UNESCO has been mobilizing and consulting all stakeholders and partners to galvanize the transformation of every aspect of learning. UNESCO launched a number of key initiatives such as expanding public digital learning, making education responsive to the climate and environmental emergency, and improving access for crisis-affected children and youth.

The two children sitting at their makeshift desk in Italy in 1950 could not have imagined what a modern learning space might look like or how a modern curriculum or the tools and teacher training to deliver it might have been thought out and shaped to offer them the most from education. They could not have imagined the global drive to ensure that everyone was given a chance to learn throughout life. The only thing that has not changed since the photo was taken is the fact that education remains a fundamental and universal human right that can change the course of a life. To the millions still living in conditions of poverty, exclusion displacement and violence it opens a door to a better future.

Explore all the work and expertise of UNESCO in education

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  • Published: 12 February 2024

Education reform and change driven by digital technology: a bibliometric study from a global perspective

  • Chengliang Wang 1 ,
  • Xiaojiao Chen 1 ,
  • Teng Yu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5198-7261 2 , 3 ,
  • Yidan Liu 1 , 4 &
  • Yuhui Jing 1  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  256 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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  • Development studies
  • Science, technology and society

Amidst the global digital transformation of educational institutions, digital technology has emerged as a significant area of interest among scholars. Such technologies have played an instrumental role in enhancing learner performance and improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning. These digital technologies also ensure the sustainability and stability of education during the epidemic. Despite this, a dearth of systematic reviews exists regarding the current state of digital technology application in education. To address this gap, this study utilized the Web of Science Core Collection as a data source (specifically selecting the high-quality SSCI and SCIE) and implemented a topic search by setting keywords, yielding 1849 initial publications. Furthermore, following the PRISMA guidelines, we refined the selection to 588 high-quality articles. Using software tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Charticulator, we reviewed these 588 publications to identify core authors (such as Selwyn, Henderson, Edwards), highly productive countries/regions (England, Australia, USA), key institutions (Monash University, Australian Catholic University), and crucial journals in the field ( Education and Information Technologies , Computers & Education , British Journal of Educational Technology ). Evolutionary analysis reveals four developmental periods in the research field of digital technology education application: the embryonic period, the preliminary development period, the key exploration, and the acceleration period of change. The study highlights the dual influence of technological factors and historical context on the research topic. Technology is a key factor in enabling education to transform and upgrade, and the context of the times is an important driving force in promoting the adoption of new technologies in the education system and the transformation and upgrading of education. Additionally, the study identifies three frontier hotspots in the field: physical education, digital transformation, and professional development under the promotion of digital technology. This study presents a clear framework for digital technology application in education, which can serve as a valuable reference for researchers and educational practitioners concerned with digital technology education application in theory and practice.

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Digital transformation and digital literacy in the context of complexity within higher education institutions: a systematic literature review

modern education

Education big data and learning analytics: a bibliometric analysis

Introduction.

Digital technology has become an essential component of modern education, facilitating the extension of temporal and spatial boundaries and enriching the pedagogical contexts (Selwyn and Facer, 2014 ). The advent of mobile communication technology has enabled learning through social media platforms (Szeto et al. 2015 ; Pires et al. 2022 ), while the advancement of augmented reality technology has disrupted traditional conceptions of learning environments and spaces (Perez-Sanagustin et al., 2014 ; Kyza and Georgiou, 2018 ). A wide range of digital technologies has enabled learning to become a norm in various settings, including the workplace (Sjöberg and Holmgren, 2021 ), home (Nazare et al. 2022 ), and online communities (Tang and Lam, 2014 ). Education is no longer limited to fixed locations and schedules, but has permeated all aspects of life, allowing learning to continue at any time and any place (Camilleri and Camilleri, 2016 ; Selwyn and Facer, 2014 ).

The advent of digital technology has led to the creation of several informal learning environments (Greenhow and Lewin, 2015 ) that exhibit divergent form, function, features, and patterns in comparison to conventional learning environments (Nygren et al. 2019 ). Consequently, the associated teaching and learning processes, as well as the strategies for the creation, dissemination, and acquisition of learning resources, have undergone a complete overhaul. The ensuing transformations have posed a myriad of novel issues, such as the optimal structuring of teaching methods by instructors and the adoption of appropriate learning strategies by students in the new digital technology environment. Consequently, an examination of the principles that underpin effective teaching and learning in this environment is a topic of significant interest to numerous scholars engaged in digital technology education research.

Over the course of the last two decades, digital technology has made significant strides in the field of education, notably in extending education time and space and creating novel educational contexts with sustainability. Despite research attempts to consolidate the application of digital technology in education, previous studies have only focused on specific aspects of digital technology, such as Pinto and Leite’s ( 2020 ) investigation into digital technology in higher education and Mustapha et al.’s ( 2021 ) examination of the role and value of digital technology in education during the pandemic. While these studies have provided valuable insights into the practical applications of digital technology in particular educational domains, they have not comprehensively explored the macro-mechanisms and internal logic of digital technology implementation in education. Additionally, these studies were conducted over a relatively brief period, making it challenging to gain a comprehensive understanding of the macro-dynamics and evolutionary process of digital technology in education. Some studies have provided an overview of digital education from an educational perspective but lack a precise understanding of technological advancement and change (Yang et al. 2022 ). Therefore, this study seeks to employ a systematic scientific approach to collate relevant research from 2000 to 2022, comprehend the internal logic and development trends of digital technology in education, and grasp the outstanding contribution of digital technology in promoting the sustainability of education in time and space. In summary, this study aims to address the following questions:

RQ1: Since the turn of the century, what is the productivity distribution of the field of digital technology education application research in terms of authorship, country/region, institutional and journal level?

RQ2: What is the development trend of research on the application of digital technology in education in the past two decades?

RQ3: What are the current frontiers of research on the application of digital technology in education?

Literature review

Although the term “digital technology” has become ubiquitous, a unified definition has yet to be agreed upon by scholars. Because the meaning of the word digital technology is closely related to the specific context. Within the educational research domain, Selwyn’s ( 2016 ) definition is widely favored by scholars (Pinto and Leite, 2020 ). Selwyn ( 2016 ) provides a comprehensive view of various concrete digital technologies and their applications in education through ten specific cases, such as immediate feedback in classes, orchestrating teaching, and community learning. Through these specific application scenarios, Selwyn ( 2016 ) argues that digital technology encompasses technologies associated with digital devices, including but not limited to tablets, smartphones, computers, and social media platforms (such as Facebook and YouTube). Furthermore, Further, the behavior of accessing the internet at any location through portable devices can be taken as an extension of the behavior of applying digital technology.

The evolving nature of digital technology has significant implications in the field of education. In the 1890s, the focus of digital technology in education was on comprehending the nuances of digital space, digital culture, and educational methodologies, with its connotations aligned more towards the idea of e-learning. The advent and subsequent widespread usage of mobile devices since the dawn of the new millennium have been instrumental in the rapid expansion of the concept of digital technology. Notably, mobile learning devices such as smartphones and tablets, along with social media platforms, have become integral components of digital technology (Conole and Alevizou, 2010 ; Batista et al. 2016 ). In recent times, the burgeoning application of AI technology in the education sector has played a vital role in enriching the digital technology lexicon (Banerjee et al. 2021 ). ChatGPT, for instance, is identified as a novel educational technology that has immense potential to revolutionize future education (Rospigliosi, 2023 ; Arif, Munaf and Ul-Haque, 2023 ).

Pinto and Leite ( 2020 ) conducted a comprehensive macroscopic survey of the use of digital technologies in the education sector and identified three distinct categories, namely technologies for assessment and feedback, mobile technologies, and Information Communication Technologies (ICT). This classification criterion is both macroscopic and highly condensed. In light of the established concept definitions of digital technology in the educational research literature, this study has adopted the characterizations of digital technology proposed by Selwyn ( 2016 ) and Pinto and Leite ( 2020 ) as crucial criteria for analysis and research inclusion. Specifically, this criterion encompasses several distinct types of digital technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Mobile tools, eXtended Reality (XR) Technologies, Assessment and Feedback systems, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Publish and Share tools, Collaborative systems, Social media, Interpersonal Communication tools, and Content Aggregation tools.

Methodology and materials

Research method: bibliometric.

The research on econometric properties has been present in various aspects of human production and life, yet systematic scientific theoretical guidance has been lacking, resulting in disorganization. In 1969, British scholar Pritchard ( 1969 ) proposed “bibliometrics,” which subsequently emerged as an independent discipline in scientific quantification research. Initially, Pritchard defined bibliometrics as “the application of mathematical and statistical methods to books and other media of communication,” however, the definition was not entirely rigorous. To remedy this, Hawkins ( 2001 ) expanded Pritchard’s definition to “the quantitative analysis of the bibliographic features of a body of literature.” De Bellis further clarified the objectives of bibliometrics, stating that it aims to analyze and identify patterns in literature, such as the most productive authors, institutions, countries, and journals in scientific disciplines, trends in literary production over time, and collaboration networks (De Bellis, 2009 ). According to Garfield ( 2006 ), bibliometric research enables the examination of the history and structure of a field, the flow of information within the field, the impact of journals, and the citation status of publications over a longer time scale. All of these definitions illustrate the unique role of bibliometrics as a research method for evaluating specific research fields.

This study uses CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Charticulator to analyze data and create visualizations. Each of these three tools has its own strengths and can complement each other. CiteSpace and VOSviewer use set theory and probability theory to provide various visualization views in fields such as keywords, co-occurrence, and co-authors. They are easy to use and produce visually appealing graphics (Chen, 2006 ; van Eck and Waltman, 2009 ) and are currently the two most widely used bibliometric tools in the field of visualization (Pan et al. 2018 ). In this study, VOSviewer provided the data necessary for the Performance Analysis; Charticulator was then used to redraw using the tabular data exported from VOSviewer (for creating the chord diagram of country collaboration); this was to complement the mapping process, while CiteSpace was primarily utilized to generate keyword maps and conduct burst word analysis.

Data retrieval

This study selected documents from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) in the Web of Science Core Collection as the data source, for the following reasons:

(1) The Web of Science Core Collection, as a high-quality digital literature resource database, has been widely accepted by many researchers and is currently considered the most suitable database for bibliometric analysis (Jing et al. 2023a ). Compared to other databases, Web of Science provides more comprehensive data information (Chen et al. 2022a ), and also provides data formats suitable for analysis using VOSviewer and CiteSpace (Gaviria-Marin et al. 2019 ).

(2) The application of digital technology in the field of education is an interdisciplinary research topic, involving technical knowledge literature belonging to the natural sciences and education-related literature belonging to the social sciences. Therefore, it is necessary to select Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) as the sources of research data, ensuring the comprehensiveness of data while ensuring the reliability and persuasiveness of bibliometric research (Hwang and Tsai, 2011 ; Wang et al. 2022 ).

After establishing the source of research data, it is necessary to determine a retrieval strategy (Jing et al. 2023b ). The choice of a retrieval strategy should consider a balance between the breadth and precision of the search formula. That is to say, it should encompass all the literature pertaining to the research topic while excluding irrelevant documents as much as possible. In light of this, this study has set a retrieval strategy informed by multiple related papers (Mustapha et al. 2021 ; Luo et al. 2021 ). The research by Mustapha et al. ( 2021 ) guided us in selecting keywords (“digital” AND “technolog*”) to target digital technology, while Luo et al. ( 2021 ) informed the selection of terms (such as “instruct*,” “teach*,” and “education”) to establish links with the field of education. Then, based on the current application of digital technology in the educational domain and the scope of selection criteria, we constructed the final retrieval strategy. Following the general patterns of past research (Jing et al. 2023a , 2023b ), we conducted a specific screening using the topic search (Topics, TS) function in Web of Science. For the specific criteria used in the screening for this study, please refer to Table 1 .

Literature screening

Literature acquired through keyword searches may contain ostensibly related yet actually unrelated works. Therefore, to ensure the close relevance of literature included in the analysis to the research topic, it is often necessary to perform a manual screening process to identify the final literature to be analyzed, subsequent to completing the initial literature search.

The manual screening process consists of two steps. Initially, irrelevant literature is weeded out based on the title and abstract, with two members of the research team involved in this phase. This stage lasted about one week, resulting in 1106 articles being retained. Subsequently, a comprehensive review of the full text is conducted to accurately identify the literature required for the study. To carry out the second phase of manual screening effectively and scientifically, and to minimize the potential for researcher bias, the research team established the inclusion criteria presented in Table 2 . Three members were engaged in this phase, which took approximately 2 weeks, culminating in the retention of 588 articles after meticulous screening. The entire screening process is depicted in Fig. 1 , adhering to the PRISMA guidelines (Page et al. 2021 ).

figure 1

The process of obtaining and filtering the necessary literature data for research.

Data standardization

Nguyen and Hallinger ( 2020 ) pointed out that raw data extracted from scientific databases often contains multiple expressions of the same term, and not addressing these synonymous expressions could affect research results in bibliometric analysis. For instance, in the original data, the author list may include “Tsai, C. C.” and “Tsai, C.-C.”, while the keyword list may include “professional-development” and “professional development,” which often require merging. Therefore, before analyzing the selected literature, a data disambiguation process is necessary to standardize the data (Strotmann and Zhao, 2012 ; Van Eck and Waltman, 2019 ). This study adopted the data standardization process proposed by Taskin and Al ( 2019 ), mainly including the following standardization operations:

Firstly, the author and source fields in the data are corrected and standardized to differentiate authors with similar names.

Secondly, the study checks whether the journals to which the literature belongs have been renamed in the past over 20 years, so as to avoid the influence of periodical name change on the analysis results.

Finally, the keyword field is standardized by unifying parts of speech and singular/plural forms of keywords, which can help eliminate redundant entries in the knowledge graph.

Performance analysis (RQ1)

This section offers a thorough and detailed analysis of the state of research in the field of digital technology education. By utilizing descriptive statistics and visual maps, it provides a comprehensive overview of the development trends, authors, countries, institutions, and journal distribution within the field. The insights presented in this section are of great significance in advancing our understanding of the current state of research in this field and identifying areas for further investigation. The use of visual aids to display inter-country cooperation and the evolution of the field adds to the clarity and coherence of the analysis.

Time trend of the publications

To understand a research field, it is first necessary to understand the most basic quantitative information, among which the change in the number of publications per year best reflects the development trend of a research field. Figure 2 shows the distribution of publication dates.

figure 2

Time trend of the publications on application of digital technology in education.

From the Fig. 2 , it can be seen that the development of this field over the past over 20 years can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage was from 2000 to 2007, during which the number of publications was relatively low. Due to various factors such as technological maturity, the academic community did not pay widespread attention to the role of digital technology in expanding the scope of teaching and learning. The second stage was from 2008 to 2019, during which the overall number of publications showed an upward trend, and the development of the field entered an accelerated period, attracting more and more scholars’ attention. The third stage was from 2020 to 2022, during which the number of publications stabilized at around 100. During this period, the impact of the pandemic led to a large number of scholars focusing on the role of digital technology in education during the pandemic, and research on the application of digital technology in education became a core topic in social science research.

Analysis of authors

An analysis of the author’s publication volume provides information about the representative scholars and core research strengths of a research area. Table 3 presents information on the core authors in adaptive learning research, including name, publication number, and average number of citations per article (based on the analysis and statistics from VOSviewer).

Variations in research foci among scholars abound. Within the field of digital technology education application research over the past two decades, Neil Selwyn stands as the most productive author, having published 15 papers garnering a total of 1027 citations, resulting in an average of 68.47 citations per paper. As a Professor at the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Selwyn concentrates on exploring the application of digital technology in higher education contexts (Selwyn et al. 2021 ), as well as related products in higher education such as Coursera, edX, and Udacity MOOC platforms (Bulfin et al. 2014 ). Selwyn’s contributions to the educational sociology perspective include extensive research on the impact of digital technology on education, highlighting the spatiotemporal extension of educational processes and practices through technological means as the greatest value of educational technology (Selwyn, 2012 ; Selwyn and Facer, 2014 ). In addition, he provides a blueprint for the development of future schools in 2030 based on the present impact of digital technology on education (Selwyn et al. 2019 ). The second most productive author in this field, Henderson, also offers significant contributions to the understanding of the important value of digital technology in education, specifically in the higher education setting, with a focus on the impact of the pandemic (Henderson et al. 2015 ; Cohen et al. 2022 ). In contrast, Edwards’ research interests focus on early childhood education, particularly the application of digital technology in this context (Edwards, 2013 ; Bird and Edwards, 2015 ). Additionally, on the technical level, Edwards also mainly prefers digital game technology, because it is a digital technology that children are relatively easy to accept (Edwards, 2015 ).

Analysis of countries/regions and organization

The present study aimed to ascertain the leading countries in digital technology education application research by analyzing 75 countries related to 558 works of literature. Table 4 depicts the top ten countries that have contributed significantly to this field in terms of publication count (based on the analysis and statistics from VOSviewer). Our analysis of Table 4 data shows that England emerged as the most influential country/region, with 92 published papers and 2401 citations. Australia and the United States secured the second and third ranks, respectively, with 90 papers (2187 citations) and 70 papers (1331 citations) published. Geographically, most of the countries featured in the top ten publication volumes are situated in Australia, North America, and Europe, with China being the only exception. Notably, all these countries, except China, belong to the group of developed nations, suggesting that economic strength is a prerequisite for fostering research in the digital technology education application field.

This study presents a visual representation of the publication output and cooperation relationships among different countries in the field of digital technology education application research. Specifically, a chord diagram is employed to display the top 30 countries in terms of publication output, as depicted in Fig. 3 . The chord diagram is composed of nodes and chords, where the nodes are positioned as scattered points along the circumference, and the length of each node corresponds to the publication output, with longer lengths indicating higher publication output. The chords, on the other hand, represent the cooperation relationships between any two countries, and are weighted based on the degree of closeness of the cooperation, with wider chords indicating closer cooperation. Through the analysis of the cooperation relationships, the findings suggest that the main publishing countries in this field are engaged in cooperative relationships with each other, indicating a relatively high level of international academic exchange and research internationalization.

figure 3

In the diagram, nodes are scattered along the circumference of a circle, with the length of each node representing the volume of publications. The weighted arcs connecting any two points on the circle are known as chords, representing the collaborative relationship between the two, with the width of the arc indicating the closeness of the collaboration.

Further analyzing Fig. 3 , we can extract more valuable information, enabling a deeper understanding of the connections between countries in the research field of digital technology in educational applications. It is evident that certain countries, such as the United States, China, and England, display thicker connections, indicating robust collaborative relationships in terms of productivity. These thicker lines signify substantial mutual contributions and shared objectives in certain sectors or fields, highlighting the interconnectedness and global integration in these areas. By delving deeper, we can also explore potential future collaboration opportunities through the chord diagram, identifying possible partners to propel research and development in this field. In essence, the chord diagram successfully encapsulates and conveys the multi-dimensionality of global productivity and cooperation, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the intricate inter-country relationships and networks in a global context, providing valuable guidance and insights for future research and collaborations.

An in-depth examination of the publishing institutions is provided in Table 5 , showcasing the foremost 10 institutions ranked by their publication volume. Notably, Monash University and Australian Catholic University, situated in Australia, have recorded the most prolific publications within the digital technology education application realm, with 22 and 10 publications respectively. Moreover, the University of Oslo from Norway is featured among the top 10 publishing institutions, with an impressive average citation count of 64 per publication. It is worth highlighting that six institutions based in the United Kingdom were also ranked within the top 10 publishing institutions, signifying their leading position in this area of research.

Analysis of journals

Journals are the main carriers for publishing high-quality papers. Some scholars point out that the two key factors to measure the influence of journals in the specified field are the number of articles published and the number of citations. The more papers published in a magazine and the more citations, the greater its influence (Dzikowski, 2018 ). Therefore, this study utilized VOSviewer to statistically analyze the top 10 journals with the most publications in the field of digital technology in education and calculated the average citations per article (see Table 6 ).

Based on Table 6 , it is apparent that the highest number of articles in the domain of digital technology in education research were published in Education and Information Technologies (47 articles), Computers & Education (34 articles), and British Journal of Educational Technology (32 articles), indicating a higher article output compared to other journals. This underscores the fact that these three journals concentrate more on the application of digital technology in education. Furthermore, several other journals, such as Technology Pedagogy and Education and Sustainability, have published more than 15 articles in this domain. Sustainability represents the open access movement, which has notably facilitated research progress in this field, indicating that the development of open access journals in recent years has had a significant impact. Although there is still considerable disagreement among scholars on the optimal approach to achieve open access, the notion that research outcomes should be accessible to all is widely recognized (Huang et al. 2020 ). On further analysis of the research fields to which these journals belong, except for Sustainability, it is evident that they all pertain to educational technology, thus providing a qualitative definition of the research area of digital technology education from the perspective of journals.

Temporal keyword analysis: thematic evolution (RQ2)

The evolution of research themes is a dynamic process, and previous studies have attempted to present the developmental trajectory of fields by drawing keyword networks in phases (Kumar et al. 2021 ; Chen et al. 2022b ). To understand the shifts in research topics across different periods, this study follows past research and, based on the significant changes in the research field and corresponding technological advancements during the outlined periods, divides the timeline into four stages (the first stage from January 2000 to December 2005, the second stage from January 2006 to December 2011, the third stage from January 2012 to December 2017; and the fourth stage from January 2018 to December 2022). The division into these four stages was determined through a combination of bibliometric analysis and literature review, which presented a clear trajectory of the field’s development. The research analyzes the keyword networks for each time period (as there are only three articles in the first stage, it was not possible to generate an appropriate keyword co-occurrence map, hence only the keyword co-occurrence maps from the second to the fourth stages are provided), to understand the evolutionary track of the digital technology education application research field over time.

2000.1–2005.12: germination period

From January 2000 to December 2005, digital technology education application research was in its infancy. Only three studies focused on digital technology, all of which were related to computers. Due to the popularity of computers, the home became a new learning environment, highlighting the important role of digital technology in expanding the scope of learning spaces (Sutherland et al. 2000 ). In specific disciplines and contexts, digital technology was first favored in medical clinical practice, becoming an important tool for supporting the learning of clinical knowledge and practice (Tegtmeyer et al. 2001 ; Durfee et al. 2003 ).

2006.1–2011.12: initial development period

Between January 2006 and December 2011, it was the initial development period of digital technology education research. Significant growth was observed in research related to digital technology, and discussions and theoretical analyses about “digital natives” emerged. During this phase, scholars focused on the debate about “how to use digital technology reasonably” and “whether current educational models and school curriculum design need to be adjusted on a large scale” (Bennett and Maton, 2010 ; Selwyn, 2009 ; Margaryan et al. 2011 ). These theoretical and speculative arguments provided a unique perspective on the impact of cognitive digital technology on education and teaching. As can be seen from the vocabulary such as “rethinking”, “disruptive pedagogy”, and “attitude” in Fig. 4 , many scholars joined the calm reflection and analysis under the trend of digital technology (Laurillard, 2008 ; Vratulis et al. 2011 ). During this phase, technology was still undergoing dramatic changes. The development of mobile technology had already caught the attention of many scholars (Wong et al. 2011 ), but digital technology represented by computers was still very active (Selwyn et al. 2011 ). The change in technological form would inevitably lead to educational transformation. Collins and Halverson ( 2010 ) summarized the prospects and challenges of using digital technology for learning and educational practices, believing that digital technology would bring a disruptive revolution to the education field and bring about a new educational system. In addition, the term “teacher education” in Fig. 4 reflects the impact of digital technology development on teachers. The rapid development of technology has widened the generation gap between teachers and students. To ensure smooth communication between teachers and students, teachers must keep up with the trend of technological development and establish a lifelong learning concept (Donnison, 2009 ).

figure 4

In the diagram, each node represents a keyword, with the size of the node indicating the frequency of occurrence of the keyword. The connections represent the co-occurrence relationships between keywords, with a higher frequency of co-occurrence resulting in tighter connections.

2012.1–2017.12: critical exploration period

During the period spanning January 2012 to December 2017, the application of digital technology in education research underwent a significant exploration phase. As can be seen from Fig. 5 , different from the previous stage, the specific elements of specific digital technology have started to increase significantly, including the enrichment of technological contexts, the greater variety of research methods, and the diversification of learning modes. Moreover, the temporal and spatial dimensions of the learning environment were further de-emphasized, as noted in previous literature (Za et al. 2014 ). Given the rapidly accelerating pace of technological development, the education system in the digital era is in urgent need of collaborative evolution and reconstruction, as argued by Davis, Eickelmann, and Zaka ( 2013 ).

figure 5

In the domain of digital technology, social media has garnered substantial scholarly attention as a promising avenue for learning, as noted by Pasquini and Evangelopoulos ( 2016 ). The implementation of social media in education presents several benefits, including the liberation of education from the restrictions of physical distance and time, as well as the erasure of conventional educational boundaries. The user-generated content (UGC) model in social media has emerged as a crucial source for knowledge creation and distribution, with the widespread adoption of mobile devices. Moreover, social networks have become an integral component of ubiquitous learning environments (Hwang et al. 2013 ). The utilization of social media allows individuals to function as both knowledge producers and recipients, which leads to a blurring of the conventional roles of learners and teachers. On mobile platforms, the roles of learners and teachers are not fixed, but instead interchangeable.

In terms of research methodology, the prevalence of empirical studies with survey designs in the field of educational technology during this period is evident from the vocabulary used, such as “achievement,” “acceptance,” “attitude,” and “ict.” in Fig. 5 . These studies aim to understand learners’ willingness to adopt and attitudes towards new technologies, and some seek to investigate the impact of digital technologies on learning outcomes through quasi-experimental designs (Domínguez et al. 2013 ). Among these empirical studies, mobile learning emerged as a hot topic, and this is not surprising. First, the advantages of mobile learning environments over traditional ones have been empirically demonstrated (Hwang et al. 2013 ). Second, learners born around the turn of the century have been heavily influenced by digital technologies and have developed their own learning styles that are more open to mobile devices as a means of learning. Consequently, analyzing mobile learning as a relatively novel mode of learning has become an important issue for scholars in the field of educational technology.

The intervention of technology has led to the emergence of several novel learning modes, with the blended learning model being the most representative one in the current phase. Blended learning, a novel concept introduced in the information age, emphasizes the integration of the benefits of traditional learning methods and online learning. This learning mode not only highlights the prominent role of teachers in guiding, inspiring, and monitoring the learning process but also underlines the importance of learners’ initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity in the learning process. Despite being an early conceptualization, blended learning’s meaning has been expanded by the widespread use of mobile technology and social media in education. The implementation of new technologies, particularly mobile devices, has resulted in the transformation of curriculum design and increased flexibility and autonomy in students’ learning processes (Trujillo Maza et al. 2016 ), rekindling scholarly attention to this learning mode. However, some scholars have raised concerns about the potential drawbacks of the blended learning model, such as its significant impact on the traditional teaching system, the lack of systematic coping strategies and relevant policies in several schools and regions (Moskal et al. 2013 ).

2018.1–2022.12: accelerated transformation period

The period spanning from January 2018 to December 2022 witnessed a rapid transformation in the application of digital technology in education research. The field of digital technology education research reached a peak period of publication, largely influenced by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Yu et al. 2023 ). Research during this period was built upon the achievements, attitudes, and social media of the previous phase, and included more elements that reflect the characteristics of this research field, such as digital literacy, digital competence, and professional development, as depicted in Fig. 6 . Alongside this, scholars’ expectations for the value of digital technology have expanded, and the pursuit of improving learning efficiency and performance is no longer the sole focus. Some research now aims to cultivate learners’ motivation and enhance their self-efficacy by applying digital technology in a reasonable manner, as demonstrated by recent studies (Beardsley et al. 2021 ; Creely et al. 2021 ).

figure 6

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a crucial backdrop for the digital technology’s role in sustaining global education, as highlighted by recent scholarly research (Zhou et al. 2022 ; Pan and Zhang, 2020 ; Mo et al. 2022 ). The online learning environment, which is supported by digital technology, has become the primary battleground for global education (Yu, 2022 ). This social context has led to various studies being conducted, with some scholars positing that the pandemic has impacted the traditional teaching order while also expanding learning possibilities in terms of patterns and forms (Alabdulaziz, 2021 ). Furthermore, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst for teacher teaching and technological innovation, and this viewpoint has been empirically substantiated (Moorhouse and Wong, 2021 ). Additionally, some scholars believe that the pandemic’s push is a crucial driving force for the digital transformation of the education system, serving as an essential mechanism for overcoming the system’s inertia (Romero et al. 2021 ).

The rapid outbreak of the pandemic posed a challenge to the large-scale implementation of digital technologies, which was influenced by a complex interplay of subjective and objective factors. Objective constraints included the lack of infrastructure in some regions to support digital technologies, while subjective obstacles included psychological resistance among certain students and teachers (Moorhouse, 2021 ). These factors greatly impacted the progress of online learning during the pandemic. Additionally, Timotheou et al. ( 2023 ) conducted a comprehensive systematic review of existing research on digital technology use during the pandemic, highlighting the critical role played by various factors such as learners’ and teachers’ digital skills, teachers’ personal attributes and professional development, school leadership and management, and administration in facilitating the digitalization and transformation of schools.

The current stage of research is characterized by the pivotal term “digital literacy,” denoting a growing interest in learners’ attitudes and adoption of emerging technologies. Initially, the term “literacy” was restricted to fundamental abilities and knowledge associated with books and print materials (McMillan, 1996 ). However, with the swift advancement of computers and digital technology, there have been various attempts to broaden the scope of literacy beyond its traditional meaning, including game literacy (Buckingham and Burn, 2007 ), information literacy (Eisenberg, 2008 ), and media literacy (Turin and Friesem, 2020 ). Similarly, digital literacy has emerged as a crucial concept, and Gilster and Glister ( 1997 ) were the first to introduce this concept, referring to the proficiency in utilizing technology and processing digital information in academic, professional, and daily life settings. In practical educational settings, learners who possess higher digital literacy often exhibit an aptitude for quickly mastering digital devices and applying them intelligently to education and teaching (Yu, 2022 ).

The utilization of digital technology in education has undergone significant changes over the past two decades, and has been a crucial driver of educational reform with each new technological revolution. The impact of these changes on the underlying logic of digital technology education applications has been noticeable. From computer technology to more recent developments such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI), the acceleration in digital technology development has been ongoing. Educational reforms spurred by digital technology development continue to be dynamic, as each new digital innovation presents new possibilities and models for teaching practice. This is especially relevant in the post-pandemic era, where the importance of technological progress in supporting teaching cannot be overstated (Mughal et al. 2022 ). Existing digital technologies have already greatly expanded the dimensions of education in both time and space, while future digital technologies aim to expand learners’ perceptions. Researchers have highlighted the potential of integrated technology and immersive technology in the development of the educational metaverse, which is highly anticipated to create a new dimension for the teaching and learning environment, foster a new value system for the discipline of educational technology, and more effectively and efficiently achieve the grand educational blueprint of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (Zhang et al. 2022 ; Li and Yu, 2023 ).

Hotspot evolution analysis (RQ3)

The examination of keyword evolution reveals a consistent trend in the advancement of digital technology education application research. The emergence and transformation of keywords serve as indicators of the varying research interests in this field. Thus, the utilization of the burst detection function available in CiteSpace allowed for the identification of the top 10 burst words that exhibited a high level of burst strength. This outcome is illustrated in Table 7 .

According to the results presented in Table 7 , the explosive terminology within the realm of digital technology education research has exhibited a concentration mainly between the years 2018 and 2022. Prior to this time frame, the emerging keywords were limited to “information technology” and “computer”. Notably, among them, computer, as an emergent keyword, has always had a high explosive intensity from 2008 to 2018, which reflects the important position of computer in digital technology and is the main carrier of many digital technologies such as Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Assessment and Feedback systems (Barlovits et al. 2022 ).

Since 2018, an increasing number of research studies have focused on evaluating the capabilities of learners to accept, apply, and comprehend digital technologies. As indicated by the use of terms such as “digital literacy” and “digital skill,” the assessment of learners’ digital literacy has become a critical task. Scholarly efforts have been directed towards the development of literacy assessment tools and the implementation of empirical assessments. Furthermore, enhancing the digital literacy of both learners and educators has garnered significant attention. (Nagle, 2018 ; Yu, 2022 ). Simultaneously, given the widespread use of various digital technologies in different formal and informal learning settings, promoting learners’ digital skills has become a crucial objective for contemporary schools (Nygren et al. 2019 ; Forde and OBrien, 2022 ).

Since 2020, the field of applied research on digital technology education has witnessed the emergence of three new hotspots, all of which have been affected to some extent by the pandemic. Firstly, digital technology has been widely applied in physical education, which is one of the subjects that has been severely affected by the pandemic (Parris et al. 2022 ; Jiang and Ning, 2022 ). Secondly, digital transformation has become an important measure for most schools, especially higher education institutions, to cope with the impact of the pandemic globally (García-Morales et al. 2021 ). Although the concept of digital transformation was proposed earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated this transformation process. Educational institutions must carefully redesign their educational products to face this new situation, providing timely digital learning methods, environments, tools, and support systems that have far-reaching impacts on modern society (Krishnamurthy, 2020 ; Salas-Pilco et al. 2022 ). Moreover, the professional development of teachers has become a key mission of educational institutions in the post-pandemic era. Teachers need to have a certain level of digital literacy and be familiar with the tools and online teaching resources used in online teaching, which has become a research hotspot today. Organizing digital skills training for teachers to cope with the application of emerging technologies in education is an important issue for teacher professional development and lifelong learning (Garzón-Artacho et al. 2021 ). As the main organizers and practitioners of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the pandemic, teachers must put cognitive effort into their professional development to ensure effective implementation of ERT (Romero-Hall and Jaramillo Cherrez, 2022 ).

The burst word “digital transformation” reveals that we are in the midst of an ongoing digital technology revolution. With the emergence of innovative digital technologies such as ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot, technology trends will continue to evolve, albeit unpredictably. While the impact of these advancements on school education remains uncertain, it is anticipated that the widespread integration of technology will significantly affect the current education system. Rejecting emerging technologies without careful consideration is unwise. Like any revolution, the technological revolution in the education field has both positive and negative aspects. Detractors argue that digital technology disrupts learning and memory (Baron, 2021 ) or causes learners to become addicted and distracted from learning (Selwyn and Aagaard, 2020 ). On the other hand, the prudent use of digital technology in education offers a glimpse of a golden age of open learning. Educational leaders and practitioners have the opportunity to leverage cutting-edge digital technologies to address current educational challenges and develop a rational path for the sustainable and healthy growth of education.

Discussion on performance analysis (RQ1)

The field of digital technology education application research has experienced substantial growth since the turn of the century, a phenomenon that is quantifiably apparent through an analysis of authorship, country/region contributions, and institutional engagement. This expansion reflects the increased integration of digital technologies in educational settings and the heightened scholarly interest in understanding and optimizing their use.

Discussion on authorship productivity in digital technology education research

The authorship distribution within digital technology education research is indicative of the field’s intellectual structure and depth. A primary figure in this domain is Neil Selwyn, whose substantial citation rate underscores the profound impact of his work. His focus on the implications of digital technology in higher education and educational sociology has proven to be seminal. Selwyn’s research trajectory, especially the exploration of spatiotemporal extensions of education through technology, provides valuable insights into the multifaceted role of digital tools in learning processes (Selwyn et al. 2019 ).

Other notable contributors, like Henderson and Edwards, present diversified research interests, such as the impact of digital technologies during the pandemic and their application in early childhood education, respectively. Their varied focuses highlight the breadth of digital technology education research, encompassing pedagogical innovation, technological adaptation, and policy development.

Discussion on country/region-level productivity and collaboration

At the country/region level, the United Kingdom, specifically England, emerges as a leading contributor with 92 published papers and a significant citation count. This is closely followed by Australia and the United States, indicating a strong English-speaking research axis. Such geographical concentration of scholarly output often correlates with investment in research and development, technological infrastructure, and the prevalence of higher education institutions engaging in cutting-edge research.

China’s notable inclusion as the only non-Western country among the top contributors to the field suggests a growing research capacity and interest in digital technology in education. However, the lower average citation per paper for China could reflect emerging engagement or different research focuses that may not yet have achieved the same international recognition as Western counterparts.

The chord diagram analysis furthers this understanding, revealing dense interconnections between countries like the United States, China, and England, which indicates robust collaborations. Such collaborations are fundamental in addressing global educational challenges and shaping international research agendas.

Discussion on institutional-level contributions to digital technology education

Institutional productivity in digital technology education research reveals a constellation of universities driving the field forward. Monash University and the Australian Catholic University have the highest publication output, signaling Australia’s significant role in advancing digital education research. The University of Oslo’s remarkable average citation count per publication indicates influential research contributions, potentially reflecting high-quality studies that resonate with the broader academic community.

The strong showing of UK institutions, including the University of London, The Open University, and the University of Cambridge, reinforces the UK’s prominence in this research field. Such institutions are often at the forefront of pedagogical innovation, benefiting from established research cultures and funding mechanisms that support sustained inquiry into digital education.

Discussion on journal publication analysis

An examination of journal outputs offers a lens into the communicative channels of the field’s knowledge base. Journals such as Education and Information Technologies , Computers & Education , and the British Journal of Educational Technology not only serve as the primary disseminators of research findings but also as indicators of research quality and relevance. The impact factor (IF) serves as a proxy for the quality and influence of these journals within the academic community.

The high citation counts for articles published in Computers & Education suggest that research disseminated through this medium has a wide-reaching impact and is of particular interest to the field. This is further evidenced by its significant IF of 11.182, indicating that the journal is a pivotal platform for seminal work in the application of digital technology in education.

The authorship, regional, and institutional productivity in the field of digital technology education application research collectively narrate the evolution of this domain since the turn of the century. The prominence of certain authors and countries underscores the importance of socioeconomic factors and existing academic infrastructure in fostering research productivity. Meanwhile, the centrality of specific journals as outlets for high-impact research emphasizes the role of academic publishing in shaping the research landscape.

As the field continues to grow, future research may benefit from leveraging the collaborative networks that have been elucidated through this analysis, perhaps focusing on underrepresented regions to broaden the scope and diversity of research. Furthermore, the stabilization of publication numbers in recent years invites a deeper exploration into potential plateaus in research trends or saturation in certain sub-fields, signaling an opportunity for novel inquiries and methodological innovations.

Discussion on the evolutionary trends (RQ2)

The evolution of the research field concerning the application of digital technology in education over the past two decades is a story of convergence, diversification, and transformation, shaped by rapid technological advancements and shifting educational paradigms.

At the turn of the century, the inception of digital technology in education was largely exploratory, with a focus on how emerging computer technologies could be harnessed to enhance traditional learning environments. Research from this early period was primarily descriptive, reflecting on the potential and challenges of incorporating digital tools into the educational setting. This phase was critical in establishing the fundamental discourse that would guide subsequent research, as it set the stage for understanding the scope and impact of digital technology in learning spaces (Wang et al. 2023 ).

As the first decade progressed, the narrative expanded to encompass the pedagogical implications of digital technologies. This was a period of conceptual debates, where terms like “digital natives” and “disruptive pedagogy” entered the academic lexicon, underscoring the growing acknowledgment of digital technology as a transformative force within education (Bennett and Maton, 2010 ). During this time, the research began to reflect a more nuanced understanding of the integration of technology, considering not only its potential to change where and how learning occurred but also its implications for educational equity and access.

In the second decade, with the maturation of internet connectivity and mobile technology, the focus of research shifted from theoretical speculations to empirical investigations. The proliferation of digital devices and the ubiquity of social media influenced how learners interacted with information and each other, prompting a surge in studies that sought to measure the impact of these tools on learning outcomes. The digital divide and issues related to digital literacy became central concerns, as scholars explored the varying capacities of students and educators to engage with technology effectively.

Throughout this period, there was an increasing emphasis on the individualization of learning experiences, facilitated by adaptive technologies that could cater to the unique needs and pacing of learners (Jing et al. 2023a ). This individualization was coupled with a growing recognition of the importance of collaborative learning, both online and offline, and the role of digital tools in supporting these processes. Blended learning models, which combined face-to-face instruction with online resources, emerged as a significant trend, advocating for a balance between traditional pedagogies and innovative digital strategies.

The later years, particularly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated the necessity for digital technology in education, transforming it from a supplementary tool to an essential platform for delivering education globally (Mo et al. 2022 ; Mustapha et al. 2021 ). This era brought about an unprecedented focus on online learning environments, distance education, and virtual classrooms. Research became more granular, examining not just the pedagogical effectiveness of digital tools, but also their role in maintaining continuity of education during crises, their impact on teacher and student well-being, and their implications for the future of educational policy and infrastructure.

Across these two decades, the research field has seen a shift from examining digital technology as an external addition to the educational process, to viewing it as an integral component of curriculum design, instructional strategies, and even assessment methods. The emergent themes have broadened from a narrow focus on specific tools or platforms to include wider considerations such as data privacy, ethical use of technology, and the environmental impact of digital tools.

Moreover, the field has moved from considering the application of digital technology in education as a primarily cognitive endeavor to recognizing its role in facilitating socio-emotional learning, digital citizenship, and global competencies. Researchers have increasingly turned their attention to the ways in which technology can support collaborative skills, cultural understanding, and ethical reasoning within diverse student populations.

In summary, the past over twenty years in the research field of digital technology applications in education have been characterized by a progression from foundational inquiries to complex analyses of digital integration. This evolution has mirrored the trajectory of technology itself, from a facilitative tool to a pervasive ecosystem defining contemporary educational experiences. As we look to the future, the field is poised to delve into the implications of emerging technologies like AI, AR, and VR, and their potential to redefine the educational landscape even further. This ongoing metamorphosis suggests that the application of digital technology in education will continue to be a rich area of inquiry, demanding continual adaptation and forward-thinking from educators and researchers alike.

Discussion on the study of research hotspots (RQ3)

The analysis of keyword evolution in digital technology education application research elucidates the current frontiers in the field, reflecting a trajectory that is in tandem with the rapidly advancing digital age. This landscape is sculpted by emergent technological innovations and shaped by the demands of an increasingly digital society.

Interdisciplinary integration and pedagogical transformation

One of the frontiers identified from recent keyword bursts includes the integration of digital technology into diverse educational contexts, particularly noted with the keyword “physical education.” The digitalization of disciplines traditionally characterized by physical presence illustrates the pervasive reach of technology and signifies a push towards interdisciplinary integration where technology is not only a facilitator but also a transformative agent. This integration challenges educators to reconceptualize curriculum delivery to accommodate digital tools that can enhance or simulate the physical aspects of learning.

Digital literacy and skills acquisition

Another pivotal frontier is the focus on “digital literacy” and “digital skill”, which has intensified in recent years. This suggests a shift from mere access to technology towards a comprehensive understanding and utilization of digital tools. In this realm, the emphasis is not only on the ability to use technology but also on critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ethical use of digital resources (Yu, 2022 ). The acquisition of digital literacy is no longer an additive skill but a fundamental aspect of modern education, essential for navigating and contributing to the digital world.

Educational digital transformation

The keyword “digital transformation” marks a significant research frontier, emphasizing the systemic changes that education institutions must undergo to align with the digital era (Romero et al. 2021 ). This transformation includes the redesigning of learning environments, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methods to harness digital technology’s full potential. Research in this area explores the complexity of institutional change, addressing the infrastructural, cultural, and policy adjustments needed for a seamless digital transition.

Engagement and participation

Further exploration into “engagement” and “participation” underscores the importance of student-centered learning environments that are mediated by technology. The current frontiers examine how digital platforms can foster collaboration, inclusivity, and active learning, potentially leading to more meaningful and personalized educational experiences. Here, the use of technology seeks to support the emotional and cognitive aspects of learning, moving beyond the transactional view of education to one that is relational and interactive.

Professional development and teacher readiness

As the field evolves, “professional development” emerges as a crucial area, particularly in light of the pandemic which necessitated emergency remote teaching. The need for teacher readiness in a digital age is a pressing frontier, with research focusing on the competencies required for educators to effectively integrate technology into their teaching practices. This includes familiarity with digital tools, pedagogical innovation, and an ongoing commitment to personal and professional growth in the digital domain.

Pandemic as a catalyst

The recent pandemic has acted as a catalyst for accelerated research and application in this field, particularly in the domains of “digital transformation,” “professional development,” and “physical education.” This period has been a litmus test for the resilience and adaptability of educational systems to continue their operations in an emergency. Research has thus been directed at understanding how digital technologies can support not only continuity but also enhance the quality and reach of education in such contexts.

Ethical and societal considerations

The frontier of digital technology in education is also expanding to consider broader ethical and societal implications. This includes issues of digital equity, data privacy, and the sociocultural impact of technology on learning communities. The research explores how educational technology can be leveraged to address inequities and create more equitable learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

Innovation and emerging technologies

Looking forward, the frontiers are set to be influenced by ongoing and future technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence (AI) (Wu and Yu, 2023 ; Chen et al. 2022a ). The exploration into how these technologies can be integrated into educational practices to create immersive and adaptive learning experiences represents a bold new chapter for the field.

In conclusion, the current frontiers of research on the application of digital technology in education are multifaceted and dynamic. They reflect an overarching movement towards deeper integration of technology in educational systems and pedagogical practices, where the goals are not only to facilitate learning but to redefine it. As these frontiers continue to expand and evolve, they will shape the educational landscape, requiring a concerted effort from researchers, educators, policymakers, and technologists to navigate the challenges and harness the opportunities presented by the digital revolution in education.

Conclusions and future research

Conclusions.

The utilization of digital technology in education is a research area that cuts across multiple technical and educational domains and continues to experience dynamic growth due to the continuous progress of technology. In this study, a systematic review of this field was conducted through bibliometric techniques to examine its development trajectory. The primary focus of the review was to investigate the leading contributors, productive national institutions, significant publications, and evolving development patterns. The study’s quantitative analysis resulted in several key conclusions that shed light on this research field’s current state and future prospects.

(1) The research field of digital technology education applications has entered a stage of rapid development, particularly in recent years due to the impact of the pandemic, resulting in a peak of publications. Within this field, several key authors (Selwyn, Henderson, Edwards, etc.) and countries/regions (England, Australia, USA, etc.) have emerged, who have made significant contributions. International exchanges in this field have become frequent, with a high degree of internationalization in academic research. Higher education institutions in the UK and Australia are the core productive forces in this field at the institutional level.

(2) Education and Information Technologies , Computers & Education , and the British Journal of Educational Technology are notable journals that publish research related to digital technology education applications. These journals are affiliated with the research field of educational technology and provide effective communication platforms for sharing digital technology education applications.

(3) Over the past two decades, research on digital technology education applications has progressed from its early stages of budding, initial development, and critical exploration to accelerated transformation, and it is currently approaching maturity. Technological progress and changes in the times have been key driving forces for educational transformation and innovation, and both have played important roles in promoting the continuous development of education.

(4) Influenced by the pandemic, three emerging frontiers have emerged in current research on digital technology education applications, which are physical education, digital transformation, and professional development under the promotion of digital technology. These frontier research hotspots reflect the core issues that the education system faces when encountering new technologies. The evolution of research hotspots shows that technology breakthroughs in education’s original boundaries of time and space create new challenges. The continuous self-renewal of education is achieved by solving one hotspot problem after another.

The present study offers significant practical implications for scholars and practitioners in the field of digital technology education applications. Firstly, it presents a well-defined framework of the existing research in this area, serving as a comprehensive guide for new entrants to the field and shedding light on the developmental trajectory of this research domain. Secondly, the study identifies several contemporary research hotspots, thus offering a valuable decision-making resource for scholars aiming to explore potential research directions. Thirdly, the study undertakes an exhaustive analysis of published literature to identify core journals in the field of digital technology education applications, with Sustainability being identified as a promising open access journal that publishes extensively on this topic. This finding can potentially facilitate scholars in selecting appropriate journals for their research outputs.

Limitation and future research

Influenced by some objective factors, this study also has some limitations. First of all, the bibliometrics analysis software has high standards for data. In order to ensure the quality and integrity of the collected data, the research only selects the periodical papers in SCIE and SSCI indexes, which are the core collection of Web of Science database, and excludes other databases, conference papers, editorials and other publications, which may ignore some scientific research and original opinions in the field of digital technology education and application research. In addition, although this study used professional software to carry out bibliometric analysis and obtained more objective quantitative data, the analysis and interpretation of data will inevitably have a certain subjective color, and the influence of subjectivity on data analysis cannot be completely avoided. As such, future research endeavors will broaden the scope of literature screening and proactively engage scholars in the field to gain objective and state-of-the-art insights, while minimizing the adverse impact of personal subjectivity on research analysis.

Data availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available in the Dataverse repository: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/F9QMHY

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Social Science Planning Project, “Mechanisms and Pathways for Empowering Classroom Teaching through Learning Spaces under the Strategy of High-Quality Education Development”, the 2022 National Social Science Foundation Education Youth Project “Research on the Strategy of Creating Learning Space Value and Empowering Classroom Teaching under the background of ‘Double Reduction’” (Grant No. CCA220319) and the National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of China (Grant No. 202310337023).

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Wang, C., Chen, X., Yu, T. et al. Education reform and change driven by digital technology: a bibliometric study from a global perspective. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 256 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02717-y

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TeachThought

Modern Trends In Education: 50 Different Approaches To Learning

What if a class consisted of words that led to information that whirled into blended realms of creativity set up just for students, created by students?

modern trends in education

contributed by Lisa Chesser and updated by TeachThought Staff

Education sprouts in many forms.

Our views of what it should look like and how it should materialize depend on our value of it and our experience with it.

What if a class consisted of words that led to information that whirled into blended realms of creativity set up just for students, created by students? The students then dictated what they learned instead of reluctantly ingesting information and standards imposed upon them.

That exists here and now. In every nook and cranny, around every corner, inside every well-engineered lesson, students might just learn what they want to learn and actually find success while improving the world around them.

Take a tour of 50 different views of education that somehow find a similar note: Education is changing and there may certain things every classroom should have .

1. Ground Up Diversity

The late Sir Ken Robinson  campaigned for changing education through talks, writing, advising, and teaching. He believes education must change because it’s a stale environment in which most students don’t really learn what they should or want to learn. How that happens makes all the difference—from the ground up. People, students, and teachers create the change, not the administrators or the executives.

2. Social Networking

With social networking growing to the point that Technorati last tracked about 70 million updated blogs, using social networking to teach any subject and catapult students into a realm other than stagnant learning means blending the traditional education with modern communication. Many educators believe this is the route to engaging students in learning all the basic skills they need.

3. Competency-Based Learning

Competency-based learning is an approach to education that focuses on the student’s demonstration of desired learning outcomes.

4. Underground Education

According to John Taylor Gatto, teachers should choose the real world over the classroom. Students don’t learn to live or survive in a classroom. They learn to survive in the real world so the concept of underground education challenges educators in any walk of life to give students the tools with which to live and breathe in the world around them. If the lesson must be taught, then teach it thinking of who they might become.

5. Navdanya

Dr. Vadana Shiva’s mission lives and breathes in  Navdanya , an organization that promotes self-reliance and earth democracy. The leaders of the organization are women who find strength in women’s movements and give women a voice. Earth democracy developed from the idea of seed saving helping local communities become self-reliant.

6. Self-Directed Learning

Read here for more on Self-Directed Learning .

7. Social Status

Even more significant to learning than being an asset, social status plays an underlying role in the education of a small or large group of people whether it’s an entire country’s agenda or certain sections or communities within that country. In other words, if that community puts importance on education as a social benefit, students and people in that community will strive to achieve it in order to raise their status in the community.

8. Lesson Study

Originating in Japan, lesson study applies to style of teaching. Conceptually, lesson study promotes the idea that teachers constantly improve and change their style of teaching based on students’ performance and reaction to it. It sounds like what we already do but not exactly. Collaboration between teachers is paramount and so is change. Combining these two factors with constant change means students never stop learning.

9. Constructive Struggling

Another  Japanese form of teaching  is to allow students to struggle through a lesson with guidance from their teacher. In other words, the student shouldn’t be embarrassed about failing the first time around, not even the second or third time. The instructor should actually encourage students to learn from that failure.

10. School in the Clouds

After experimenting with a computer in a wall where poor children basically found a way to learn without a teacher, Sugata Mitra won the Ted Prize of $1 million in 2013. He wrote an ebook named Beyond the Hole in the Wall offering an ideal for education based on a very real premise that students learn no matter what social status or economic background. They simply need the tools with which to do so.

11. Problem-Based Learning

In regards to tertiary education, problem-based learning is gaining popularity in Australia. Students are given a real-world problem then they work together to find a solution to this. In Australia, nursing programs have begun to embrace this style of teaching and learning because it challenges the students to work as if they’re dealing with real problems they’ll encounter in the workplace. Teachers find it invaluable because students learn more with this method.

12. Learning with Technologies

Another view found around the world surrounds the use of technologies as a key to students improving their learning and ‘marketability.’ Within the realm of technologies, teachers encourage students to innovate, bringing them full-circle into the 21st-century where visibility and adaptability rule.

13. Constructivist Learning

According to Dimitrios Thanasoulas of Greece with relation to philosopher Giambattista Vico, humans only understand what they construct. This concept runs on the idea that students create their own learning environments, actively participating in the knowledge they ingest. Creating your own learning involves making mistakes with no preset agenda in place. Constructive learning is not stable so many educational systems reject it.

14. International Objectives

Many countries are creating a climate conducive to international students’ interests and desires. In 2010, $7.7 billion was spent on tuition by international students in Canada. Countries that give attention to international students find economic benefits in both education and employment.

15. Asynchronous Learning Hubs

Whether through videos, cohorts, online courses, playlists, live streaming, or other approaches, the future of learning will likely be at least partly asynchronous.

16. Competency-Based Education

Competency-based education  says that regardless of the length of time it takes for a student to complete a course, the student completes it based on what they know already. The only factor in determining how or when the student completes the course is the mastery of knowledge within the subject.

17. Adaptive Learning Platforms

IXL , for example.

18. Degree Qualifications

The Lumina Foundation  argues that degree programs need to set benchmarks for students that prepare them for an ever-changing workplace. These degrees then aren’t simply meant for study but give students goals and skills that will help them find and maintain jobs once they enter the workforce.

19. Place-Based Learning

Place-Based Education “immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences, uses these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum, and emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the local school and/or community.” (citation needed)

20. Disrupting Innovation

Some see online education as a disruptive process in the clean line that traditional education has managed to stronghold, which links to Herbert Stein’s law in the sense that online education is putting an end to this stronghold. Americans see this as a crisis because of the unemployment rate and the competition from China and India. In response, disruptive innovation means the expense and elitism of education is changing to provide an affordable alternative.

21. Open Innovation

Open innovation promotes the idea of competition. In the business world this means opening up platforms for companies in the form of contests. In higher education, this means bringing together various institutions for competitions locally and globally. It means not confining it to only a select few but opening up to as many contestants as possible.

22. Focus On Teacher Quality

Another view and criticism of education puts the success or the blame on the teachers’ low salary. Respect for the teaching profession is crucial to the process of growing high-quality teachers. Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg believes that educators should be paid more and for good reason. In Finland, receiving placement in a master’s program for teachers is harder than getting a law or medical degree.

23. Finnish Education

Instead of focusing on meeting standards and racing to the top, Finland focuses on providing quality education to everyone. Contrary to many of the other views in this list, Finland doesn’t believe in competition or even giving grades until fifth grade. The system also doesn’t believe in punitive measures but encourages trust and equality.

24. Social Support Strategy

Organizations such as The Adolescent Girls’ Advocacy and Leadership Initiative (AGALI) use social support strategy to ensure young women learn about themselves beyond social norms. Realizing that the institutionalization of education can only go so far, these organizations provide education in other, far-reaching ways that give people a sense of confidence and self-worth necessary to finding success in life.

25. Change Agents

Elevating the teacher as the key to changing the groaning educational system, change agents are teachers who not only embrace the notion of change but simply make change happen. They don’t wait for a law to pass or a standard to take effect, they just take the initiative to ensure students learn no matter what the circumstances or limitations.

26. Common Core Change

In the United States, the implementation of common core standards is meant to support higher education, which has reported a lower standard in educational abilities than in years before. It’s also meant to challenge students more by forcing education to enter the 21st century with more student-driven learning.

27. Start-up Education

Start-ups and education are slowly finding each other and attempting to link up with one another. The only problem is that bureaucracy in education creates slow change. But, when that change does occur, fast change and innovation give students and educators an ecosystem in which to thrive and learn.

28. Mobile Education

We move as a global society so that where ever we go, we carry our smartphones with us. Between conversations, we look down and tap away at whatever our minds fancy necessary or entertaining. So education, at least in the most cognizant facets, says it will be there too. It will walk with us on our journeys, our whims, our detours, and our desires. If we take our laptops around the world, education will walk with us according to mobile educational theories.

29. Invisible Structures

On that same note, why place a student in a box? If a student prefers to learn while traveling the world, then so be it. Breaking down the walls of education doesn’t simply mean creating online classrooms but encouraging students to meet in open spaces and learn outside the confines of the institution.  Teaching outside the classroom  should be a source of inspiration, not a strange phenomenon.

30. Economic Empowerment

Giving students the ability to control their economic status through teaching them skills and economic value systems around the world helps them become leaders and innovators but also helps them find a basis for earning an income in a fluctuating economy.

31. Vocational Training

Whether students are seeking a specialized higher education or a specific skill in order to further a career path, vocational training has become a more popular avenue and view of education in general. Often used by governments to train displaced workers, it can be a valuable source of study for anyone wanting to specialize in areas such as various types of medical technicians or even graphic arts.

32. Gamification

The concept of  gamification in learning is the addition of game-like mechanics to non-game ideas and practices. The word gamification was actually coined by an English programmer, Nick Pelling, in 2004. Adding gaming to education means simply enough that the user completes certain tasks for rewards just like in a video game.

33. Smart Capital

Smart capital involves placing funds exactly where they should be. Instead of handing funds over to an entire community or country based on need, the money flows into the hands of those that need it but will also use it effectively then share their ideas and funds with others so that we eliminate mediocre use or even no use of technology and funds.

34. Catalytic Role

Many foundations or organizations play a catalytic role in advancements in education such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They help innovators change the dynamics of education by providing monetary and other resources as support through college-ready education and post-secondary success. The main idea is to strengthen the relationship between teacher and student so that the learning process progresses to the point at which students not only learn but apply what they learn.

35. Blended Learning

Blending learning  and technology gives students an advantage over others. It’s one thing to move along at one’s own pace. It’s another to learn at one’s own pace. Linking the two makes a difference worth noting. Teachers don’t have to be breathing over the neck of the student. Guiding the student is often quite enough.

36. Collective Education

The individual takes the back seat when it comes to the idea of collectivist education. Students learn in groups and more importantly with each other better and more effectively than alone. This doesn’t mean that we disregard the individual online learner, but it means that the online learner will learn better when exposed to a group of learners with similar interests who can offer insight and questioning into the process of learning any particular subject.

37. Personalized Education

Ironically enough, personalized education holds even more value than ever. The difference is that personalized education doesn’t mean there isn’t collective education. It just means that education is given importance to personalized needs and desires, that the individual should mean something within the collective forum.

38. Flexible Learning

With personalized education, the value of flexible learning needs to be addressed. Flexible learning offers students choices, convenience, and a personal approach to learning any given subject. Because we are individuals, learning and teaching should entail some form of flexibility within the realm of standardization.

39. Flipped Learning

As bluntly put as possible, a ‘ flipped classroom’  means turning learning on its head. Take the learning environment and flip it around so that students do the nitty-gritty of learning with their teachers or professors as opposed to studying for exams alone in a dark room with only a bright lamp to guide them. The fun part happens at home with a link to a short article or a video. The tough part happens in school where the teachers can help students fill in the blanks.

40. Classical Education

The classical education of any group of students rewind to a time lost to them if delivered in a lecture format. Students can experience the beauty of Shakespeare at any age because they see it like it was and is, in a theater, no matter how small or large. Students at Oxford, in an online class, or students at a small school experience classical education because it’s handed to them by teachers who deliver it in motion.

41. Free Post-Secondary Education

Countries all over the world offer free post-secondary education giving students in those countries an obvious advantage over other students who may or may not receive any education at all. Students might be able to pay for their education if they work while they’re putting themselves through school and if they’re lucky enough maybe they have a resource providing them with funds for their education, but free resources guarantee an education that adds value to whatever they want to become.

42. Religious Education

Religious education exists because communities and cultures give it an importance beyond knowledge. Linking them together with time and presence, students learn the nature of who their families and communities believe they are as well as how to deal with a changing world full of disappointments and violence.

43. Moral Education

Moral education  involves many religions and many insights into the way humans interact with one another. How we manage our way through difficulties is just as important as how we maneuver through technological advances, at least to our ancestors and their views of right and wrong.

44. Character Education

Within the realm of creating morality, there’s character standing right next to it. Character may even be a stronger element of education than morality. With students so quickly exposed to violence and sexism throughout the Internet, character development takes effort and awareness. At every level of education, students should be exposed to it and given a chance to exercise their understanding of it.

45. Readiness Testing

Readiness Testing points educators and students in the right direction according to the people who view it as necessary. It allows educational systems to decide whether students can perform various tasks at a particular level therefore giving everyone insight into where and how students should move forward.

46. Sharing Voices

In New Zealand, students are encouraged to use online tools in order to tell their own stories and have their voices heard throughout their own communities and their country. In fact, the Ministry of Education’s goal is to have students express themselves and take responsibility of their own learning.

47. Expeditionary Learning

Expeditionary learning  brings the learning out into the world expediting the need to learn more than what’s confined inside the classroom walls but even more so using the world to learn. Students feel engaged in learning while achieving goals and accomplishing character development when exposed to learning outside.

48. Self-Organized Learning Environments

According to Wikipedia, a “Self Organized Learning Environment is a program designed to support self-directed education. Sugata Mitra, an education scientist, first popularized the term in 1999, referencing an approach he developed following his Hole in the Wall experiments.”

49. Expeditionary Learning

Expeditionary learning brings the learning out into the world expediting the need to learn more than what’s confined inside the classroom walls but even more so using the world to learn. Students feel engaged in learning while achieving goals and accomplishing character development when exposed to learning outside.

50. Global View

According to renowned educator  Yong Zhoa , high-stakes testing creates more problems than provides answers and it doesn’t match success in the world today. Educating creative, entrepreneurial students should be the focus of education with what he calls world-class learners in his latest book. Zhoa believes there needs to be a paradigm shift in education that builds on students’ strengths and gives them a format where their talents flourish and take shape instead of education shaping them.

This post has been updated by TeachThought and republished from its original version by Lisa Chesser at   opencolleges.edu.au

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

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The development and growth of national education systems

Educating India's large population: Challenges and solutions

One of the most significant phenomena of the 20th century was the dramatic expansion and extension of public (i.e., government-sponsored) education systems around the world—the number of schools grew, as did the number of children attending them. Similarly, the subjects taught in schools broadened from the basics of mathematics and language to include sciences and the arts. Various explanations have been given for the substantial increase in numbers of youths as well as adults attending government-sponsored schools; social scientists tend to categorize the reasons for these enrollment increases as products of either conflict or consensus in the process of social change . In most cases these perspectives are rooted in theories of social science that were formulated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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One major school of thought is represented in the work of French sociologist Émile Durkheim , who explained social phenomena from a consensus perspective. According to him, the achievement of social cohesion—exemplified in Europe’s large-scale national societies as they experienced industrialization , urbanization , and the secularization of governing bodies—required a universalistic agency capable of transmitting core values to the populace. These values included a common history that contributed to cultural continuity , social rules that instilled moral discipline and a sense of responsibility for all members of the society, and occupational skills that would meet the society’s complex and dynamic needs. Durkheim recognized that public schooling and teachers—as agents of a larger, moral society—served these necessary functions. As he observed in The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), “Education sets out precisely with the object of creating a social being.”

Durkheim’s thoughts, expressed near the turn of the 20th century, were reflected in the policies of newly sovereign states in the post-World War II period. Upon achieving their independence, governments throughout Africa and Asia quickly established systems of public instruction that sought to help achieve a sense of national identity in societies historically divided by tribal, ethnic, linguistic, religious, and geographic differences.

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The German political theorist and revolutionary Karl Marx viewed public schooling as a form of ideological control imposed by dominant groups. This perspective saw education not as building social cohesion but as reproducing a division of labour or enabling various status groups to gain control of organizations and to influence the distribution of valued resources. The German sociologist Max Weber regarded educational credentials as one such resource, in that credentials function as a form of “cultural capital” that can generally preserve the status quo while granting social mobility to select members of society.

The American philosopher John Dewey believed that education should mean the total development of the child . On the basis of the observations he made at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools —the experimental elementary schools that he founded in 1896—Dewey developed revolutionary educational theories that sparked the progressive education movement in the United States . As he propounded in The School and Society (1899) and The Child and the Curriculum (1902), education must be tied to experience, not abstract thought, and must be built upon the interests and developmental needs of the child. He argued for a student-centred, not subject-centred, curriculum and stressed the teaching of critical thought over rote memorization.

Later, in Experience and Education (1938), he criticized those of his followers who took his theories too far by disregarding organized subject matter in favour of vocational training or mere activity for their students. If prudently applied, progressive education could, Dewey believed, “shape the experiences of the young so that instead of reproducing current habits, better habits shall be formed, and thus the future adult society be an improvement on their own.” Concurrent pedagogies appeared in European institutions such as Ovide Decroly ’s École de l’Ermitage (the Hermitage School), which envisioned students utilizing the classroom as a workshop, and Maria Montessori ’s Casa dei Bambini (“Children’s House”), which incorporated experiential and tactile learning methods through students’ use of “didactic materials.”

Toward the end of the 20th century, comprehensive theories—such as those represented by the consensus and conflict models—were increasingly viewed as oversimplifications of social processes and, in many quarters, gave way to more particularized interpretations. One such perspective viewed educational expansion and extension less as a function of national interest and more as a by-product of religious, economic, political, and cultural changes that had occurred across most of Europe. Especially in the wake of the Enlightenment , an emphasis on the glorification of God was joined by the growing celebration of human progress (ultimately defined as economic growth ), while concerns for the salvation of the soul were augmented by the cultivation of individual potential. As nation-states with centralized governments extended citizenship rights in the 18th century, state sponsorship of schools began to supersede the church-supported instruction that had become the norm in the 16th and 17th centuries ( see Education, history of: Central European theories and practices ). According to such scholars as John Meyer and Michael Hannan in National Development and the World System: Educational, Economic, and Political Change, 1950–1970 (1979), formal systems of education not only represent the means by which nation-states have modernized and prospered economically but are also the surest route to enhancing the talents of individuals. As a requirement for all children and youths between certain ages and as an institution regulated by the state, schooling also became the primary agency for creating citizens with equal responsibilities and rights.

These values emerged in education systems throughout the world, especially in the late 20th century as education professionals promoted them in developed and less-developed countries alike. As such, schools effectively carried modernity into many parts of the world, where it was met with varying degrees of resistance and acceptance. Teachers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and government agencies contributed, for example, to standardization in the shape and style of the classroom, types of curricula, and goals for school enrollments. In the first half of the 20th century, schools in most industrialized countries came to exhibit similar characteristics—that is, schools could be identified as schools. By the second half of the 20th century, these traits had become prominent in most schools around the world.

The 10 Education Issues Everybody Should Be Talking About

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What issues have the potential to define—or re define—education in the year ahead? Is there a next “big thing” that could shift the K-12 experience or conversation?

These were the questions Education Week set out to answer in this second annual “10 Big Ideas in Education” report.

You can read about last year’s ideas here . In 2019, though, things are different.

This year, we asked Education Week reporters to read the tea leaves and analyze what was happening in classrooms, school districts, and legislatures across the country. What insights could reporters offer practitioners for the year ahead?

Some of the ideas here are speculative. Some are warning shots, others more optimistic. But all 10 of them here have one thing in common: They share a sense of urgency.

Accompanied by compelling illustrations and outside perspectives from leading researchers, advocates, and practitioners, this year’s Big Ideas might make you uncomfortable, or seem improbable. The goal was to provoke and empower you as you consider them.

Let us know what you think, and what big ideas matter to your classroom, school, or district. Tweet your comments with #K12BigIdeas .

No. 1: Kids are right. School is boring.

Illustration of a student who is bored in class

Out-of-school learning is often more meaningful than anything that happens in a classroom, writes Kevin Bushweller, the Executive Editor of EdWeek Market Brief. His essay tackling the relevance gap is accompanied by a Q&A with advice on nurturing, rather than stifling students’ natural curiosity. Read more.

No. 2: Teachers have trust issues. And it’s no wonder why.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Many teachers may have lost faith in the system, says Andrew Ujifusa, but they haven’t lost hope. The Assistant Editor unpacks this year’s outbreak of teacher activism. And read an account from a disaffected educator on how he built a coalition of his own. Read more.

No. 3: Special education is broken.

Conceptual Illustration of a special education puzzle with missing pieces

Forty years since students with disabilities were legally guaranteed a public school education, many still don’t receive the education they deserve, writes Associate Editor Christina A. Samuels. Delve into her argument and hear from a disability civil rights pioneer on how to create an equitable path for students. Read more.

No. 4: Schools are embracing bilingualism, but only for some students.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Staff Writer Corey Mitchell explains the inclusion problem at the heart of bilingual education. His essay includes a perspective from a researcher on dismantling elite bilingualism. Read more.

No. 5: A world without annual testing may be closer than you think.

BRIC ARCHIVE

There’s agreement that we have a dysfunctional standardized-testing system in the United States, Associate Editor Stephen Sawchuk writes. But killing it would come with some serious tradeoffs. Sawchuk’s musing on the alternatives to annual tests is accompanied by an argument for more rigorous classroom assignments by a teacher-practice expert. Read more.

No. 6: There are lessons to be learned from the educational experiences of black students in military families.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Drawing on his personal experience growing up in an Air Force family, Staff Writer Daarel Burnette II highlights emerging research on military-connected students. Learn more about his findings and hear from two researchers on what a new ESSA mandate means for these students. Read more.

No. 7: School segregation is not an intractable American problem.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Racial and economic segregation remains deeply entrenched in American schools. Staff Writer Denisa R. Superville considers the six steps one district is taking to change that. Her analysis is accompanied by an essay from the president of the American Educational Research Association on what is perpetuating education inequality. Read more.

No. 8: Consent doesn’t just belong in sex ed. class. It needs to start a lot earlier.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Assistant Editor Sarah D. Sparks looked at the research on teaching consent and found schools and families do way too little, way too late. Her report is partnered with a researcher’s practical guide to developmentally appropriate consent education. Read more.

No. 9: Education has an innovation problem.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Are education leaders spending too much time chasing the latest tech trends to maintain what they have? Staff Writer Benjamin Herold explores the innovation trap. Two technologists offer three tips for putting maintenance front and center in school management. Read more.

No. 10: There are two powerful forces changing college admissions.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Some colleges are rewriting the admissions script for potential students. Senior Contributing Writer Catherine Gewertz surveys this changing college admissions landscape. Her insights are accompanied by one teacher’s advice for navigating underserved students through the college application process. Read more.

Wait, there’s more.

Want to know what educators really think about innovation? A new Education Week Research Center survey delves into what’s behind the common buzzword for teachers, principals, and district leaders. Take a look at the survey results.

A version of this article appeared in the January 09, 2019 edition of Education Week as What’s on the Horizon for 2019?

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Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that could make a difference

Eduardo velez bustillo, harry a. patrinos.

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In 2022, we published, Lessons for the education sector from the COVID-19 pandemic , which was a follow up to,  Four Education Trends that Countries Everywhere Should Know About , which summarized views of education experts around the world on how to handle the most pressing issues facing the education sector then. We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy.

Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades .

1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures

Low quality instruction is a major constraint and prior to COVID-19, the learning poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 57% (6 out of 10 children could not read and understand basic texts by age 10). More dramatic is the case of Sub-Saharan Africa with a rate even higher at 86%. Several analyses show that the impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant, leaving students in low- and middle-income countries way behind in mathematics, reading and other subjects.  Some argue that learning poverty may be close to 70% after the pandemic , with a substantial long-term negative effect in future earnings. This generation could lose around $21 trillion in future salaries, with the vulnerable students affected the most.

2. Countries are not paying enough attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE)

At the pre-school level about two-thirds of countries do not have a proper legal framework to provide free and compulsory pre-primary education. According to UNESCO, only a minority of countries, mostly high-income, were making timely progress towards SDG4 benchmarks on early childhood indicators prior to the onset of COVID-19. And remember that ECCE is not only preparation for primary school. It can be the foundation for emotional wellbeing and learning throughout life; one of the best investments a country can make.

3. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality teachers

Low quality teaching is a huge problem and getting worse in many low- and middle-income countries.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the percentage of trained teachers fell from 84% in 2000 to 69% in 2019 . In addition, in many countries teachers are formally trained and as such qualified, but do not have the minimum pedagogical training. Globally, teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are the biggest shortfalls.

4. Decision-makers are not implementing evidence-based or pro-equity policies that guarantee solid foundations

It is difficult to understand the continued focus on non-evidence-based policies when there is so much that we know now about what works. Two factors contribute to this problem. One is the short tenure that top officials have when leading education systems. Examples of countries where ministers last less than one year on average are plentiful. The second and more worrisome deals with the fact that there is little attention given to empirical evidence when designing education policies.

To help improve on these four fronts, we see four supporting trends:

1. Neuroscience should be integrated into education policies

Policies considering neuroscience can help ensure that students get proper attention early to support brain development in the first 2-3 years of life. It can also help ensure that children learn to read at the proper age so that they will be able to acquire foundational skills to learn during the primary education cycle and from there on. Inputs like micronutrients, early child stimulation for gross and fine motor skills, speech and language and playing with other children before the age of three are cost-effective ways to get proper development. Early grade reading, using the pedagogical suggestion by the Early Grade Reading Assessment model, has improved learning outcomes in many low- and middle-income countries. We now have the tools to incorporate these advances into the teaching and learning system with AI , ChatGPT , MOOCs and online tutoring.

2. Reversing learning losses at home and at school

There is a real need to address the remaining and lingering losses due to school closures because of COVID-19.  Most students living in households with incomes under the poverty line in the developing world, roughly the bottom 80% in low-income countries and the bottom 50% in middle-income countries, do not have the minimum conditions to learn at home . These students do not have access to the internet, and, often, their parents or guardians do not have the necessary schooling level or the time to help them in their learning process. Connectivity for poor households is a priority. But learning continuity also requires the presence of an adult as a facilitator—a parent, guardian, instructor, or community worker assisting the student during the learning process while schools are closed or e-learning is used.

To recover from the negative impact of the pandemic, the school system will need to develop at the student level: (i) active and reflective learning; (ii) analytical and applied skills; (iii) strong self-esteem; (iv) attitudes supportive of cooperation and solidarity; and (v) a good knowledge of the curriculum areas. At the teacher (instructor, facilitator, parent) level, the system should aim to develop a new disposition toward the role of teacher as a guide and facilitator. And finally, the system also needs to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and be active part in the solution of the children’s problems. The Escuela Nueva Learning Circles or the Pratham Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) are models that can be used.

3. Use of evidence to improve teaching and learning

We now know more about what works at scale to address the learning crisis. To help countries improve teaching and learning and make teaching an attractive profession, based on available empirical world-wide evidence , we need to improve its status, compensation policies and career progression structures; ensure pre-service education includes a strong practicum component so teachers are well equipped to transition and perform effectively in the classroom; and provide high-quality in-service professional development to ensure they keep teaching in an effective way. We also have the tools to address learning issues cost-effectively. The returns to schooling are high and increasing post-pandemic. But we also have the cost-benefit tools to make good decisions, and these suggest that structured pedagogy, teaching according to learning levels (with and without technology use) are proven effective and cost-effective .

4. The role of the private sector

When properly regulated the private sector can be an effective education provider, and it can help address the specific needs of countries. Most of the pedagogical models that have received international recognition come from the private sector. For example, the recipients of the Yidan Prize on education development are from the non-state sector experiences (Escuela Nueva, BRAC, edX, Pratham, CAMFED and New Education Initiative). In the context of the Artificial Intelligence movement, most of the tools that will revolutionize teaching and learning come from the private sector (i.e., big data, machine learning, electronic pedagogies like OER-Open Educational Resources, MOOCs, etc.). Around the world education technology start-ups are developing AI tools that may have a good potential to help improve quality of education .

After decades asking the same questions on how to improve the education systems of countries, we, finally, are finding answers that are very promising.  Governments need to be aware of this fact.

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Eduardo Velez Bustillo's picture

Consultant, Education Sector, World Bank

Harry A. Patrinos

Senior Adviser, Education

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A modern approach to teaching classics

Martin Puchner is using chatbots to bring to life Socrates, Shakespeare, and Thoreau

Eileen O’Grady

Harvard Staff Writer

Making education accessible to a wider range of students is the driving force behind many of Martin Puchner’s projects.

It’s why, in the mid-2000s, he took on the daunting task of editing the vast “Norton Anthology of World Literature,” which is used to introduce college students in classrooms around the country to classic texts.

It’s also the reason he now experiments with building customized AI chatbots , allowing students to speak directly with famous figures from history, such as Socrates, Shakespeare, and Thoreau.

“I just think there’s so many barriers to education, that wherever I find an opportunity to lower them, through technology or pedagogical devices like an anthology, I’m game,” said Puchner, the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature.

Puchner sat down with the Gazette to talk about the anthology, which published its fifth edition this month with a new feature that provides different translations of text for students to compare — including one done by AI technology. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is it like to edit an anthology that encompasses such a vast range of global literature?

No one is trained in literature on that scale. In retrospect I’m amazed how little emphasis on that big picture is placed in education. But it allows you to see patterns and developments that you’re not able to see if you look at literature, culture, history in chunks of 100 or 200 years. For me it’s just been completely life-transforming. Everyone who first encounters such an anthology, including teachers, will say, “There’s so much in here I didn’t even know existed.” Since this is for American students, it’s a way of learning about the rest of the world. There is some American literature in here too, and some English literature, but the emphasis is on everything else.

“I thought, ‘I wonder what happens if I can use the dialogic form of the chat to access dialogic philosophers like Socrates?’”

Illustrations of famous authors in grid format.

Customized AI chatbots allow you to converse with historical figures, based on their words and ideas.

This anthology includes more material from oral storytelling traditions from Africa and the early Americas, tell me about that.

We started to think more intentionally about how to include oral literature, including Native American literary traditions, African literary traditions. We’d always had texts in the anthology that had been transmitted orally before they were written down (for example, the West African “Epic of Sunjata”), and we always had a cluster of fairy tales and folktales that were written down in the 19th century. But we didn’t really think systematically about it — we tried to do that this time, especially with respect to chronology. An anthology is organized mostly chronologically by when something was written down, but that doesn’t work very well when something has been transmitted for centuries and may be written down as an afterthought or by an anthropologist. We decided, at least in the thematic clusters, to mash up the texts that were written down in a given period with others that were written down later but that had an interesting thematic connection.

Tell me about the new “Translation Lab” feature in this edition.

Translation is a fascinating topic, because that’s what makes world literature flow. No one knows all these languages. That means if you want to do big-picture or cross-cultural reading, you have to do it in translation. Sometimes that’s treated as an embarrassment — scholars in comparative literature can be very snooty about that — but there’s an amazing amount of insight you can get out of good translations. It’s also cool to see how different translators approach that from different angles. Rilke’s “Archaic Torso of Apollo” is a modernist poem, it’s extremely obscure, it’s very difficult, including in the original German. We have a bunch of translations: One of the translations is by the wife and co-founder of Norton, our publisher, another is by myself, one is by Google Translate. I thought that would encourage students to think about what goes into translation. We encourage students to try out their latest translation software and see how these different machine translations handle difficult metaphors.

You have been creating customized AI chatbots that personify historical figures like Socrates, Aristotle, and Confucius. What inspired you to create these?

We interact with AI through dialogue. Thinkers in antiquity, Socrates, Confucius, the Buddha, lived in literate societies, but none of them wrote a single word — they insisted on live dialogue, particular styles of question and answers. When they died, their students wrote down their words and invented these philosophical dialogues. I thought, “Interesting that there’s a new form of dialogue that’s emerging through these chat bots, I wonder what happens if I can use the dialogic form of the chat to access dialogic philosophers like Socrates?” You upload a defined data set — let’s say the Platonic Dialogues — and then you generate instructions. Through trial and error, I figured out how to shape that combination of data set and instructions so that you can talk to Socrates. In the instructions, there’s a lot of, you know, “Don’t do this,” “Don’t do that.” You basically have to define what it means to be Socrates and speak. Because Socrates hadn’t written down his dialogues, I had to say, “Refer to the dialogues,” but say, “In a conversation later recorded by my student Plato, I observed …” I wanted it to be concrete and give actual quotations from the text and their answers. It’s fun to chat with these figures. I think you actually really learn something from them.

So how worried or optimistic are you about AI’s potential to impact the humanities?

Silicon Valley is so futurist in its predictions, I admit to being sometimes susceptible to that, just because almost everyone else in the arts and humanities is so knee-jerk against all of that. But I am aware that the utopian promises have not always come to pass and that’s certainly going to be the case with AI as well. Technologies are tools and it’s good to learn how to use them well. They have their possibilities, and they have limitations. I think people feel a lot of fear; we have all these science fiction scenarios in our minds that are often paired with a kind of contempt. “This is all it can do?” “This is not real art.” I think we need to move beyond that, I really do.

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“They’re coming in and they don’t know how to play.”

“I had some kids who went on to kindergarten who still did not know a triangle.”

“I can’t tell you the number of families who say their kids are anxious or depressed — and they’re little ones, 4 or 5.”

The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling

Teachers this year saw the effects of the pandemic’s stress and isolation on young students: Some can barely speak, sit still or even hold a pencil.

Claire Cain Miller

By Claire Cain Miller and Sarah Mervosh

The pandemic’s babies, toddlers and preschoolers are now school-age, and the impact on them is becoming increasingly clear: Many are showing signs of being academically and developmentally behind.

Interviews with more than two dozen teachers, pediatricians and early childhood experts depicted a generation less likely to have age-appropriate skills — to be able to hold a pencil, communicate their needs, identify shapes and letters, manage their emotions or solve problems with peers.

A variety of scientific evidence has also found that the pandemic seems to have affected some young children’s early development . Boys were more affected than girls, studies have found .

“I definitely think children born then have had developmental challenges compared to prior years,” said Dr. Jaime Peterson, a pediatrician at Oregon Health and Science University, whose research is on kindergarten readiness. “We asked them to wear masks, not see adults, not play with kids. We really severed those interactions, and you don’t get that time back for kids.”

The pandemic’s effect on older children — who were sent home during school closures, and lost significant ground in math and reading — has been well documented. But the impact on the youngest children is in some ways surprising: They were not in formal school when the pandemic began, and at an age when children spend a lot of time at home anyway.

The early years, though, are most critical for brain development. Researchers said several aspects of the pandemic affected young children — parental stress, less exposure to people, lower preschool attendance, more time on screens and less time playing.

Yet because their brains are developing so rapidly, they are also well positioned to catch up, experts said.

The youngest children represent “a pandemic tsunami” headed for the American education system, said Joel Ryan, who works with a network of Head Start and state preschool centers in Washington State, where he has seen an increase in speech delays and behavioral problems.

Not every young child is showing delays. Children at schools that are mostly Black or Hispanic or where most families have lower incomes are the most behind, according to data released Monday by Curriculum Associates , whose tests are given in thousands of U.S. schools. Students from higher-income families are more on pace with historical trends.

But “most, if not all, young students were impacted academically to some degree,” said Kristen Huff, vice president for assessment and research at Curriculum Associates.

Recovery is possible, experts said, though young children have not been a main focus of $122 billion in federal aid distributed to school districts to help students recover.

“We 100 percent have the tools to help kids and families recover,” said Catherine Monk, a clinical psychologist and professor at Columbia, and a chair of a research project on mothers and babies in the pandemic. “But do we know how to distribute, in a fair way, access to the services they need?”

What’s different now?

“I spent a long time just teaching kids to sit still on the carpet for one book. That’s something I didn’t need to do before.”

“We are talking 4- and 5-year-olds who are throwing chairs, biting, hitting, without the self-regulation.”

Brook Allen, in Martin, Tenn., has taught kindergarten for 11 years. This year, for the first time, she said, several students could barely speak, several were not toilet trained, and several did not have the fine motor skills to hold a pencil.

Children don’t engage in imaginative play or seek out other children the way they used to, said Michaela Frederick, a pre-K teacher for students with learning delays in Sharon, Tenn. She’s had to replace small building materials in her classroom with big soft blocks because students’ fine motor skills weren’t developed enough to manipulate them.

Michaela Frederick, a preschool teacher, plays with a stacking toy with a student.

Michaela Frederick, a pre-K teacher in Sharon, Tenn., playing a stacking game with a student.

Aaron Hardin for The New York Times

A child plays with a plastic toy with his fingers.

Preschoolers do not have the same fine motor skills as they did prepandemic, Ms. Frederick said.

Perhaps the biggest difference Lissa O’Rourke has noticed among her preschoolers in St. Augustine, Fla., has been their inability to regulate their emotions: “It was knocking over chairs, it was throwing things, it was hitting their peers, hitting their teachers.”

Data from schools underscores what early childhood professionals have noticed.

Children who just finished second grade, who were as young as 3 or 4 when the pandemic began, remain behind children the same age prepandemic, particularly in math, according to the new Curriculum Associates data. Of particular concern, the students who are the furthest behind are making the least progress catching up.

The youngest students’ performance is “in stark contrast” to older elementary school children, who have caught up much more, the researchers said. The new analysis examined testing data from about four million children, with cohorts before and after the pandemic.

Data from Cincinnati Public Schools is another example: Just 28 percent of kindergarten students began this school year prepared, down from 36 percent before the pandemic, according to research from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

How did this happen?

“They don’t have the muscle strength because everything they are doing at home is screen time. They are just swiping.”

“I have more kids in kindergarten who have never been in school.”

One explanation for young children’s struggles, childhood development experts say, is parental stress during the pandemic .

A baby who is exposed to more stress will show more activation on brain imaging scans in “the parts of that baby’s brain that focus on fear and focus on aggression,” said Rahil D. Briggs, a child psychologist with Zero to Three, a nonprofit that focuses on early childhood. That leaves less energy for parts of the brain focused on language, exploration and learning, she said.

During lockdowns, children also spent less time overhearing adult interactions that exposed them to new language, like at the grocery store or the library. And they spent less time playing with other children.

Kelsey Schnur, 32, of Sharpsville, Pa., pulled her daughter, Finley, from child care during the pandemic. Finley, then a toddler, colored, did puzzles and read books at home.

But when she finally enrolled in preschool, she struggled to adjust, her mother said. She was diagnosed with separation anxiety and selective mutism.

“It was very eye-opening to see,” said Ms. Schnur, who works in early childhood education. “They can have all of the education experiences and knowledge, but that socialization is so key.”

Preschool attendance can significantly boost kindergarten preparedness, research has found . But in many states, preschool attendance is still below prepandemic levels. Survey data suggests low-income families have not returned at the same rate as higher-income families.

“I have never had such a small class,” said Analilia Sanchez, who had nine children in her preschool class in El Paso this year. She typically has at least 16. “I think they got used to having them at home — that fear of being around the other kids, the germs.”

Time on screens also spiked during the pandemic — as parents juggled work and children cooped up at home — and screen time stayed up after lockdowns ended. Many teachers and early childhood experts believe this affected children’s attention spans and fine motor skills. Long periods of screen time have been associated with developmental delays .

Heidi Tringali, an occupational therapist in Charlotte, N.C., holds hands with a child who is standing on a ball.

Heidi Tringali, an occupational therapist in Charlotte, N.C., playing with a patient.

Travis Dove for The New York Times

A child in a playroom holds a swing, with a bouncy ball in the foreground.

Children are showing effects of spending time on screens, Ms. Tringali said, including shorter attention spans, less core strength and delayed social skills.

Heidi Tringali, a pediatric occupational therapist in Charlotte, N.C., said she and her colleagues are seeing many more families contact them with children who don’t fit into typical diagnoses.

She is seeing “visual problems, core strength, social skills, attention — all the deficits,” she said. “We really see the difference in them not being out playing.”

Can children catch up?

“I’m actually happy with the majority of their growth.”

“They just crave consistency that they didn’t get.”

It’s too early to know whether young children will experience long-term effects from the pandemic, but researchers say there are reasons to be optimistic.

“It is absolutely possible to catch up, if we catch things early,” said Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician and neuroscientist at Columbia and chair of the study on pandemic newborns. “There is nothing deterministic about a brain at six months.”

There may also have been benefits to being young in the pandemic, she and others said, like increased resiliency and more time with family .

Some places have invested in programs to support young children, like a Tennessee district that is doubling the number of teaching assistants in kindergarten classrooms next school year and adding a preschool class for students needing extra support.

Oregon used some federal pandemic aid money to start a program to help prepare children and parents for kindergarten the summer before.

For many students, simply being in school is the first step.

Sarrah Hovis, a preschool teacher in Roseville, Mich., has seen plenty of the pandemic’s impact in her classroom. Some children can’t open a bag of chips, because they lack finger strength. More of her students are missing many days of school, a national problem since the pandemic .

But she has also seen great progress. By the end of this year, some of her students were counting to 100, and even adding and subtracting.

“If the kids come to school,” she said, “they do learn.”

modern education

​Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere

The pandemic changed families’ lives and the culture of education: “Our relationship with school became optional.”

By Sarah Mervosh and Francesca Paris

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Facts.net

40 Facts About Elektrostal

Lanette Mayes

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 01 Jun 2024

Jessica Corbett

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

40-facts-about-elektrostal

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

  • Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
  • With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy , materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes , offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development .

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy , with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

Elektrostal's fascinating history, vibrant culture, and promising future make it a city worth exploring. For more captivating facts about cities around the world, discover the unique characteristics that define each city . Uncover the hidden gems of Moscow Oblast through our in-depth look at Kolomna. Lastly, dive into the rich industrial heritage of Teesside, a thriving industrial center with its own story to tell.

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Our commitment to delivering trustworthy and engaging content is at the heart of what we do. Each fact on our site is contributed by real users like you, bringing a wealth of diverse insights and information. To ensure the highest standards of accuracy and reliability, our dedicated editors meticulously review each submission. This process guarantees that the facts we share are not only fascinating but also credible. Trust in our commitment to quality and authenticity as you explore and learn with us.

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Republicans, Democrats continue to differ sharply on voting access

Six-in-ten Americans say any U.S. voter should have the option to vote early or absentee without having to document a reason, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

But there are wide partisan divides on this question:

A diverging bar chart showing that 6 in 10 Americans favor early or absentee voting without an excuse.

  • 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say early or absentee voting should be available to any voter without the need for an excuse.
  • 62% of Republicans and Republican leaners say these voting methods should only be available to those who have a documented reason for not voting in person on Election Day.

Both early and absentee voting are far more common today than in prior decades. In the 2022 midterm election , fewer than half of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day. And in 2020 – the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic – only about a quarter did so.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand how Americans view early and absentee voting ahead of the 2024 presidential election. For this analysis, we surveyed 8,638 U.S. adults from May 13 to 19, 2024.

Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

How views of no-excuse early and absentee voting have changed in recent years

A line chart showing that, compared with 2018, far fewer Republicans now support no-excuse early or absentee voting.

Americans are now less likely to support no-excuse early or absentee voting than they were prior to the 2020 election. This is the result of shifting views among Republicans.

In 2018, when we first asked this question, a 57% majority of Republicans said that any voter should have the option to vote early or by absentee ballot without having to document a reason. They are now 20 percentage points less likely to say this.

In contrast, Democrats’ views on this question are essentially unchanged over the past six years. Since 2018, about eight-in-ten Democrats have said no-excuse early or absentee voting should be available to any voter.

How views of no-excuse early and absentee voting differ by state

Americans who live in states where mail-in ballots will automatically be sent to every voter this November are more likely to have a favorable view of no-excuse early or absentee voting than those who live in states where voters have to request absentee ballots.

A dot plot showing that support for no-excuse early or absentee voting is higher in states with universal mail-in ballot access.

  • About seven-in-ten adults in states with universal mail-in ballot access (69%) say any voter should have the option to vote early or absentee without having to document a reason.
  • This view is shared by a narrower 59% majority of Americans living in states where ballots are not automatically mailed, but where any voter can request a mail-in ballot without an excuse.
  • 55% of adults in states that require a valid excuse to vote by mail say no-excuse early or absentee voting should be available to all voters.

Views differ within each party, but differences are more pronounced among Republicans: Nearly half of Republicans living in states where every voter receives a mail-in ballot (47%) favor no-excuse early or absentee voting, compared with 34% of Republicans living in states where a voter must request a mail-in ballot.

Regardless of a state’s policies, Democrats are substantially more likely than Republicans to back no-excuse early and absentee voting.

How views of voting access differ by demographic factors, ideology

There are moderate differences in views of no-excuse early or absentee voting by race and ethnicity, age, and education.

A diverging bar chart showing that Black adults particularly likely to say all voters should have access to no-excuse early or absentee voting.

Race and ethnicity

Nearly three-quarters of Black adults (74%) say any voter should have the option to vote early or absentee without an excuse. Smaller majorities of White (59%), Asian (59%) and Hispanic (56%) adults say the same.

Adults younger than 30 are more likely than those in older age groups to support no-excuse early or absentee voting.

Roughly seven-in-ten Americans with a postgraduate degree (71%) favor no-excuse early or absentee voting. This compares with 67% of college graduates, 60% of those who have some college experience but no four-year degree, and 52% of Americans with a high school degree or less education.

Party and ideology

In both parties, views differ by ideology:

  • Liberal Democrats are 17 points more likely than conservative or moderate Democrats to back no-excuse early or absentee voting (92% vs. 75%).
  • Moderate and liberal Republicans are 15 points more likely than conservative Republicans to support these voting methods (47% vs. 32%).

Would making it easier to vote have an effect on election security?

Demographic and ideological differences also surface on the question of whether elections would be less secure if the rules were changed to make it easier to register and vote.

A diverging bar chart showing that most Republicans say making it easier to register and vote would cause U.S. elections to be less secure.

About three-quarters of Black adults (74%) say that changing the rules in this way would not make elections any less secure. About six-in-ten Asian adults say this (62%), as do 56% of Hispanic adults and 55% of White adults.

Adults under 50 are modestly more likely than those ages 50 and older to say that changing election rules would not make elections any less secure (61% vs. 55%).

Americans with at least a four-year college degree are 10 points more likely than those without a degree to say this (64% vs. 54%).

Around nine-in-ten liberal Democrats (91%) say that changing the rules to make it easier to vote would not make elections less secure. A smaller majority of conservative and moderate Democrats (70%) also say this.

By contrast, nearly seven-in-ten conservative Republicans (69%) say that elections would be less secure if the rules were changed to make it easier to register and vote. A narrower majority of moderate and liberal Republicans (54%) say this.

To categorize states by their voting laws, we relied on data from the National Conference of State Legislatures . We accessed this data on July 3, 2024, and it was last updated on Dec. 20, 2023.

A table showing state vote-by-mail laws

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

  • Election System & Voting Process
  • U.S. Elections & Voters

Download Andrew Daniller's photo

Andrew Daniller is a research associate focusing on politics at Pew Research Center .

What Can Improve Democracy?

2024 presidential primary season was one of the shortest in the modern political era, representative democracy remains a popular ideal, but people around the world are critical of how it’s working, bipartisan support for early in-person voting, voter id, election day national holiday, 7 facts about americans’ views of money in politics, most popular.

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modern education

EXPERT OPINION

'Lack of Education ... and Winging It': Why Law Firms Fail at Marketing and Ways to Address Common Issues

"You've got to be realistic about where your clients are coming from and put your marketing efforts towards that," said Brendan Chard, founder and CEO of the law firm website design company The Modern Firm.

July 10, 2024 at 10:24 AM

6 minute read

Law Firm Marketing and Business Development

Mason Lawlor

Mason Lawlor

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According to a  report published  in April by the legal management software company Clio, over one-third of potential clients start their attorney search online, but experts say many firms still don’t employ an effective marketing strategy or spend the time learning how.

Brendan Chard, founder and CEO of the law firm website design company The Modern Firm, said that educating law firms on how to market themselves effectively online remains an uphill battle. He said many firms don’t know their clientele, and it results in failed marketing efforts.

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A new path to education reform: The next chapter on 21st century skills

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  • Contact Brookings Office Of Communications [email protected] 202.797.6105

Subscribe to the Center for Universal Education Bulletin

12:00 pm EST - 1:00 pm EST

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

Online only

The “factory model” of education dominates the majority of American classrooms. Teachers are pressured to improve students’ reading and math scores on standardized tests, but assessments show that scores have remained mostly unchanged since the early 2000s. This model emerged in the early 20th century to mold students for the industrial economy but is not preparing students to thrive in the 21st century or addressing systemic inequalities. The narrow focus on content outcomes—rather than on the ability to critically think through a problem and apply new knowledge systemically—is insufficient, raising a critical question: What can replace it to provide all students with quality education in the 21st century?

Schools can capitalize on the growing consensus in the scientific community around how children learn and what children learn as a pathway to modern transformational reform. Evidence from the interdisciplinary science of learning shows that children learn best through the principles of guided play: adult-facilitated active and engaged learning that is meaningful, socially interactive, iterative, and joyful. Importantly, these principles apply both inside and outside the classroom.

In today’s globalized, rapidly changing world, children need to develop a breadth of skills beyond numeracy and literacy that allow them to engage in independent lifelong learning. The 6 Cs—collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence—are a suite of skills that are rooted in the science of learning and build on each other.

With the abrupt disruption to the education status quo wrought overnight by COVID-19, now is the time to rethink the classroom. On January 13, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) hosted a webinar to discuss a path to educational reform. Following a brief overview of the recent Policy 2020 report “ A new path to education reform: Playful learning promotes 21st-century skills in schools and beyond ” by Brookings Fellow Helen Hadani, a panel of experts shared their various perspectives on how to remake education, foster educational equity, and prepare students for a better future.

Viewers submitted questions via email to [email protected] or via Twitter at #21CSReform.

Opening remarks

Panel discussion.

K-12 Education

Global Economy and Development

Center for Universal Education

Sofoklis Goulas

June 27, 2024

Modupe (Mo) Olateju, Grace Cannon, Kelsey Rappe

June 14, 2024

Jon Valant, Nicolas Zerbino

June 13, 2024

IMAGES

  1. Modern Education: Meaning, Purpose, Benefits, in India

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  2. What Are The Benefits Of The Modern Education System For Students?

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  3. Top 5 Modern Trends in Education

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  4. How Technology Has Improved Modern Education

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  5. Modern Education: Meaning, Purpose, Benefits, in India

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  6. Modern Education Exploring The 10 Impact on Technology

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VIDEO

  1. The modern Education academy Kursail #adjlsmedia #viral #new #trend #youtubeshorts #school

  2. Владимир Мединский: Единожды полученного образования в 21 веке хватать не будет

  3. Школа InternetUrok. Новый подход в обучении: концепция школы будущего

  4. Modern Education System

  5. Top 10 Challenges Facing Modern Education

  6. A representation of a modern education system: Lecce

COMMENTS

  1. What the Future of Education Looks Like from Here

    The Future of Education panel, moderated by Dean Bridget Long and hosted by HGSE's Askwith Forums, focused on hopes for education going forward, as well as HGSE's role. "The story of HGSE is the story of pivotal decisions, meeting challenges, and tremendous growth," Long said. "We have a long history of empowering our students and ...

  2. Our education system is losing relevance. Here's how to update it

    We must update education with job readiness, the ability to compete against smart machines and the creation of long-term economic value in mind; Education access, equity and quality must be improved to solve the global education crisis - 72 million children of primary education age are not in school. Education today is in crisis.

  3. The turning point: Why we must transform education now

    UNESCO argues that education is failing to address the global challenges of today and calls for a new social contract for education. It proposes five key areas of transformation and hosts a pre-summit to build a roadmap for the Transforming Education Summit in 2022.

  4. Modern Education: Meaning, Purpose, Benefits, in India

    Learn about the latest and contemporary version of education that is taught in schools and learning institutions in the 21st century. Explore the differences, advantages, challenges and examples of modern education compared to traditional education in India.

  5. Global education trends and research to follow in 2022

    The pandemic highlighted several trends in education that promise to be the focus of future policy and practice in 2022 and beyond: the importance of skills that supplement the learning of content ...

  6. Transforming education systems: Why, what, and how

    A policy brief that explores the urgency, vision, and steps of education system transformation in the context of global challenges and opportunities. It features perspectives from a global think tank and a national government leader on how to redesign education goals, pedagogy, and position.

  7. Transforming lives through education

    UNESCO leads global and regional efforts to improve education systems, promote literacy, and advance the right to education for all. Learn how UNESCO has responded to challenges and opportunities in different regions and contexts, and how it envisions the future of education.

  8. Education reform and change driven by digital technology: a

    Digital technology has become an essential component of modern education, facilitating the extension of temporal and spatial boundaries and enriching the pedagogical contexts (Selwyn and Facer, 2014).

  9. Global trends and the future of education

    The first edition of Trends Shaping Education was published in 2008 and subsequent editions appeared in 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019. The 2022 edition contains 25 trend areas each illustrated by two figures. This content is organised in five chapters: growth, living and working, knowledge and power, identity and belonging, and our changing nature.

  10. In the quest to transform education, putting purpose at the center is

    With the emergence of modern states, education became a key tool for building national identity — and in some contexts, also democratic citizenship as demonstrated in Eleanor Roosevelt's essay ...

  11. Modern Trends In Education: Different Approaches To Learning

    Modern Trends In Education: 50 Different Approaches To Learning. 1. Ground Up Diversity. The late Sir Ken Robinson campaigned for changing education through talks, writing, advising, and teaching. He believes education must change because it's a stale environment in which most students don't really learn what they should or want to learn ...

  12. Education

    Education - Global Trends, Access, Equity: One of the most significant phenomena of the 20th century was the dramatic expansion and extension of public (i.e., government-sponsored) education systems around the world—the number of schools grew, as did the number of children attending them. Similarly, the subjects taught in schools broadened from the basics of mathematics and language to ...

  13. The 10 Education Issues Everybody Should Be Talking About

    Tweet your comments with #K12BigIdeas . No. 1: Kids are right. School is boring. Daryn Ray for Education Week. Out-of-school learning is often more meaningful than anything that happens in a ...

  14. Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that

    We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy. Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades. 1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures.

  15. A modern approach to teaching classics

    A modern approach to teaching classics Martin Puchner is using chatbots to bring to life Socrates, Shakespeare, and Thoreau ... July 8, 2024 6 min read Making education accessible to a wider range of students is the driving force behind many of Martin Puchner's projects. It's why, in the mid-2000s, he took on the daunting task of editing ...

  16. Why understanding the historical purposes of modern ...

    How did modern schooling originate and evolve in different contexts and what are its legacies for education today? This article explores the role of colonization, nationalism, and economics in shaping the purposes of formal schooling and how they affect the transformation of education.

  17. Education

    ADOBE DOCUMENT CLOUD FOR EDUCATION. Stand out. Save money. Go paperless in school. Give students, faculty, parents, employees, and alumni smooth, modern e-signature experiences — all while meeting security and compliance standards with Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Sign. Try Acrobat Sign free {{phone-business}}

  18. The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling

    The youngest children represent "a pandemic tsunami" headed for the American education system, said Joel Ryan, who works with a network of Head Start and state preschool centers in Washington ...

  19. First Lady of Ukraine Visits National Academy of Sciences

    "Science and culture bring us closer together. They will indeed save the modern world," said First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, who addressed a conference on U.S. and Ukraine partnerships in science education. The event was co-hosted by the Ukrainian Embassy and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

  20. 40 Facts About Elektrostal

    In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is ...

  21. Elektrostal, Russia: All You Must Know Before You Go (2024

    A mix of the charming, modern, and tried and true. See all. Apelsin Hotel. 43. from $48/night. Apart Hotel Yantar. 2. from $28/night. Elektrostal Hotel.

  22. Elektrostal

    In 1938, it was granted town status. [citation needed]Administrative and municipal status. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Elektrostal Urban Okrug.

  23. Why we must transform our education systems, now

    This article summarizes a report on how to transform education systems to meet the challenges of global education in the 21st century. It proposes three steps: start with purpose, redesign pedagogy, and position and align system components.

  24. Republicans, Democrats continue to differ sharply on voting access

    There are moderate differences in views of no-excuse early or absentee voting by race and ethnicity, age, and education. Race and ethnicity. Nearly three-quarters of Black adults (74%) say any voter should have the option to vote early or absentee without an excuse. Smaller majorities of White (59%), Asian (59%) and Hispanic (56%) adults say ...

  25. 'Lack of Education ... and Winging It': Why Law Firms Fail at Marketing

    The Modern Firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, works exclusively with solo and small law firms throughout the U.S. and is effectively a one-stop shop for those firms to develop branding, design ...

  26. A new path to education reform: The next chapter on 21st ...

    Following a brief overview of the recent Policy 2020 report " A new path to education reform: Playful learning promotes 21st-century skills in schools and beyond " by Brookings Fellow Helen ...

  27. Elektrostal

    Elektrostal. Elektrostal ( Russian: Электроста́ль) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is 58 kilometers (36 mi) east of Moscow. As of 2010, 155,196 people lived there.