The education sector is becoming more and more reliant on technology in nearly every aspect of the learning process. Teachers are implementing all kinds of technology into the classroom in order to better educate their students. Education, however, is not just limited to the classroom setting, which means that a wide range of learning types are being improved by technology including vocational training and online certifications. Below is a list of some of the most common types of technology designed for learning and education and how these types of learning benefit from implementing technology to better engage students.

Education Software

Nearly everything in classrooms from attendance to classroom management and grading can be done through simple and easily accessible education software. The education software market is large and influential, which demonstrates how common education software is in the school system. Software unique to the education sector includes courseware—software targeted towards teachers and students to supplement coursework—and assessment software, which is used to easily grade assignments and tests. Additionally, there are many more types of software designed for education and targeted towards teachers and students such as tutoring software, simulation software, literacy software, and much more. This means that students are learning and practicing all types of concepts from geography to geometry through programs designed to more effectively teach and assess students.

Smartphones and Tablets

More and More students are getting smartphones and tablets at younger and younger ages. Instead of trying to prohibit these prevalent technologies in the classrooms, many teachers have utilized these to enhance the learning environment for their students. Some schools even provide tablets and computers for students to use during class. Students can access reading materials, play interactive educational games, take notes, and create projects. Teachers have found that young students are adept at using smart technology and that teaching using smartphones and tablets is intuitive. The benefits of the accessibility of the Internet through smartphones and tablets are not limited to the classroom. Anyone can use them to educate themselves online, obtain online degrees, and much more. Overall, smartphones and tablets are some of the most relevant and common types of technology in the education sector and are already changing the way we think about the classroom.

Virtual Reality

Some classrooms have already implemented VR headsets in order to teach concepts in an immersive environment. There is a wide range of VR apps specifically designed for education in the classroom as well as VR hardware that has kid-friendly interfaces designed for younger students. Virtual reality is used mostly in primary education because it provides an immersive experience for experiential learning. Outside of the classroom, virtual reality is used for vocational training for a variety of jobs. Vocations that need intensive and realistic training use virtual reality to train people like nurses, airline pilots, dental hygienists, and much more. VR vocational training allows people to get effective training and experience realistic scenarios without endangering anyone or costing large amounts of money for training.

Artificial Intelligence

One of the most exciting recent educational technologies that is beginning to find its way into the classroom is AI. Often called AITAs, or Artificial Intelligence Teaching Assistants, this technology is designed to ease the workload of teachers by doing tasks such as grading, providing feedback on work, teach basic skills, and gather helpful class data, among many other tasks. Currently AI is being used to grade assignments and assessments with fill-in-the-blank answers, multiple choice, and short answers, and will soon be able to effectively analyze and grade longer essays. The future of AI in the realm of education is exciting and promising as it will likely be one of the greatest changes we see in technology designed for education in the future.

Education is already largely dependent on technologies like education software and smartphones or tablets to enhance the classroom environment, but more up-and-coming technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence are going to greatly change education in the years to come and change the way we think about education.