The way we study and learn must also change in order for us to survive and prosper in the modern world. Education has traditionally required us to spend a significant portion of our formative years in a classroom learning material before leaving to put it to use in the real world. But given how quickly things are changing today, what we know today might be obsolete tomorrow.

To ensure that we are better prepared for the rapidly changing world of today, our learning processes must adapt, embracing technology and ideas like lifelong learning. Here is my summary of the key trends that I believe will fuel this change over the course of the next year and beyond.

Artificial intelligence (AI), which has been called the most revolutionary technology of the twenty-first century, is transforming every sector of the economy and field of human endeavor, including education. Virtual assistants that can assist both students and teachers in managing their time and completing their assignments are used in the classroom, as are tutoring programmes.

That can provide individualized instruction for students of all ages and skill levels, the technology that powers remote and online learning programmes that can adjust the pace of instruction to meet students’ needs, language translation in educational settings where students speak a variety of languages, and multimedia learning environments that can be used to supplement traditional classroom instruction. According to reports, some Chinese schools have used computer vision systems and facial recognition technology to track students’ attendance.

According to UNESCO, AI has the potential to assist in addressing some of the most difficult issues in education today, such as addressing disparities in the way education is provided globally and enhancing access to knowledge. The effort needed to ensure that the introduction of this highly disruptive technology is done in a fair manner and doesn’t it contribute to those inequalities, however, poses challenges of its own.

The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic compelled educational institutions to build up their capacity for online instruction. Massive online open courses (MOOCs), however, were already undergoing a revolution in the world of online learning before this. Teachers can reach students in schools using remote and online learning, regardless of how remote the communities are. In a world where nearly 270 million children don’t attend school because they live in remote or rural areas, this could be a huge step towards ensuring equality of access to education.

Even for those of us who live in cities, the growth of online and remote learning opportunities gives us the chance to further our education, even when our busy adult schedules make it difficult for us to regularly attend classes in person. The development of online education technology (ed-tech) platforms is the primary driving force behind this.

These platforms are made to support the “lifelong learning” philosophy, which is likely to become more popular as a result of the quickening pace of technological development and which calls for skills to be regularly updated and “topped up” using novel models like micro-learning or nano-learning. The trend of taking courses taught by famous people and celebrities has recently become popular in the online learning industry.

Beyond College

High schools will devote more resources in 2023 to preparing students for future paths leading away from conventional college courses. As educational institutions collaborate with businesses to create fresh solutions to issues brought on by the skills gap, vocational and technical courses that teach a variety of skill sets are likely to gain popularity.

We can anticipate this change in the future as the needs of the new labour market change from looking for purely college-educated graduates to developing a workforce with the necessary skills. The year 2023 will be designated as the European Year of Skills.

Augmented and virtual reality

The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), two types of extended reality (XR), in educational systems, is growing. Users of VR can enter a virtual world, and there are a huge and growing variety of “experiences” that allow us to do everything from travel back in time and see history firsthand to practicing for challenging and dangerous tasks like making repairs in dangerous environments.

Virtual classrooms, which enable remote learning and class activities to be delivered in a more immersive and experiential, setting, are another use case that will gain popularity in 2023.

With the help of a smartphone camera, AR textbooks that contain images and models that “come alive” when viewed allow students to get a closer, more detailed look at anything from the inner workings of the human body to Roman architecture.

In order to create more immersive educational opportunities, museums and places of historical or scientific interest are also increasingly incorporating AR into their surroundings and exhibits.

STEM and soft skills

Soft skills are those that can be used in interpersonal interactions, teamwork, creative problem-solving, relationship management, and conflict resolution. To put it another way, these are human abilities that are unlikely to be automated anytime soon. In a world where AI assumes many of our routine and mundane technical responsibilities, they will become more and more significant.

This indicates that as these skills, gain in importance to employers and industry, they will be taught more frequently as a part of technical education. The success of an organization is increasingly dependent on soft skills, but these skills are much more difficult to measure and evaluate than “hard skills” like math, engineering, and computer programming.

STEM education will increasingly emphasize these crucial skills in 2023, and efforts to measure and evaluate organizational capabilities in this area will also increase.