Keeping up with new trends and technologies in education is of utmost importance. For this reason, educational institutions are continuously enhancing the educational experience for students and faculty in 2-year Ed.D programs. To achieve this, they plan and build dynamic teaching and learning environments that cater to the evolving requirements of the education sector.
Students can benefit from the design and deployment of technology-driven learning programs to cater to the diverse needs of various learners. Furthermore, they evaluate the accuracy and suitability of technological resources and manage them within the context of learning activities and pedagogy.
They also formulate management strategies for students learning in technology-enhanced environments and identify instructional design principles to create educational resources that produce well-rounded educators from the Ed.D programs.
The trends and technologies driving the evolution of education
The teaching-learning process can yield the best possible results in an efficient and economical way with the help of a range of emerging educational technology, trends, and related strategies that include:
Fully online virtual 2 year Ed.D programs
At your fingertips, today’s advanced technology provides you with all the power you need to gain knowledge. The traditional face-to-face approach was the only learning option available to most people. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about a new and highly effective approach, online or virtual learning. Using computers and the internet to attend the learning process is referred to as virtual learning, and it can occur both within and outside the educational institution’s physical location.
Virtual learning is a novel method widely used by many institutes and universities, especially over the past few years, to impart education to students effectively. A virtual learning environment emphasizes creative interactions, active learning environments, and course planning. In an online learning environment, teachers provide their students with the necessary instructions to succeed while remaining independent.
The positive effects of virtual learning on students include the following:
- Highly efficient learning: Online learning is highly efficient for both students and instructors. It is easy for students to find the books and learning resources they need or use multimedia to ease their learning experience. Instructors can share assignments and reading materials with just one click using different online platforms designed exclusively to make the teaching and learning experience easier and more enjoyable.
- Accessibility and affordability: Online classes are way more affordable than traditional face-to-face classes when considering the expenses that students incur, such as commuting, meals, and paying for a place to stay.
- Improved attendance: While attending online classes, you can turn any environment, like your home or a cafeteria, into a classroom. Unlike traditional face-to-face courses that provide an environment designed to fit the needs of larger groups of students, online classes allow you to adapt anywhere to suit your needs best. Choosing your studying environment will give you all the comfort you need to be more productive while following your education, which ultimately results in improving attendance.
- Time management: Online learning offers students the flexibility to manage their time and create flexible study schedules that fit with other aspects of their lives. While attending online classes, students can strike a balance between their academic life and social life and attend almost every class.
Non-linear, adaptive learning
Adaptive technology has made it possible for instructors to implement non-linear and branching sequences in 2-year Ed.D programs, thereby providing a better teaching and learning experience for students. This strategy enables instructors to create personalized course maps for students that are tailored to meet their specific learning needs.
Unlike traditional teaching methods, where instructors often “teach to the middle,” where teaching focuses on the majority of students with average ability, an adaptive approach allows students to progress at their own pace through the coursework. This personalized approach ensures that each student receives the right amount of instruction and practice, regardless of their performance level.
Adaptive techniques also help students to focus on their areas of weakness through adaptive remediation. Instead of memorizing specific practice questions, students are exposed to a variety of instructional content, activities, and assessment questions that help them gain a better understanding of the concepts.
What is more, high-performing students can quickly move on to more advanced concepts, while students requiring more practice can revisit lessons as many times as they feel necessary. In addition, the real-time feedback provided by the adaptive education technology helps students monitor their progress and identify which lessons they should revisit before their next exam.
Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality as learning tools
By using AR and VR as assistive tools, modern classrooms are now offering an enriched and interactive educational experience to students. AR overlays digital information on a real-world backdrop, whereas VR is a fully immersive computer-generated world accessed through a headset. MR combines both real and virtual worlds, allowing for interaction with both. These technologies are already popular, with almost 30% of the US population using AR monthly.
Rather than traditional textbook learning, the educational system now offers an augmented and virtually simulated experience that engages and upscales learning to new levels. AR and VR are effective learning tools that create a collaborative and immersive learning experience, providing students with new growth avenues and simplified explanations for complex concepts. The use of these technologies not only boosts students’ attention and retention levels but also reduces cognitive study load.
A top-quality university education requires continuous practice and immersive learning, both of which can be supported by augmented or virtual reality. Here are some benefits:
- Practical learning: AR can be used as a teaching tool to organize educational field trips without leaving the lecture hall. For instance, the SkyView app allows students to explore the stars, constellations, satellites, and planets just by pointing their mobile devices at the sky.
- Higher motivation: AR enables students to interact with what they are learning and “experience” it in the world around them, resulting in increased engagement and motivation during lectures.
- Faster access to learning materials: Students can access educational materials on the go, with apps helping them learn anytime and anywhere.
- Improved distance learning: Instructors can set gamified tasks and organize virtual explorations or practice sessions even for students at home, using their mobile devices.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Tools based on artificial intelligence have the potential to promote equity and provide personalized learning experiences. Colleges and universities are using AI and other technologies to offer higher education to students from all over the world without being limited by location or time. The use of these technologies encourages curiosity, creativity, and collaboration, making students global learners and universities borderless institutions. A study by Stanford University on “Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030” shows that machine tutors can be tailored to students, providing a more focused and personalized learning experience.
Higher education leaders who recognize the benefits of AI must equip their institutions with AI technology that can assess students, provide feedback, and test scientific hypotheses. Students should learn specific technical skills to program and interact with AI, as well as take courses in ethics, philosophy, and other skills that AI may not be able to excel in, such as critical thinking, complex decision-making, entrepreneurship, and emotional intelligence.
AI and machine learning can also address some of the challenges that have arisen in the rapid transition to online learning due to the COVID pandemic. These technologies can help students self-regulate their learning, reduce the administrative workload for teachers, and enhance personalized interactions between students and teachers. By using natural language processing, scenario-based learning, smart testing, learning management systems, personalized curricula, data analysis, intelligent tutoring systems, and smart classrooms, higher education can create hybrid classrooms that are more efficient, engaging, and accessible to all learners.
Highly engaging mobile learning
Mobile learning is revolutionizing traditional learning methods by providing students with access to education anytime and anywhere through their smart devices. The integration of mobile technology in education, also known as m-learning, has become increasingly popular in the education sector as it transforms the learning experience for digital natives.
Many universities and colleges are incorporating mobile learning to improve learner engagement, and the impact of mobile learning on student performance has been a topic of several discussions in the higher education community.
In 2-year Ed.D programs, mobile learning has been widely adopted to deliver educational content through smartphones and tablets, making it easier for students to access course materials and activities and get familiar with teaching methods that use mobile devices as their media. Mobile learning is highly beneficial for students as it supports visual learning by offering audio, video, and images, making learning dynamic and fast-paced. This, in turn, keeps students more engaged in a classroom, resulting in a much more effective conveyance of course material.
One of the most significant benefits of mobile learning is its ability to provide tailored content to suit individual learning styles, thereby increasing learner engagement levels. Mobile learning enables students to choose from a wide range of instructional media, such as videos, infographics, and audio, allowing them to learn a given lesson effortlessly. The availability of ubiquitous internet connection and the affordability of mobile devices make mobile learning an extremely friendly way to adopt modern teaching methodologies.
While traditional classroom environments can be impractical in adapting to the individual needs and preferences of each learner, mobile learning offers more interactive formats that can improve engagement and retention. By providing students with a variety of resources to access educational content, mobile learning offers a more efficient way to manage their study time and schedule, making it an ideal solution for working professionals.
Doctoral capstone projects
While traditional or dissertation-in-practice dissertations are the most common capstone projects for Ed.D programs, including 2-year online Ed.D programs, some institutions now offer students the option to work on a research project that deviates from the traditional format, commonly referred to as capstone projects.
Doctoral capstone projects, also known as doctoral projects, require research that is just as rigorous as that of a dissertation, but they place more emphasis on applying research to implementable solutions in the field of education, which can take many forms. As a result, capstone projects differ from doctoral dissertations, which are typically structured around five chapters.
Examples of doctoral capstone projects include but are not limited to developing curriculum plans, creating education technology solutions for the classroom, launching community education initiatives, publishing research papers, or designing teacher training programs.
While doctoral capstone projects require significant research and writing, they differ from dissertations in their flexible format, allowing for various forms of output. These projects are more solution-focused, with the goal of addressing existing problems in the field of education through the creation of practical solutions.
Both dissertations and doctoral capstone projects result in meaningful and valuable work, but the emphasis and structure of each project differ.
Social media interactions
Social media has become an integral part of our personal lives, allowing us to generate content, share photos, and interact with others in various ways. This ubiquity of social media is also reflected in higher education, where it is transforming the ways in which students communicate, collaborate, and learn. Social media is increasingly – used in 2-year Ed.D programs – to improve engagement and learning outcomes.
While social media has long been embraced for personal or business purposes, its potential as an effective educational tool has only recently been recognized. As a result, there is a growing interest in researching its impact on education. The use of social media has made it easier and faster for teachers and students to interact with one another regarding coursework and assignments. With most students already experts in using a wide variety of social media platforms, integrating social media into their academic lives is a natural and intuitive step.
Combining education with this popular technology offers an exciting opportunity in today’s digital age. Educators and students can leverage social media to improve their programs and grow in their respective fields. For instance, social media can facilitate collaborative learning, where students can work together on group projects or share ideas and resources. Social media can also serve as a platform for students to showcase their work and achievements and to interact with peers, mentors, and professionals in their field.
Creating a social media presence that is both professional and engaging can be challenging, particularly for higher education institutions. To be effective, social media content and feeds must be able to communicate effectively with various audiences, including present students, prospects, researchers, alums, and other institutions. Nevertheless, the potential benefits of using social media in education are numerous, and it is likely that we will see more and more institutions leveraging this tool to improve student engagement and learning outcomes in the coming years.
In conclusion, social media is transforming the way students learn and interact with each other in 2-year Ed.D programs. As social media continues to evolve, educators and institutions will need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices to maximize its impact on student engagement and success.
Renewed focus on diversity and inclusion
Diversity in higher education has a multitude of benefits that extend beyond the classroom. The impacts of diversity on students’ academic and social experiences can have a direct impact on their future as educators. Encountering diversity enables students to work with peers from various races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds, which can challenge their worldview and lead to greater understanding, acceptance, and awareness of different beliefs and customs.
Interaction with culturally diverse classmates allows students to learn from individuals with different backgrounds and upbringings, leading to increased creativity and collaboration. The academic and social benefits of racial diversity on campus can be significant, ranging from higher levels of academic achievement to better intergroup relations.
A diverse campus, either physically or online, as facilitated by Rockhurst University, provides students in 2-year Ed.D programs with ample opportunities to interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds, enhancing their communication skills and promoting adaptability. By being exposed to individuals with different worldviews, students can become more empathetic and effective educators.
Furthermore, a diverse campus challenges stereotypes and norms, which is critical for students who may have grown up around people with similar socioeconomic, racial, or cultural characteristics. College can be an eye-opening experience for students, even if they do not identify as part of a minority or culturally diverse population. Exploring these experiences in a critical manner can lead to increased acceptance, tolerance, and thoughtfulness in society.
In summary, the benefits of diversity in education, particularly in higher education, are vast and far-reaching. Exposure to diversity promotes understanding, collaboration, and innovation while challenging stereotypes and promoting tolerance and acceptance. As a result, a diverse campus creates a more inclusive and dynamic learning environment, benefitting all students in their academic and social pursuits.
Take advantage of the latest advances in learning techniques with Rockhurst University’s Ed.D program
Rockhurst University offers a cutting-edge Ed.D program that provides a unique opportunity to earn a doctorate in education and leadership in just two years. This program is available entirely online, with three specialized concentrations: higher education, health care education, and K-12 leadership.
With a cohort-based learning environment, you can network with other leaders in your field and build meaningful connections. The program’s strategic coursework covers educational systems and policy, curriculum development, instructional practices, and applied research, equipping you with essential knowledge of modern educational landscapes.
The doctoral capstone, combined with leadership and change management skills, allows you to champion diverse causes and have a significant impact on educational practices in your community. Designed with the Jesuit values of service, quality learning, and ethical leadership as a guide, Rockhurst’s fully online program will help students become innovative educators who shape the next generation of learners.
