Digital Transformation in Education

Tinu Samuel John

Student ID: 104235

word count - 1840

Table of Contents
..............................................................................................................................1
Abstract.................................................................................................................3
Introduction...........................................................................................................3
Methodology.........................................................................................................4
Findings................................................................................................................5
Disruption in education by certain digital technologies....................................8
Big Data..........................................................................................................8
Virtual Learning.............................................................................................9
Augmented Reality (AR)................................................................................9
Artificial Intelligence...................................................................................10
Disadvantages of Technologies.......................................................................11
Challenges in implementing digital technologies in education.......................11
Conclusion..........................................................................................................12
Bibliography.......................................................................................................13

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Abstract

Digital transformation can be referred to as integrating digital technologies

wherever possible to be more productive and interactive. In this digital age, the
impact of using modern techniques can be seen in every sector of business
including health care, education, and sports. The main change after
implementing modern technologies will be in the way of operation of a
business. As competition is increasing day by day the business must find a new
way to attract customers and to be more productive. This literature review is
more focused on how the education sector is transformed by using digital
technologies. The implementation, advantages, and challenges of certain
technologies are also discussed. Several articles, journals, and blogs were
referred before concluding the literature review. The findings indicate that even
though digital transformation is happening at a slow rate, within the next three
years it will be an important aspect in every business.

Introduction

The impact of new technologies in the education sector is highly remarkable.

They changed the conventional method of teaching. Printed books, pens were
the first thing that comes to our mind when we think of education. Now, things
have changed to e-texts, laptops, and smartphones. A physical environment was
needed for the mode of communication between teachers and students. These
environments are now restricted to black screens in online classes. The Internet
was the main reason for this effective change. In this literature review, some of

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the key aspects like digital disruptions in the education sector, what are the
advantage and challenges of using technologies will be discussed. One of the
main factors which resulted in modern learning was a change in the way of
living of individuals. From basic computing to machine learning is available by
different educators for students. GeoGebra an app for learning maths and
Udemy are examples of the platforms providing learning materials[ CITATION
imp20 \l 5129 ]. Now, nobody is discouraged to learn anything interesting because
of distance, age, and fees. More personalized content and access to famous
university courses regardless of the distance encourage students or learners.
With the use of technology, the level of understanding and imagination is also
increased. Traditional institutions or universities are getting tough competition
from other digital education providers. As a result, quality teaching can be
expected all over the world[ CITATION Ber17 \l 5129 ]. Due to the recent pandemic,
many institutions and universities were forced to change their mode of
communication and way of teaching. This also motivated many educators to
think about adopting new technologies in their education system. Online classes
were one of the major steps taken by educators to continue teaching even in this
pandemic. Governments in poor countries also took the initiative by supplying
electronic devices for needful students.

Methodology

Digital transformation is happening in every sector. This literature review is

done to know how the education sector is transformed digitally. It also
compares the figures from the last three years to show the percentage of
transformation. Since this literature review is focused on the education sector,
the search keywords were related to education and technologies. Keywords like

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digital transformation, artificial intelligence, virtual classes, augmented reality,
and challenges were used. The research was not limited to websites but different
articles, research papers, and blogs. Recent survey results from Microsoft and
figures from UNESCO was used as an example. Research paper by A. A
Bilyalova on digital transformation in education was used for reference. All the
information published from 2017 to the present was only taken to get the most
relevant and genuine data.

Findings

The following paragraphs will discuss the findings from the research. Figures
from the Microsoft survey are included to show at what pace education systems
are transformed. Technologies like augmented reality, virtual classes, artificial
intelligence are discussed with its advantages and how they contribute to the
transformation.

According to Microsoft survey results released in September 2018, digital

disruptions in the higher education sector will see an increase of 40 percent in
2020 compared to 2017. For the three years from 2017 to 2020, this increase
will be in student's engagement, use of new and already existing technologies,
teaching innovation, and finally in case of revenue. This survey was done in the
Asia Pacific, Singapore [ CITATION mic18 \l 5129 ].

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Figure 1:Digital transformation in the Asia Pacific from 2017 to 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on the education industry itself proves the importance
of modern education. According to UNESCO, more than one billion students
were affected because of the virus. Schools and universities were closed.
Approximately one billion students are still in lockdown to stop the spreading of
the virus [ CITATION Nia20 \l 5129 ].

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Figure 2: Bar chart according to UNESCO

The NMC horizon a U.S group claims that students should be trained with
technical skills demanded by the job market and education should be
customised to adapt to the needs of the job market. Through some innovative
methods combined with technologies, we can achieve these goals[ CITATION
ibe20 \l 5129 ]. Some of the examples are AI (Artificial intelligence), learning
through gaming, E-learning. The role of universities is important in this
transformation. Many universities are now providing some innovative methods
of learning. Following are some:

 More focus on practical tasks rather than on theories.

 Introduced several virtual learning centers.

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  Content-rich syllabus to make students ready for the job market[ CITATION
ibe20 \l 5129 ].

Disruption in education by certain digital technologies

The following paragraphs give an idea of how technology changes the way of
teaching and learning.

Big Data

The term describes how education can be personalised. People using the internet
has grown from 7.5% in 2016 to 3.5 billion now producing tons of data. Among
these user’s majority of the active internet users are school or college students.
By analysing these data will help to determine the behavior of students. Big data
can be defined as analysing large volumes of data coming at a great pace by
eliminating inconsistent and irrelevant data[ CITATION LOR19 \l 5129 ].

The whole technology is data-driven. With the use of Big data, we can monitor
students' performance and can provide real-time feedback. This helps the
teachers to identify which students are weak in certain concepts and thus
helping the students. Education provided online can help to tailor or personalise
the course compared to the traditional way of teaching[ CITATION Ber171 \l 5129 ].
Instructors can use the SNAAP (Social Network Adapting Pedagogical practice)
to read blogs and activities of students to check how much interested the
students are in certain subjects. Another system used is Netlogo which monitors
the clicks to check how clicks were taken by the student to finish the tasks and

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how many mistakes were done. The use of a learning management system to
create assignments and tests using automation is the biggest achievement of
Bigdata[ CITATION LOR19 \l 5129 ].

Virtual Learning

Virtual learning can be defined as access to education regardless of

geographical location. Unlike the traditional education system, it does not
require the physical presence of both learners and instructors in the classroom.
This can be achieved by using the internet. Through virtual learning, students
can choose and study subjects at a convenient time. The three driving forces for
this type of learning are:

a) Advanced technologies which help to access the course at ease.

b) Students get choices in terms of subjects and time.

c) Demand issues for an expert teacher for a specific subject in every institute.

For example, In New Zealand, many online education providers are there to
help students who are not willing or cannot attend conventional schools. Online
texts are provided instead of old paper printed texts [ CITATION cor20 \l 5129 ].

Augmented Reality (AR)

AR augments real-world objects. A virtual object for a real-world object is

created and displayed mostly on smartphone screens. Usually, AR objects are
created by 3D- modeling or processing different images of the real object.

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Unlike virtual reality AR can be used on smartphones thus no special devices
are required. That makes them suitable for educational purposes. Viewers can
see objects from different angles, can make it bigger, and rotate. This makes the
student understand easily about the objects. One of the popular examples is the
GeoGebra application. The benefits of augmented reality are as follows:

a) Can use virtual objects instead of physical ones

b) Better understanding of real-world objects

c) Can lead to interactive classes

d) Helps to understand complex subjects easily by deep learning[ CITATION Ana19 \l

5129 ].

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology. Implementation of this

technology can be seen everywhere around us from an automated parking
system to assisting humans. The following points will give a brief idea of how
AI can be used in the education system.

a) Artificial intelligence can be used in grading, assessment checking, and in

other administrative tasks. Usually, teachers take a lot of time for doing all these
things. Now with artificial intelligence teachers can save time and can interact
with students which are quite useful.

b) AI can create quality content like the most rated AU writing service. An
example is Cram101

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c) Can help teachers to focus on each student by personalising teaching. Instant
feedback is another advantage of AI.

d) AI opens the boundaries which help to access or learn any course from
anywhere [ CITATION Aly19 \l 5129 ].

Disadvantages of Technologies

 Distraction: Students can be easily distracted while using the internet or

smartphones.
 Cost: Not all students will be equally accessible to electronic devices
because of their costs.
 Genuity matters: The Internet is also a source of false information. Fake
websites being common on the internet it’s difficult to determine whether
genuine information is reached to students.

Challenges in implementing digital technologies in education

 It requires courage to step out of conventional practice and try a new

technology or method. Thus, people must be reluctant to adapt to new
technologies
 The Genuity of data is in doubt. With numerous fake websites its quite
difficult to filter accurate and genuine data.
 Lack of a strategic plan to implement new technologies.

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Conclusion

As discussed, currently the world is witnessing a revolution in every sector in

terms of digital technologies. Education is one of many fields incorporating
modern technologies to be more efficient. The findings and figures support the
statement that the education sector is being transformed by modern techniques.
Few of the recent technologies were discussed with their advantages to help the
education system for more development. These technologies are not only
helping educators to attract students but also helps the student to be more
productive. One of the major advantages of modern technology is that it
removes barriers like age and geographical location. It also makes it more
convenient for learners. The year 2020 witnessed a great boom in online
classes. With this pace within the next three years, the whole education system
will be changed. Like a coin with two sides integrating technologies in the
learning system also has disadvantages. But, with the right approaches, we can
eliminate these disadvantages. The 2020 pandemic gives a strong message to
every sector to move digital. Practicing now will help the people to adapt to the
changes and help to know the advantages of technologies.

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