EDUCATION STATUS IN THE PHILIPPINES:

PROBLEMS IN THE SCHOOL SECTOR

Many of these reforms were adopted against a backdrop of declining educational standards in the
Philippine education system during the first decade of the 21st century. A UNESCO mid-decade
assessment report of Southeast Asian education systems, published in 2008, for example, found that
participation and achievement rates in basic education in the Philippines had fallen dramatically, owed to
chronic underfunding. After rising strongly from 85.1 percent in 1991 to 96.8 percent in 2000, net
enrollment rates at the elementary level, for instance, had dropped back down to 84.4 percent by 2005.
Also by mid-decade, elementary school dropout rates had regressed back to levels last seen in the late
1990s. The completion rate in elementary school was estimated to be below 70 percent in 2005.

At the secondary level, problems were omnipresent as well: the net enrollment rate in secondary
education, for example, had by 2005 dropped down to 58.5 percent, after increasing from 55.4 percent to
around 66 percent between 1991 and 2000. Tellingly perhaps, the country’s youth literacy rate, while still
being high by regional standards, fell from 96.6 percent in 1990 to 95.1 percent in 2003, making the
Philippines the only country in South-East Asia with declining youth literacy rates.

Such deficiencies were reflected in the poor performance of Filipino students in international assessment
tests, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In 2003, the last year the
Philippines participated in the study, the country ranked only 34th out of 38 countries in high school
mathematics and 43rd out of 46 countries in high school science. Education spending as a percentage of
overall government expenditures, meanwhile, declined from 18.2 percent in 1998 to 12.4 percent in
2005. Between 2003 and 2005 alone, average annual spending per public elementary and secondary
school student fell from PHP 9,500 (USD $182.7) to PHP 8,700 (USD $167.3) in real terms.

https://wenr.wes.org/2018/03/education-in-the-philippines

CREATING A CULTURE OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Searching information on the latest Commission on Higher Education (CHED) report on student dropouts in
college, I found only two web sources. The first is from CHED (2004) Higher Education Statistical Bulletin AY
2003-04. The report says that “ less than half of those who enter college or university reach senior year,
resulting in an average survival rate of 49 percent. Only three out of every five students in the fourth year
of study actually graduate within the fourth (senior) year resulting in an average graduate rate of
61percent. The overall completion rate therefore for the HE system is about 30 percent…The financial
waste, particularly of public funds is high for those students who eventually drop out without completing
their degree.

The second, and more recent than the first source is from the Explanatory Note to Senate Bill 3369
introduced by then Sen. Edgardo J. Angara during the 15thCongress. Part of the Explanatory Note
presented CHED data on enrollees in higher education institutions (HEls) from 2001 to 2012 to have
reached “2.56 million, but the dropout rate reached an alarming 83.7 percent. This means that the country
is producing 2.13 million college dropouts annually while graduates stand at close to 500,000 only.

https://ph.news.yahoo.com/college-education-poor-students-090706071.html
Free college education, a guarantee of no drop-outs? Dropping out of college is tied to lack of financial
resources. Much has been written about this aspect—and which has led to recent debate on free tuition
and school fees inclusive-wise in public and private HEIs and vocational schools.

Educational literature tells us that dropping out of college is due not only to financial, personal or family
problems. A lack of student engagement is, as well. What then is student engagement? A recent (February
2016) definition says that “student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest,
optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the
level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.”
http://edglossary.org/student-engagement

This definition implies that much as what instruction should be, it is not only from the mentor’s end nor of
the curriculum but also of the total culture within the academic environment of students—which is the HEI
itself.

https://www.manilatimes.net/creating-culture-student-engagement-2/349379/

DOST-SEI 21st CENTURY CLEM CLASSROOM

LIPA CITY, Batangas— The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has inaugurated the country’s
pilot of its 21st Century Learning Environment Model (CLEM) Classroom in Inosloban-Marawoy Integrated
National High School here, Monday.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones,
DOST Undersecretary Brenda Nazareth Manzano, Department of Information and Communication
Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Eliseo Rio, Lipa City Congresswoman Vilma Santos-Recto, Lipa City Vice
Mayor Eric Africa and other national and local officials.

The CLEM project is being implemented by the DOST with the support of DepEd and provincial government
which aimed to support K to 12’s curriculum through being a modern avenue that will create learning
practices, human support, and physical environment to facilitate the development of the 21st-century skills
of both teachers and learners.

There are five public schools in Lipa City equipped with a 21st CLEM classroom including Lipa City National
Science High School, Bolbok National High School, Pinagtongulan National High School and San Celestino
National High School which are chosen based on their current student population and accessibility to other
schools, among other factors.

Each school has received 26 laptops, one interactive projector and smartboard, one 3D printer, one
wireless ink-tank system printer, one smart television, one visualizer/ document camera and wireless
connectivity.Teachers from these schools have attended several modules designed for 21st Century CLEM
teaching while students have undergone seminar-trainings to introduce them the modern equipment and
knowledge.They also have attended training in Basic Robotics and Learning to Code and Improving
Competitiveness among others which according to Secretary Briones is a big challenge to every Filipino.
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY RIGHT NOW
2018 is the year of educational technology. Business is booming and growing, and according to Emmanuel
Nataf of TechCrunch, within the first 10 months of 2017, investors staked 8.15$ billion in edtech. Within
2014-2016, global investments into Chinese edtech companies tripled. Nataf states that “[technological
advances and greater Internet access] is welcome news as Asian edtech innovates and crosses roads with
hot tech industries such as gaming, VR and AR in the future.”

Classrooms of today and tomorrow are going to look very different from what we’re used to. Read on for
our thoughts on where edtech is now, what challenges we are facing in education, and potential solutions
to these exciting new developments!

Edtech Has Come to Stay

In Asia, edtech or instructional technology is hot business. The largest nations, including China and India,
race in their investments and attempts to bring their education to the next level. In places such as
Singapore, parents generally spend twice as much money on their children’s education as other nations
globally on average.

But why edtech? Why not other innovations? The answer is simple: when the initial costs and occasional
technical hurdles have been overcome, educational technology has limitless potential. Use augmented
reality to bring otherwise inaccessible learning experiences to the classroom. Use virtual reality to allow
students to go literally anywhere. Use games to offer tailor-made and powerful individualized experiences
that a teacher could never provide on their own to each and every student.

Edtech is also getting recognition. A good example is our very own company, TeacherGaming: within the
past year, we’ve been included in the Disrupt 100 index of the world's most disruptive
startups and featured on TechCrunch. For a while now, the biggest enemy of instructional technology has
been deep-set prejudice, but even this is changing.

Emerging Trends

Charley Rogers of Education Technology wrote of the emerging trends of educational technology in 2018.
Many of the ideas he writes about can be categorized under a single goal: making edtech a smooth and
truly beneficial experience. Some of her examples include seamless technology, standardized devices,
increased bandwidth to handle all educational needs and universal scalability.

In other words, this means that we truly must make the most out of edtech. Students want to be able to
use their devices and school services without any additional hassle. Services must scale regardless of skill
level and school size: students can’t be stuck on doing the same exercises if a classmate has trouble, and a
school district can’t experience a slowdown in service just because it has many students.

Rogers also writes that servers and IT departments will likely become outsourced, simply due to
convenience and cost-effectiveness. Collaboration, both amongst teachers and students, will become the
norm, and classroom resources are shared to meet the needs of a rapidly changing educational landscape.

https://store.teachergaming.com/blog/educational -technology-in-2018-n29
EDTECH 2018: 17 EMERGING TRENDS
Experts from RM Education share their predictions on how technology will influence classrooms and back
office operations in 2018
#1. Pupils will expect seamless technology in school

As the drive for learning to more closely reflect life becomes greater, pupils will have higher expectations of
the technology available to them in the classroom; they’ll expect it to be seamless, as it is in their homes
and personal lives.

#2. Peer-led support will form a key part of safeguarding

Peer-to-peer mentoring schemes are reinforcing positive and supportive behaviours, and helping pupils to
take responsibility for their own online safety. Schools will start to make these schemes accessible to pupils
from an earlier age, empowering future learners to be safe online.

#3. Machine Learning will be at the centre of everything

Most schools are probably using machine learning every day without realising it. G Suite and Office 365 use
ML extensively in their productivity suites to help users do things more intelligently. Most exciting is the
ability to provide reliable and valid predictions on student performance, and thus make meaningful
interventions.

#4. We’re all going to need more bandwidth

Schools are consuming ever-greater volumes of bandwidth – a trend more pronounced in secondary
schools due to the widespread adoption of cloud technologies. Bandwidth consumption increases by
around 40% year-on-year, so it will become critical for schools to get their infrastructure right to support
this.

#5. Outsourcing will become inevitable

While some schools might think it’s more cost effective to run all their IT systems ‘in-house’, there are
substantial risks in doing this because schools are limited to one person or one skillset. Outsourcing will
help schools to reduce costs, future-proof technology, cover absence and transfer the risk to the service
provider.

#6. Systems security must be more robust

The prevalence of malware and ransomware is a growing cause for concern, and in an age where data is so
critical, schools must be rigorous in mitigating these kinds of attacks. Having remote technical support that
can detect risks before they reach your networks, and putting a clear governance policy in place for
opening emails, will become more critical to system safety.

#7. Flipped learning is here to stay

The trend towards flipped learning and a more collaborative classroom is continuing at pace. Online
platforms that help to foster collaboration in the classroom – such as Google Classroom, One Drive and
Microsoft Teams – will become more central to learning.
#8. Using 1:1 devices will become standard

The need for affordable 1:1 classroom devices will see a surge in demand for such products.

The use of technology to share lessons and ideas ‘live’ and in real time with other schools, companies and
establishments around the world will become more common.

#9. Critical data will be stored in the cloud

As we become more security-conscious, schools will look to store more data in the cloud. Using tools like
Google Drive removes the need memory sticks and allows teams to access their work in the cloud from
anywhere – using secure passwords.

#10. BYOD schemes will become standard

Providing that proper planning and the right infrastructure are in place, we will begin to see the majority of
UK secondary schools adopting BYOD in some form as part of a wider plan to reduce costs, save time and
increase engagement.

#11. School systems must be scalable

School and academy trusts will need technology to scale to the rapidly changing requirements of their
learners, teachers and administrators. Embracing the use of cloud-based applications, infrastructure and
collaborative platforms will reduce costs, increase flexibility and enable educational technology to be more
responsive to changing needs.

#12. Schools will make better use data for decisions

Schools are now realising the potential of the data held in their MIS, and in 2018 we’ll see this trend gain
momentum. Schools will start to fully exploit their data for monitoring attendance patterns,
communicating with parents, storing documents electronically, holding medical information, tracking SEND
requirements and exploring contextual data analysis to spot anomalies and identify trends.

#13. Servers will become redundant

Few schools will continue to burden themselves with the large capital outlay on replacing costly servers
like-for-like when they reach the end of their functional service; ‘serverless schools’ whose services and
systems are delivered to staff and students through the internet is becoming the norm.

#14. We’ll build a culture of reading for pleasure

The National Literacy Trust’s recent research highlighted the measurable impact of e-books on reading
motivation and skills, and their ability to positively influence reluctant readers. By the end of 2018, almost
every school will be trying or using e-books on a regular basis to improve reading, to help build a culture of
reading for pleasure, and to support learning in one or more subjects.

#15. Collaboration tools will become more prevalent

Outside the classroom, children are fully conversant using technology to collaborate; they use it daily to
make friends and socialise. Increasingly, we’ll see the use of similar technologies in the classroom, and this
will enable children to learn from one another whilst engaging them in learning by making it both fun and
relevant.

#16. Windows 10 adoption in schools will accelerate

In 2018, we will see a wider adoption of Windows 10 in the classroom, in part due to decreasing availability
of systems that support Windows 7. Windows 10 allows devices to be faster, more secure and have even
better multi-tasking capabilities than previous versions of Windows, resulting in more collaborative
classrooms.

#17. Video communications tools will become more widespread

The popularity of video communication tools is testament to the way content consumption and
communication is shifting categorically. While this will never replace the face-to-face conversation, it’s a
good substitute when the latter isn’t possible. These technologies will be more prevalent in the classroom,
with tools like Google Expeditions putting students into places and situations they wouldn’t otherwise
experience.

https://edtechnology.co.uk/Blog/edtech-2018-17-emerging-trends/
Empowering educators to create immersive learning
experiences
Google harnesses the power of photos and street view to deliver simplified VR development for teachers
and students.

The benefits of using immersive technologies as teaching tools have been widely documented and
extensively discussed, specially in recent years with the rapid development of virtual, augmented and
mixed reality hardware and applications.

Yet the biggest obstacle that often keeps teachers from adopting these technologies in the classroom is not
necessarily cost – there are, after all, many entry-level budget ways of experiencing virtual reality which
use fairly pervasive and accessible mobile technology such as the Google Cardboard – but the lack of
relevant content with which educators and learners alike can identify beyond the level of an amusing
novelty.

Yet many educators and academics believe that this technology will eventually become as commonplace as
computers and mobile phones are today:

Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in March, Jakki Bailey, a researcher from The University
of Texas at Austin who focuses on the psychological and social experiences of virtual reality, said that as
the technology becomes more affordable, it will seamlessly intersect with the physical world. Whereas now
we tend to refer to the physical and digital worlds as separate entities, we are inexorably moving towards a
blending of the two. This is the new reality that educators need to prepare themselves to proactively use it
rather than reactively adapt to it.

Technology companies are also recognizing the need to better enable the creation of content that will
empower teachers to leverage the benefits of the technology in a coherent pedagogical context. At its
annual I/O Developer Conference in Mountain View, California Google announced the launch of Tour
Creator, a new tool that easily allows anyone to create interactive content in virtual reality.

This follows from the company’s introduction three years ago of Google’s initial foray in educational VR
- Google Expeditions – which first introduced the idea of taking students on virtual reality field trips using
basic equipment such as Google Cardboard. Since 2015, Google Expeditions has brought students to places
like the Burj Khalifa, Antarctica, and Machu Picchu with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Tour Creator builds upon this success – over three million students used the service so far – by allowing
people to create and customize their own experiential content. As Jen Zurawski, an educator with
Wisconsin’s West De Pere School District, puts it: “With Expeditions, our students had access to a wide
range of tours outside our geographical area, but we wanted to create tours here in our own
community.”

Using simplified web-based interfaces, Tour Creator is meant to be an accessible tool for everyone,
regardless of their experience or technical background. Users simply search across Google Street View for
their desired locations – or upload their own 360-degree photos – and easily stitch that content together to
form “scenes” to which they can add various interactive elements such as buttons that activate additional
information at certain points within the scene, and embed the whole experience onto the school’s website,
for instance.
“Being able to work with Tour Creator has been an awesome experience,” says Jennifer Newton, a school
media coordinator in Georgia. “It has allowed our students from a small town in Georgia to tell our story to
the world.”

“As the technology progresses it will become more affordable and more integrated into our everyday lives.
Just as most people here are carrying some sort of smartphone, the next step will be some sort of
augmented reality device, so that will filter down into classrooms as well,” adds Dr Dimitri Amiras, a
consultant at Imperial College who has been working on clinical and training applications of Microsoft’s
HoloLens Mixed Reality technology who also participated in the discussion at GESF examining the future of
immersive technologies in learning environments.

Much in the same way as the widespread adoption of the Internet facilitated broader access to knowledge,
Immersive technologies could enable broader and more egalitarian access to experience. However, this
potential can only be realized once both content and hardware becomes universally accessible, and
initiatives such as these by Google help teachers advance towards that goal

“The technology gets out of the way and enables students to focus on crafting fantastic visual stories,”
explains Charlie Reisinger, a Pennsylvania educator. And that, in fact, is the ultimate goal of any
transformative technology. For as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella put it in his keynote at Microsoft Build in
Seattle this week (quoting the father of ubiquitous computing Mark Weiser), “The most profound
technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of our daily lives.”

https://www.cio.com/article/3272428/education/empowering-educators-to-create-immersive-learning-ex
periences.html
What is Immersive Learning and how can it be used in
schools?

What is Immersive Learning?

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
Confucius

Immersive Learning is the process of learning with the usage of a simulated or artificial environment. The
environment enables the learners to completely get immersed in the learning and in a way that feels like
experiencing an actual learning environment. According to a study at Harvard, it’s all about creating
identifiable stories. Learning is at its most effective when the student can see himself in the narrative or
situation that’s taking place.

In an immersive learning experience, a student can receive individualized instruction as he/she progresses
according to their own pace and through simulation. This can be created in simulation as well as in the
virtual world environment.

There are different ways to implement Immersive Learning techniques in any classroom such as learning
through virtual reality, role play, simulations, augmented reality and mixed reality. Gamification, AR, VR
and MR technologies allow the creation of powerful learning experiences while focusing on generating
total interest, attracting learners’ full attention and motivation, along with facilitating a safe trial and error
setting.

Gamification
Gamification is using a layer of game over a real-life environment. It is the concept of applying game
mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate students to achieve their goals.
According to Albert Einstein, games are the most elevated form of investigation. Games have many
elements that make them powerful vehicles for human learning. Many games promote communication,
cooperation, and even competition amongst players.

What educators say…

While teaching, educators must be conscious of their environment. Classes consist of multiple students, all
with different learning styles that must be considered before beginning a lesson. We spoke to educators
about new immersive technologies which can be applied to education, looking for them to tell us how and
what uses they foresee for this emerging learning format.

According to Sanjay Datta, Principal, Maharana Mewar Public School, Udaipur, “Students and teachers
need to be up to date of how technology is disrupting industries every day and changing future careers
along the way. There are four main types of learners: auditory, visual, reading/writing, and kinaesthetic.
Most of us are a mixture of these. Immersive Learning provides students an environment where the focus
is on learning activities that are long-term, interdisciplinary and student-centered; organising their own
work and managing their own time in an immersed environment.”

R Karthik Naidu, Founder & Director, White Petals School, Bengaluru says, “There is a quote by Albert
Einstein - ‘Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.’ In this context the
main purpose of education in this generation is not to remember the facts but to train our mind to think
and analyse. Immersive Learning plays a huge role as it gives the edge of learning through a virtual reality
where the students can see beyond their assumptions right in front of their eyes. This is a powerful
medium which will leave a huge impact in the minds of the future leaders.”
“Another key aspect of Immersive Learning is that the experiences can be made stimulating and fun.
Finding ways to immerse leaners in a physical experience that represents even the most theoretical subject
matter proves immersive and enjoyable, driving trainees to take charge of their own learning. Participation
learning makes the process interactive, fun, and as a result, more memorable. Any job that’s potentially
dangerous will greatly benefit in training that includes VR/ AR/ MR”, adds Datta.
Naidu sees updating of knowledge as the single most important impact of Immersive Learning for
educators, students and schools. He says, “Updating ourselves is the key to success in any field, specially
updating in education industry by using Immersive Learning will be the next big thing for the educators and
schools. When the educators and schools join hands together in making the students understand and learn
concepts through Immersive Learning, then it is like leaving a trademark in the minds of the students about
a concept, it’s hard for them to forget as they will experience it happen in front of their eyes. Our students
will understand a topic through virtual reality in comparison to their assumptions.”

A word of caution and role of teachers in facilitating Immersive Learning:

Parents may object to an immersive learning facility as a reliable form of teaching, because they perceive it
as playing in a fantasy game. This is far from the truth, as Immersive Learning is said to help develop a
variety of transferrable skills that are difficult to nurture through traditional forms of learning.
Children often have trouble with critical thinking, problem solving and seeing things from a different point
of view. An immersive learning environment enables children to participate in complex situations where
they will need to empathise with others. Missions, puzzle solving, and strategy development are just some
of the many ways that the software can challenge and engage young minds all from the safety of the
classroom.
We learn by making mistakes, but often these mistakes come with negative consequences. A virtual
learning environment affords children the freedom to make their own decisions and learn from their own
failures, yet at the same time protecting them from danger by keeping them in a controlled situation.
Students are not the only ones who benefit from Immersive Learning - teachers can also use the new
technology to improve their skills and develop their teaching. For teachers who are just starting out in their
careers, an Immersive Learning environment can be used as a supplement to lessons, helping newer
teachers to develop their teaching skills in an environment that will still be educationally efficient for the
children involved.
Some may worry that Immersive Learning eliminates the need for physical teachers, yet on the contrary,
Immersive Learning enables teachers to connect with their class in a way that wouldn’t be possible through
traditional learning processes.
Issues and questions about the viability of using virtual worlds and immersive environments in the
classroom cannot override the potential learning benefits of immersive environments. Immersive Learning
has been proven to be optimised for how the brain learns. It is not a replacement for existing
methodologies and pedagogy; however, it will enrich learners’ experience and increase efficiency of
classrooms.
Immersive learning transforming education
Mixed Reality is increasingly being used to teach the creative and collaborative skills needed for the
digital age.

As all major tech giants converge in London this week for Bett UK – arguably the biggest event in the
EdTech calendar – many companies like Microsoft are keen to showcase how immersive technologies can
be powerful aids to learning.

“We know technology has the power to unlock limitless learning, and lesson plans that encourage
hands-on and visual learning drive deeper engagement from students,” says Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice
President at Microsoft. In fact, studies show improved test performance and passion for learning among
students who experience 3D content, girls in particular.

One tool which has proved extremely successful in doing so has been Minecraft: Education Edition, which is
used in classrooms in more than 115 countries. This spring, a free Chemistry Update will enable teachers to
use Minecraft to engage students of all ages in chemistry through hands-on experimentation. Students will
be able to leverage the game-based learning with which pupils are already familiar with to build
compounds and tackle complex topics like stable isotopes in a highly visual way.

“Our research shows the most effective learning involves multiple regions of the brain. In the era of mixed
reality - which includes augmented and virtual reality - we are working with our partners to deliver
products and experiences that will help teachers push the boundaries of their curricula,” says Mehdi.

It is no secret that Microsoft believes that Mixed Reality represents the next computing revolution, and
Anthony Salcito – Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft – confirms that in addition to a new
features and hardware releases aimed at the education market, they are looking to significantly expand
their mixed reality curriculum offerings through strategic content partnerships.

Among those is a project with PBS and NASA’s "Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms” and Oceans:
Our Blue Planet – a collaboration between Microsoft Education and BBC Earth that will launch in the Spring
to explore ways to bring the BBC’s content to life in classrooms and museums across the world.

Pearson the world's largest education company – will also begin rolling out in March curriculum that will
work on both HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive VR headsets. These six new applications will
deliver seamless experiences across devices and further illustrate the value of getting hands-on with
technology immersive educational experiences, teaching everything from anatomy to math.

Together with LEGO Education, Microsoft’s Hacking STEM program (already used by educators in over 75
countries worldwide) will also offer schools a new, free online lesson plan where students use the
Pythagorean Theorem to explore and measure topography in 2D/3D space. We’ll be offering a new free
online Hacking STEM lesson plan that has students use the Pythagorean Theorem to explore and measure
topography in 2D/3D space. Acting as environmental surveyors and engineers, students build tools with
LEGO bricks from the Simple & Powered Machines set or cardboard to create and visualize an initial
transportation plan for the development of an island National Park in Excel. They can then bring their
National Park to life by adding topographic elements.

Mehdi says that over the last year Microsoft has seen remarkable instances of teachers and institutions
using Microsoft HoloLens to bring 3D experiences to life in the classroom. To keep up with growing demand
for HoloLens in the classroom they have also announced that they will be making a limited-time academic
pricing offer available for HoloLens. Until May 31st 2018, qualified academic institutions will be able to
purchase discounted Commercial and Developer HoloLens units at 10% off in select markets where
HoloLens currently ships. Additionally, they hope that the release of the Windows Mixed Reality immersive
VR headsets at a lower $299 price point will also help to build up the momentum for take-up of MR
technology in the classroom.

According to Futuresource, the worldwide education market grew 15 percent year-over-year, yet although
Microsoft is certainly staking its claim on that market, it also has a significant Philanthropic Commitment to
Education, donating over $1.2 billion in software and services to more than 90,000 nonprofit organizations
around the world in 2017.

Creativity is predicted to be one of the top three most desired skills by employers in 2020. With nine out of
10 teachers seeing creativity as central to future careersand 93 percent of students view technology as key,
the two clearly go hand-in-hand, and it is increasingly becoming clear that immersive technologies are
going to be the glue that binds those two trends together.

https://www.cio.com/article/3250253/education/immersive-learning-transforming-education.html
New Adobe Study Shows Gen Z Students and Teachers
See Creativity as Key to Success
Nine out of ten teachers see creativity as central to future careers; 93% of students view technology as
key
ANAHAIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) released a study at EDUCAUSE 2016
that provides insights into U.S. student and teacher perspectives on learning, creativity and the future
workforce. A central theme that surfaced from the research underscores the increasing importance of
creativity and technology in shaping future careers and solving many of the problems the world faces today.
In fact, a staggering 85 percent of students and 91 percent of teachers see creativity as essential to
students’ future careers, and 93 percent of students and 73 percent of teachers view technology as key to
their career preparedness. Gen Z students shared that classes focusing on computers and technology are
among their favorites to take and will best prepare them for their futures.

The Adobe study, “Gen Z in the Classroom: Creating the Future,” found that 75 percent of the more than
1,000 U.S. students between the ages of 11 and 17, and more than 400 Gen Z teachers surveyed 1 expressed
a mutual wish to see an increased focus on creativity in the classroom. When asked if they thought their
future careers would involve creating, 83 percent of students agreed, and 94 percent of teachers feel their
Gen Z students will have careers that do not exist today.

“Gen Z students have all grown up in a tech-enabled and information-driven world,” said Tacy Trowbridge,
Education Programs, Adobe, while speaking at EDUCAUSE – the leading conference for educators who use
information technology to transform higher education. “Gen Z and their teachers agree that they learn best
through doing and creating, and that the curriculum needs to evolve to let students explore their creative
ideas and to prepare them for a rapidly changing world.”

While excited about the prospects, Gen Z students – who define themselves as smart, creative and
hard-working – express nervousness about their future careers. Almost 30 percent of Gen Z students feel
unprepared for the future, and nearly half feel what they learn outside of the classroom is more important
to their future careers than what they learn inside.

Although Gen Z students see themselves as more creative than past generations, teachers and students
agree that the best method for learning and teaching is through a doing/creating approach. This
perspective directly correlates with the 60 percent of educators who look for more opportunities for
hands-on learning in their classrooms, and the 52 percent who wish to evolve the teaching curriculum.

“Adobe has always been committed to enabling creativity in the classroom, and programs like Creative
Cloud for Education bring the best in class creativity tools to schools. I am particularly thrilled to see how
the introduction of Adobe Spark has helped even the youngest students tell stories with impact,” said Mala
Sharma, VP & GM Creative Cloud Product, Marketing and Community.

“This study underscores that the vast majority of educators understands the integral role that creativity
and creative thinking play in solving many of the world’s challenges,” said Dr. Gerard J. Puccio, leading
creativity researcher and Department Chair and Professor at the International Center for Studies in
Creativity at SUNY Buffalo. “Teachers, administrators and education leaders face a huge challenge in
preparing their students for today’s world, and can show they are serious about this duty by taking action
to update the curriculum to better reflect 21st century skills and support professional development.”

Key Gen Z student and teacher findings include:

 76 percent of students and 75 percent of teachers wish there was more of a focus on creativity in
the classroom

 85 percent of students and 91 percent of teachers see creativity as essential to students’ future
careers

 93 percent of students and 73 percent of teachers view technology as key to their career
preparedness

 83 percent of students believe their future careers will involve creating

 94 percent of teachers feel their students will have careers that do not exist today

 27 percent of students feel unprepared for the real world, and 34 percent of teachers agree
  78 percent of students and 77 percent of teachers believe Gen Z learns best by creating and
hands-on experiences
The full findings from Adobe’s survey, Gen Z in the Classroom: Creating the Future, are available for
download at www.adobeeducate.com/genz.

To view the findings in infographic form, please

visit http://www.adobeeducate.com/genz/genzinclassroom.
1The study was produced by research firm Edelman Intelligence and conducted as an online survey among
n=1,000 Gen Z students (ages 11-17) nationwide United States and n=500 teachers of Gen Z students (ages
11-17) nationwide United States. Interviewing took place from September 26 – October 6, 2016.

https://news.adobe.com/press-release/creative-cloud/new-adobe-study-shows-gen-z-students-and-teac
hers-see-creativity-key
How Education And Technology Are Evolving
Together
What will education and learning look like ten years from now?originally appeared on Quora: the place to
gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Mike Silagadze, Co-Founder and CEO at Top Hat, on Quora:

I think the way we best learn won’t change in the next ten years, but the tools we use and what we focus
on most definitely will. We will still learn by engaging directly with great educators. But as universities face
pressure from students who want to see demonstrated ROI on their education costs, they will have to
rethink how and what they teach.

1. Learning will mirror how we learn outside of the classroom.

We live in a world where nearly everything is ‘tech.’ We are glued to our mobile phones from morning to
night - gaining knowledge through social media and websites. We download apps to learn new languages
and watch YouTube videos to learn how to play musical instruments. Yet, when it comes to learning in the
classroom, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible; many universities still require students to
purchase print textbooks and we lecture at students as they sit passively. I’m encouraged by the innovative
approaches I’ve seen some professors take, as they adopt more technology in the classroom and I think
that will only accelerate as they learn and gain access to new and helpful tools.

Of course, what technology looks like in ten years may change pretty dramatically. Innovation in AI, for
instance, is happening at a rapid pace. While I don’t think AI tutors and teaching assistants will ever replace
teachers, I do think that machine learning algorithms will help educators on non-priority tasks - like reading
directions out loud, grading standardized tests, taking attendance - so educators can focus on more 1-on-1
time with students and on the more thoughtful activities only a human can do, like forming arguments,
writing critically, and initiating more interesting and compelling discussions.

2. Learning will be more interactive.

Instructors have been working to create a more dynamic classroom experience for decades. This has taken
shape in experiments with flipped classrooms (an instructional strategy where educational content is
delivered outside of the classroom, while activities traditionally considered "homework" move into the
classroom), as well as a heavy emphasis on group work and peer collaboration.

At the same time, by incorporating digital quizzes and assessments, videos, simulations, and gamification
elements into course content, educators can create a dynamic learning experience for each student on an
individual level. By capitalizing on the digital habits of students, the classroom can be filled with
interactivity regardless of the class size or topic.

3. Learning will be a lifelong endeavor

In education, we often talk about higher education providing a greater ROI and better preparing students
for jobs. But what does that look like when you consider 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been
invented yet? In ten years, while I think it will be essential to ensure students are gaining skills that make
them employable, we also need people to be adaptable and we need to teach them how to learn. It’s very
likely that their formal education will not end when they graduate college, and they’ll have to level-up their
skillset several times throughout their career. Therefore, in higher ed, it will be important to balance
building technical skills with more general critical thinking and communication skills (which will help people
as they adapt to a changing workforce).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/05/04/how-education-and-technology-are-evolving-together/#3e779d7e7806

3 ways Immersive Learning can make students dive

into studies
Immersive tools like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality, allows students to experience
abstract concept in three-dimensional space.

Immersive Learning, as the name would suggest, allows learners to cross conceptual and theoretical
boundaries with the help of tools including game-based and simulation based learning. It is one of the most
promising methods in the history of learning that immerses the students or professionals in an interactive
learning environment in order to teach them a particular skill or technique.
Immersive tools like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality, allows students to experience
abstract concept in three-dimensional space; find meaning of words and links between concepts. It
transforms the passive learning into technology-assisted immersive learning that gives students an
opportunity to explore and navigate their subjects, and live inside them like never before.
Immersive learning encourages enquiry where students learn by doing, grab the method of solving
problems and obtain knowledge. It also helps in motivating the introversivet and inculcates a
distracted-free learning within the classroom. Additionally, it changes the conventional method of teaching
into a virtual classroom that fosters self -learning ability within the students.
Imagine a student experiencing a human heart in mid-air and identifying different parts of it or learning
about Newtonian mechanics by becoming and by observing a ball as it responds to student- induced
changes in gravity, velocity and elasticity.
Such kind of learning involves full-sensory immersion that leads to
 Focused attention
 Hands on learning
  Continuous participation
Looking at the current wave of Immersive Learning in the field of education and training, one can sense the
desire to transcend it from a wow phase into life-long learning solutions that makes it possible for students
to experience their subjects in an entirely new way.
In order to make Immersive Learning a practical reality in schools and institutions, there is a need to
address three key gaps existing in the VR ecosystem - content, technology, and awareness.

Content for Mass learning

Firstly, there is a need to build an extensive library of content for mass learning. The content, unlike 360
degree videos has to be real, immersive, and interactive and engaging, only then it would be motivational
and inspirational for the students. Also, we should add analytics module like machine learning or artificial
learning to provide qualitative and quantitative feedback and score once the student experiences the
course.

Cost-effective method
Secondly, technology has to be affordable in order to make it reach out to the masses. There is need to
build a cost effective and easy-to-use tool that is conducive to learning. One cannot expect students to
have a heavy VR carry bag on their shoulders to school. Further, there is a need to build an active program
with the institutions and provide active support and maintenance.

Awareness about VR based learning

Thirdly and more importantly, awareness about VR based learning in schools is as crucial as building
content and technology for it. Infact, it becomes a bigger challenge as there is a misconception among
educators that immersive tools will disrupt the learning that has been going on for years.
However, that isn't the case, as teachers will always be the face of the institutions and curriculum.
Additionally, there is a need to assert on the values and the potential of immersive learning in transforming
the educational system for the betterment of the learners by piloting the project within the institutions at
initial stages, only then the attraction for deploying such technologies on top of the existing teaching
methods.
In order to make immersive learning a practical reality, the combination of content, technology and
awareness about it within the society is crucial. Moreover, school authorities, educators, researchers have
to come together to witness the power of such great tools in harnessing students minds and making them
better learners.

https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/beyond-wow-making-immersive-learning-
a-practical-reality-1257092-2018-06-11