There have been many documented downsides to traditional education in terms of accessibility and outdated methods. However, embracing the opportunities of remote learning could help solve many of these problems by doing the following:
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Drop the major; make it easier to test and iterate
Higher education can help students out by moving away from majors as one of the benefits to a liberal arts education is that it allows students to explore. This is something schools should lean into because it allows students to change course of study and integrate more modern subjects into the curriculum.
Schools should also create opportunities to test out real jobs, and an example of this is in the edtech industry with Paragon One, which helps universities provide students with eight-week remote “externships” at tech companies where students can learn all about the different roles and opportunities within these organizations.
This mindset of testing and iteration will help students distinguish which skills and interests they want to move forward with in their careers, plus it teaches them how to adapt to new roles and learn new skills.
Provide better incentives (and more useful outcomes)
When students focus too much on grades it forces them to focus on short-term outcomes instead of more in-depth learning, plus this model doesn’t focus on how they will be evaluated in their job. Institutions should find more meaningful ways to encourage learning and provide feedback.
The edtech world utilizes gamification because it makes learning more fun which encourages deeper engagement. This method also helps with information retention, creative problem solving, and provides shorter feedback loops to help the students make improvements along the way.
Project-based learning is also a great option as many bootcamps are centered around creating projects or sets of projects during their tenure. The value of project-based learning is that it shows students real-world application of topics discussed in the classroom and why they do, in fact, learn them. This also gives instructors the opportunity to provide more useful feedback than a simple grade, and the students comes out with work they can add to a portfolio.
Make hybrid school the norm, not the exception
Remote and hybrid work is here to stay and the same should be true when it comes to the classroom. Edtech has been helping students learn from wherever they live, and it has proven to work. A great example of this is Quantic, the only accredited MBA built for mobile-first learning.
Schools will cut costs to help them compete with the edtech options plus it makes education more accessible for students both financially and logistically. It will also teach them the critical skills they will need to thrive in the remote workplace.