Remote Education Technology

 

Remote education or distance learning as it's also called is a very popular way to get a college education. Universities were first to offer courses by mail and now the distance learning environment is highly digital.

They're able to provide a high level of education in part because they use technology to give each student a personal educational experience. Here are some of the technologies that modern universities use to offer high-quality remote education.

Video Conferencing Tools

 

Although they became widely popular during the outbreak of the coronavirus, video conferencing tools like Zoom have actually been available for a few years now. They are essential for online master's degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and vocational training.

Interpersonal communication is the key to success in education. In order to interact with classmates and educators, students need to be able to communicate effectively. Video conferencing software has bridged the gap for distance learners by giving them the ability to have face-to-face conversations.

Many universities are now taking advantage of distance learning by incorporating seminars, lectures, and joint projects into their curriculum. These universities often commission software to be custom-built into their course management systems in order to make video conferencing more accessible for students.

This type of technology has made it possible for students to learn from anywhere in the world and has led to a more diverse range of perspectives being represented in the classroom.

Online Journal Collections

 

Online journal collections are extremely useful for students who cannot access physical copies of academic papers at their university library. The vast majority of journals digitize their publications and make them available on JSTOR and other digital services. Physical copies of journals are more expensive and less common, so digital copies are essential for students.

As a student working towards a postgraduate degree, you can't just rely on foundational texts to get you through your work. You need to stay up-to-date on the latest academic developments in your field, and most of these developments are published and reviewed in specialist journals. Without access to online journal collections, distance learning students would be at a huge disadvantage compared to students with access to an academic library.

Course Management Systems

 

Course management systems play a vital role in the majority of modern degrees and are therefore essential for universities that offer distance learning. By acting as a central hub for students and educators, course management systems make it easy to submit and grade written work, communicate between students and educators, and create reading lists.

Mobile Learning Apps

 

Mobile learning apps like Google Classroom provide a more interactive digital learning space for users. The portability of mobile phones allows students to take their classroom with them, which could help increase the appeal of education to people who may not have time to sit in front of a desktop computer at home.

Mobile devices feature push notification technology, which allows applications to notify users of updates on their home screens. This can help improve seminar and lecture attendance, as well as help students, prioritize and organize their time in education. The ubiquity of the mobile phone in modern society makes it the perfect vehicle for educational materials.

Collaboration Tools

 

Good collaboration is essential to successful higher education. By collaborating, students and tutors are able to learn from each other and be more innovative. There is specialist software available that is designed to facilitate educational collaboration such as Webex. This software combines video conferencing and presentation tools to give users more collaborative opportunities.

Digital Simulation

 

Digital simulation technology, like screen-based case simulations and virtual reality (VR), is becoming increasingly popular in the delivery of remote higher education, especially in fields where vocational training is part of the program, such as medicine. Simulations are important for students who would not be able to conduct the in-person practice of complex situations.

This is especially true for VR simulations, which provide an immersive experience that can come close to replicating real-life scenarios. VR simulations are proving to be valuable tools for students' learning, and we expect to see more educational institutions making use of them in the future.

Medical students have been spending time in Linden Labs’ Second Life program to get familiar with hospital environments. The program was originally developed as a commercial MMO, but it has been used to replicate hospital layouts so that trainee doctors can get a feel for them.

Assistive Technology

 

Students with disabilities have extra challenges to face when it comes to distance learning. During the coronavirus pandemic, when most students had to do their studying from home, disabled people said that there wasn't enough technical support available and that the courses weren't set up to be easy for people with different physical and mental abilities.

Assistive technologies are tools employed by universities to make distance learning more accessible for students with disabilities. Assistive technology includes any hardware or software that is used to improve the functional ability of a person in the course of their education.

One great example of how assistive technology is being used in remote learning contexts is the adoption of AI-based closed captioning services. This is particularly useful for people with limited hearing capabilities, as it allows them to access live streams and video conferencing, two key features of remote education.

Conclusion

 

The type of technology used by universities offering remote education can have a big impact on the overall quality of the education that students receive.

When choosing a university that offers remote education, it is important to consider the type of technology that the school uses. Make sure to ask about the software and hardware that the school uses, and whether or not students will be able to use their own devices.