EdTech: what technologies are shaping the multilingual education of the future?

The pandemic is further accelerating the separation of learning from the traditional classroom setting. Even e-learning is beginning to seem a little outdated compared to the unconventional, disrupting technologies supporting EdTech today. What are these technologies, and how can they make the interactive (corporate) learning experience more appealing and produce better results?

There is a huge need for training tools to help businesses engage with their employees and deliver a faster learning experience to teams in their own languages. This need can be seen in the proliferation of innumerable webinars, courses, and tutorials that can be held and taken anywhere in the world, and which has led to a revolution in e-learning. Supported by gamification, this revolution is producing a more productive learning experience, with participants achieving their targets faster, and retaining new knowledge and connecting with corporate targets better. All of which has huge benefits for HR, which often uses gamification to boost employee morale and team spirit. It also benefits company departments with employees scattered across the globe, such as marketing and innovation.

Companies use e-learning and courses as a team building tool.

E-learning help international companies stay coherent while having trained teams locally. Take a look at our YouTube channel.

Yet the path of technological progress doesn’t stop at e-learning courses. Thanks to the availability of Big Data, learners can enjoy the benefits of an increasingly personalized learning experience. The Fourth Industrial Revolution demonstrates that technology will transform the way we live and work, unlike any other metamorphosis humankind may have experienced to date. In such an environment, learning experiences are unlikely to remain static, and will most likely transform into something more immersive and empowering. This new type of learning experience will involve employee learners more and grant them quicker access to multilingual formats because, as we are seeing, the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling the acceleration of digitalization and all things remote. Talking about Coronavirus, experts are also saying that it may create a ‘third wave’ ofproblems, chiefly linked to mental health: companies will be called upon to find a way to make employees feel protected and connected, despite remote working and social distancing. Part of the solution could be new learning experiences that make employees feel closer to the business and one another.

EdTech is the new trend that is beginning to satisfy some of this need for extensive and comprehensive learning experiences. According to iBrain and 100mentors, and as described by Lucy Xu, EdTech is “the use of technological processes and resources to improve education. It is technology in forms of products, apps, and tools to enhance learning and pedagogy, for all stakeholders in the student’s educational journey (teachers and parents alike!)”. Despite the concept being not fully new, according to Xu “edtech has already made a huge impact on education, but many argue that we have only seen a fraction of what is to come. So, while the technology has been out there, the way we are now capable of using it and its potential impact is unlike ever before. Across the globe, educational changemakers are creating and leveraging new groundbreaking technology to improve education and the future of society. The rise of a new education and learning world has begun with investment in edtech set to reach a global total of $252 billion by 2020.” The benefits for learners are innumerable, as the prime focuses of EdTech are to enhance both the teaching and the learning processes, and to be efficient and effective.

But what are some of the new technologies EdTech is going to promote to achieve the goals of greater learner and employee engagement, and to offer an immersive experience?

Here is a brief run-down of the key EdTech trends in 2019, identified as having the disruptive power of changing learning experiences like never before:

Virtual Reality. According to Investopedia, “VR refers to a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen or gloves fitted with sensors. In this simulated artificial environment, the user is able to have a realistic-feeling experience.” The opportunities in EdTech are countless and range from medical education to vocational training. Here is one example of how virtual reality can be used in maintenance courses:

Augmented Reality. AR is an enhanced version of the real physical world, which is achieved by using digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli, delivered via technology. The implementation of AR helps students easily acquire, process and remember the content of a course. It is highly engaging and—unlike VR—does not require a device. It makes learning more practical and less theoretical, and can be applied at any level of education and training. Here is an example of how AR can be used for personalization purposes in e-commerce (as EdTech is just one of the applications of these new technologies):

3D & 3D Mapping. According to EdTech Digest, “When objects are perceived to be within our “haptic envelope” that is, the immediate space around us where we feel we can reach out and touch any given object, these neurons are activated, thus engaging more of our neural pathways and resulting in a stronger memory.” While this might not always be possible if we think about real objects, 3D animations help students retain more information, because “an illusion of touch, thereby activating your spatially selective mirror neurons is giving you a richer experience”. This example shows how 3D has been applied in the automotive sector:

These are only some of the technologies used in EdTech to give an extra boost to the global education market, and to offer faster and more efficient learning. CPSL is not just your localization partner, but also your technical partner, able to adapt and create content for the e-learning of the future, such as gamification for companies, digital twin technology for training purposes, animated video and corporate video production, etc.

The flow

When we localize your e-learning courses material, we evaluate them and propose what strategy to take. We extract key terms, and then use them to build glossaries for you (our customer) to review. We translate and review content, and then run an extensive quality check before the course is localized, review the text in context, and test it until it meets your expectations. Now, in addition to all that, we can also offer the added value of building your course from scratch and in line with EdTech principles—don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to learn more.