aaron friedland

As technology proliferates through every aspect of our lives, we are becoming increasingly able to quantitatively understand our actions and their consequences. For example, we used to run a tap for a week and wonder how much water was being used. Now with special faucet readers, we know objectively how much water a household is consuming. Similarly, the entire field of medicine only recently (1960) celebrated randomized control trials (data-driven decisions) and was surprisingly comfortable with their often deadly experimental therapies. As technology continues to afford objective truths, these same truths will be demanded within the classroom and rightfully so! Big Data and Learning Analytics have been slowly and clumsily integrated into the classroom environment. However, these changes will start being integrated at an unprecedented rate. Teachers will soon be using computer dashboards to check homework and monitor efficacy. This data will help teacher prescribe necessary readings and math equations based on big data and comparative data. Students will soon be able to see progress through a gamified reality which will further intrinsically motivate them. The beauty of the system is that the more data it accrues, the more statistically significant the data becomes. Further, with more data available and visualized in intuitive ways, teachers, parents, students, and schools boards alike will be able to internalize what the data shows and can move forward intelligently. Big Data and Learning Analytics mark an incredibly exciting yet precarious future. On one hand, we can ensure our educators are performing well. We can provide students with meaningful, objective feedback and truths and can share this information with the world. On the other hand, it's a thin line between "Big Data," and "Big Brother."

With growing emphasis on technology in the classroom, Game-Based Learning is well positioned to vastly change the way we motivate, engage, and educate our learners. With cell phones, ipads, and apps playing an increasingly important role in our lives, it makes sense that components from these technologies will diffuse into classrooms. The proliferation of Educational Technology that incorporates Games, Rewards, Leaderboards, Tokens and more is certainly not a mistake. These gamified experiences are intentionally developed to consistently bring the user back. These methods are also battle tested and have withstood the test of time and immense innovation in a capitalist market. The beauty is that these techniques can and are being used in many respects to improve learning outcomes and this is an area of EdTech which excites me to no end!