Teaching in the digital age: How educators are evolving with the shift in technology

By Sanyam Badola

As education continues to evolve and witness a meteoric rise, teachers find themselves at an inflection point. While technology has always played a major role in transforming how education is delivered, the rapid digitization of classrooms and changes in students’ requires a reimagining of teaching methodologies to harness the power of technology.

Teaching is no longer constrained to classrooms; it demands continuous learning to deliver high-quality content to students from the vast sea of information and educational research available online. Surveys indicate teachers’ willingness to adapt, with over 60% already actively using AI-based tools. However, making this transition has not been without challenges.

From adapting to diverse learning tools and incorporating innovative strategies through digital literacy to upskilling, teachers have ingeniously overcome obstacles to deliver impactful and high-quality education. They have efficiently adapted and embraced new responsibilities, ensuring that they equip students with the right skills and knowledge required to succeed.

Working on content delivery – Every day is a show

With the rise in the availability of online content, teachers have to continuously work on delivering quality study material. Every lecture is like a performance, requiring teachers to give their best while also training and improving their screen presence to meet the increasing needs of students. They are actively acquiring new technical skills and adapting teaching methods. This collective effort aims to prepare students and the workforce for the evolving digital landscape. Additionally, tech-enabled classrooms support this shift, aiding in the creation of engaging course materials and collaborative learning.

Upholding quality standards

Teachers now team up with course creators to create effective online lessons, tests, and teaching methods. Some even work with tech experts to make sure virtual classes and course systems are based on good teaching methods. They are also putting in a lot of effort in giving feedback on online tools, pointing out what works well and what doesn’t. This helps keep the quality of online education high and makes it interesting for students.

Adoption of new teaching methods

With the rapid evolution of technology in the education sector, teachers must keep themselves updated, and learn about innovative educational tools. Teachers are constantly working towards establishing classrooms centred around students, encouraging critical thinking, and developing problem-solving skills while also leveraging technology to enhance instructional delivery creating immersive learning experiences, and providing personalised feedback to students. A teacher is expected to work hard to ensure students not only learn about the key concepts of a topic but also learn to use the necessary technology. Teachers are engaging in co-learning alongside their students, fostering sharing and collaboration. They have transitioned into both content producers and consumers.

Student engagement and personalised feedback – priorities

While solving accessibility problems, online education poses unique communication and engagement challenges. Gauging student understanding by reading facial expressions and body language is tough in virtual classrooms. Teachers are overcoming this by organising regular one-on-one mentoring sessions for personalised progress monitoring and feedback. Likewise, peer bonding suffers without offline interactions. Hence, educators aim to recreate collaboration opportunities using group projects, online study circles, interactive messaging boards, and chat groups.

Driving Further Innovation

With the online education market poised to grow at 13.68% CAGR until 2028, digitally savvy teachers feel empowered to drive ongoing innovations to make quality scaled and sustainable. Having experienced the transition firsthand, teachers are best positioned to shape edtech’s future. Some work with tech experts to create simpler, offline versions of heavy software. This helps reach more students in towns and villages through virtual classrooms. Likewise, teacher committees formulate best practices, policies, and tools for 21st-century online education, blending delivery methods with targeted offline interactions, aiming to further progress.