The Future of Education

Written on 12:11 PM by Christian Olson

I'm currently a student at Utah State University and I love the program. There is so much going on that is on the cutting edge of education. I'm in my last semester, so I thought that I'd share some of the amazing stuff going on around me. (If someone is considering Utah State, then I hope this helps them see what is going on up here. I remember trying to choose a university for my M.S. degree and something like this would've help me)

Anyway, without any further ado:

Educational Gaming: http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_HEAT.html

Right now USU has some huge innovations in educational gaming. They are taking the idea that most people have of incorporating games into education, and successfully pulling it off. A lot of planning, work, and testing has gone on with these technologies.

Groundbreaking Research: http://itls.usu.edu/news/itls/2009/apr/20/itls-rocks-aera

The Professors in the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department has loads of groundbreaking research that is being conducted and disseminated. Don't just take my word for it, the American Educational Research Association agrees (see link).

Assessability: http://webaim.org/

Helping people with various disabilities have access to instructional materials is another goal with some researchers at Utah State. This will become increasingly important as the world shifts to web-based information.


International Cooperation: http://itls.usu.edu/news/itls/2009/apr/15/building-international-connections-research-development-and-evaluation

Researchers are also building connections across the globe through various projects. Utah State is being recognized as a leader in education throughout the world.

Teaching Tools: http://enlvm.usu.edu/ma/nav/index.jsp

Researchers and developers are creating tools that are being placed in the hands of educations. Teachers are helping students understand concepts and ideas through interactive simulations.

Instructional Evaluation: http://fivestarperformancesolution.com/

Evaluators are going into different learning environments and helping facilitators and educators increase their learning gains. This helps improve on existing instruction and improves the experience for learner and facilitator.

Open Education: http://ocw.usu.edu/

USU has been a leader in providing Open Education (some call Free Education... although that's not true for the institution housing the information). The University has built a variety of courses that anyone can take according to their time/needs/desire. USU researchers have even been heavily involved in the new Utah Open High School program.

Of course, this isn't all that's going on, but I think it is a nice list in which to begin. There is a lot going on and it is great to be a part of it.