5 Ways Live Streaming is Going to Change the Future of Education

Did you know more than 80% of internet and mobile audiences watched more live-videos in 2016 as compared to 2015, and streaming video accounts for more than two-thirds of all internet traffic and is expected to jump to 82% by 2020?

So, what’s the future of education? The answer is, dynamic and ever-changing, as live streaming will be an integral part of it. The transfer of concepts between students and teachers will become real-time and in-the-moment.

• Improving the teaching methodology

   

  – The traditional teaching methodology in schools follows a pattern wherein students are supposed to attend classes, followed by exams. In such a system, they don’t have an option to recap the classes and are forced to take notes. Afterwards, they are graded based on exams that test their learning than knowledge. In such a system active learning is missing.

In live streaming, students will be able to watch experts as they solve problems in real-time. Studies show that this is more conducive to learning as we learn more when we visualize.

• Reduction in cost and improved returns

   

  – Attending traditional classes means you will be paying for tuition fees, school fees, travel cost and others. On the contrary, live streaming will change the future of education by drastically reducing the cost. The major cost will be the monthly Internet and electricity cost.

• Performance metrics

   

  – The live streaming platform will integrate authoring tools that will allow teachers and administrators to automatically know students’ preferences and requirements, enabling them to customize the online learning experience for students. They will also be able to automatically assess students’ knowledge and skillset. This will allow educators to tailor courses as per students’ needs.

• Interactivity

   

  – Interactivity is one of the strongest points of live streaming as it allows interaction above and beyond the classroom experience. With live streaming, teachers and students can have face-to-face interactions, irrespective of their geographical location. Furthermore, they can ask questions via chat during the lesson.

The videos are recorded to be shared by students to their peers. Teachers can evaluate and give suggestions to other teachers. With live streaming, students can ‘reach out beyond the walls of their classrooms to interact with other students, other teachers, and renowned authors, scientists, and experts to enhance their learning.’ (Hadley Ferguson, Edcamp foundation).

• Collaboration

   

  – Online platforms provide a meaningful way to collaborate with others. Live streaming offers live chats to communicate with the streamer, enabling them to ask questions in real-time and solve their doubts. Online learners can also take up group projects.

Live streaming also enables people with disabilities to learn anything from anywhere as they don’t have to leave the comfort of their house. If they miss the class or live stream, they can easily watch the recorded video and learn at their own pace.

Millennials are widely using live streaming feature on various social media platforms. For them, accepting this feature in education would be easy and useful. It’s just a matter of time when this feature will be commonly used in the formal education.