TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING - AMALGAMATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING SCIENCES HAS IMPROVED THE VALUE CREATION FOR THE LEARNER AND TEACHER

The learning environment has undergone a rapid change in the last decade. The traditional form of learning involving the pupil and teacher is fast becoming obsolete. Soon the idea of attending a college or even undergoing a structured format of learning may become a thing of the past. The advent of technology, the easy access to knowledge, the contribution from the field of psychology on the different dimensions of learning such as individual learning styles, the learning curve, the forgetting curve, the span of attention of a learner, the scope of competency development in various fields and in the 21st century skill sets requirements of a learner have brought about a paradigm shift in the education environs. Virtual tutors who allow a person to learn from multiple experts have replaced the teacher in the classroom. The mouse has taken over the chalk. Stakeholders in this domain, right from educators, employers, policy makers, parents and learners strongly believe and agree to the fact that technology has become an intrinsic part of today’s learning.
There are 2 major challenges faced in the space of learning today. First challenge is faced by the learner is Information overload.
The 21st century adult learner has a gamut of channels from where he/she is able to access knowledge. Every learner has now reached an inflexion point where the synergy of all things we have talked about culminates. Today’s adult learner needs to have the flexibility of asynchronous medium of learning to fit into his hectic schedule. He/she needs content that is engaging, relevant and specific to their field of interest.
The second challenge is customization. The rise in the emerging economies, the changing global demographics/redistribution of the global talent pool and the ubiquity of technology has opened a wider arena in the learning front. The global learner may be in any number, from any part of the world, with the same or different set of needs and aspirations and who is looking for an easy and effective medium of learning which meets their requirement. The bane here is personalization- how to cater to the diverse learning styles, learning needs and large groups. In this scenario, learning will have one objective- to enhance the effectiveness of the learning per se as well as cater to the needs of the learner so that the desired outcome is achieved. This requires a complete shift in the role of learning functions and their capability to design and deliver the content in the required manner. It will also reflect in the role an educator plays in the dissemination of knowledge. In short it is based on the ability of the learning function to create value for the learner. One of the key objectives of this endeavor will be to provide training interventions through platforms that add value through their offerings and show a demonstrable business value to the user. Case studies of Carnegie Mellon's Open learning initiative, MIT's Open courseware prove that a unique amalgamation of technology and learning sciences can enable us to scale our learning deliverables in a much more effective way, so we truly can serve many students without impacting the economics of learning and teaching. The learning productivity and teaching productivity are vastly improved with leveraging of technology in teaching and learning