Edutainment and educational trends in 2024

“Edutainment” – The education trends in the next 3 years will mainly revolve around meeting the learning needs of all ages for more flexibility, speed, concentration and practicality.

The dual impact of the 4.0 revolution and the Covid-19 pandemic has created drastic changes in every aspect of education, breaking down traditional barriers, definitions and ways of thinking. The speed of technological development along with the fierce competition in the labor market in recent years shows that soon there will be huge waves of innovation in education, which is known as a new generation human resources “supply” industry for the market.

Grasping notable trends in education in the next 3 years will help organizations and individuals shape the direction of education and adapt to the changes more effectively:

1. Micro and nano-learning – Lessons which are small in “size” but have a big impact

The technological era eliminates all boundaries, bringing huge conveniences in just a few clicks. As a result, people are increasingly impatient and less focused on each problem. The way of learning with tiny, “bite-sized” units of knowledge – so that you can load them anywhere, anytime, also known as nano-learning, has become a trend.

Nano-learning is not just about capacity, it is also a new form of learning with the perspective of “less is more”: the learner (brain) focuses on remembering only the information that is necessary, important and serves the target needs at that time. Since the knowledge has been “packaged”, users can easily look up and review it when needed. It can be said that as consequence of the social distancing period, people devote themselves to essential things instead of dividing their attention.

With the demand for super-fast, super-compact learning, forms of content such as short videos, podcasts, audio clips, flip books, etc. are becoming more and more popular. The world’s largest social platforms such as Meta, Youtube, and Tiktok have attracted and retained billions of users with short videos under 2 minutes and increasingly high educational content quality.

Currently, many large educational technology companies in the world such as Coursera, Udemy or Duolingo are putting their major effort in “micro” learning. Each lesson is designed by experts to be brief, often lasting about 5 – 20 minutes, centered around a single idea or concept. In Vietnam, the multi-level online learning platform for students VioEdu is one of the first programs to deliver lectures less than 3 minutes, making the most of the highest concentration span of elementary school students to convey knowledge.

2. Mobile learning –  An increase of productivity by up to 43%

Mobile learning market with great growth potential, according to Mordor Intelligence’s research

A research by Google shows that, approximately 80% of the world’s population are currently using smartphones, of which, if given only one device, 27% will opt for phones instead of tcomputers(14%). It is easy to see that people can do almost all necessary tasks – not only studying but working – on their phones.

Along with the trend of micro-learning as mentioned, taking and completing courses on mobile devices are 45% faster than on desktops, leading to higher productivity.

Sức The heat of the educational application market also leads to a similar conclusion, with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast to be 28.61% from 2022 – 2027. The estimated market size will also increase by USD 124,782.56 million, and the most vibrant market for educational applications will be Asia Pacific, with a proportion of 47% (as of 2027). This willbe also the region that accounts for more than half of the total number of global subscribers, and has the fastest growth rate in the world in mobile services, with nearly 500 million new subscribers added since 2014.

As one of the countries with the highest number of mobile phone users in the world, around 79% of the population, Vietnam will not stay out of the trend. According to preliminary estimates in September 2022, Vietnam had a total of 265 million new downloads of mobile applications, ranking 10th globally in terms of the country with the highest number of application downloads (according to Ministry of Information and Communications).

These figures will enable us to see a significant inscrease in the number of eLearning courses from Edtech companies optimized for mobile and tablet devices in the next three years. One thing that is not new but worth noting for educational content producers is compatibility across multiple environments, ensuring that interactive content can be easily accessed on all devices.

3. Edutainment và gamification in education

These two terms are both understood as the design of learning experiences through entertainment activities and games to attract attention, stimulate multiple senses, and increase learners’ ability to absorb and remember.

Learning through recreational activities inspires learners

In fact, the approach of having students convey knowledge through games, experiences, experiments, storytelling, role-playing, etc. has been adopted by teachers for centuries, but only accounts for a low rate. Today, with the help of technology, the application of entertainment to education is easier, more often, and with more space for creativity than ever before.

Technology elements supporting this trend include: interactivity, instant feedback, graphics, animation, multi-dimensional space, virtual reality and gamified logic. Gamification can turn a regular course into an interactive experience by incorporating game elements such as scoring rules, time limits, badges, leaderboards, and performance awards.

In 2022, the Learn on Tiktok campaign recorded more than 9.4 million videos and 329 billion views, 31 times higher than in 2021, proving the effectiveness and attraction of content providing knowledge on　social platforms. Psychologically, being able to learn through an entertaining activity will reduce users’ concerns about wasting time on the Internet.

In the near future, the Edtech market will be flooded with products and services that meet educational entertainment needs, using video games and mobile applications, as well as social networks, as important factors in deliverin educational content.

4. Hybrid learning – Redefining “classroom”

Hybrid learning is one of the most mentioned keywords in the education industry in the context of the “new normal”, since the Covid-19 pandemic has brought profound changes in the lifestyle and thinking of our entire society, including how to reorganize the classroom. This model has developed strongly in the past 2 years in many countries around the world, reaching up to 150,000 educational institutions, including universities, for both undergraduates and postgraduates, and training institutions for people working in Viet Nam.

One hour of hybrid-learning model at Fulbright University Vietnam.

Hybrid learning (integrated learning) is a model that combines and synchronizes face-to-face learning in class and online learning. Students can flexibly choose the most suitable way to participate in class without any difference in learning quality.

Specifically, during class sessions following the hybrid learning model, classroom instructors will use recording devices (which can move in the direction of the instructor’s movement) and broadcast live simultaneously to online platforms. Students who choose to participate remotely can also follow, interact, and participate in activities with students in class.

This model is believed to bring many advantages, overcoming the limitations of traditional classrooms, providing flexibility for students, and optimizing time and resources for all parties. When a classroom in hybrid learning model is conducted effectively, it will greatly facilitate lecturers and students to exchange and digitize documents through technology, creates conditions for learners to research on their own and discuss with lecturers outside of regular class hours. Students also stated this form of learning enables them to develop more skills for work.

This model of learning lays a foundation for future trends, solving the problem of “fair education” – no gap, where technology is exploited to make learning multidimensional instead of single-dimension communication as in other online learning models.

5. Artificial Intelligence – An undeniable role

In 2023, the world was “crazed” by ChatGPT – a product of AI. Along with it, we will also witness the blossoming of applications of Artificial Intelligence with a speed and diversity beyond human expectations.

In education, AI has made a strong impact on every aspects, including recruitment and admission consulting; creation of smart content in a fast, beautiful, up to date manner that suits learner needs; combination with virtual reality technology to deliver groundbreaking immersive learning experiences; personalization of learning content; automation of repetitive tasks such as checking homework, grading tests, preparing reports, presentations and notes, and other administrative tasks; 24/07 support – for quick look-up and synthesis of knowledge,…

In 2024, AI is expected to assist teachers in sensing student emotions, identifying learing gap in classroom and shortcomings in presentations or educational materials, to propose adjustments and develop adaptive learning systems that are capable of changing the difficulty level of content based on the learner’s level of success.

Students in Vietnam can now access learning powered by artificial intelligence right from elementary school through the VioEdu system. VioEdu is a platform developed by FPT Corporation, pioneering the application of artificial intelligence, big data and adaptive learning methods, aiming to offer every student across Vietnam an active learning channel: flexibility in time, proactive selection of knowledge to learn, analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and suggested learning paths compatible with abilities. This method allows students to devote their attention to the focus of their learning based on their ability, eliminating depression and lack of confidence, which in turn helps students reduce study time and increase efficiency.

More and more online educational products apply AI and gamification elements to bring better learning experiences to elementary and middle school students.

6. Micro-credentials and lifelong learning

The 4.0 industrial revolution will seriously change the world. Artificial intelligence can replace a series of jobs from simple to super complex, and knowledge will no longer be a competitive advantage. Studying in school is just the beginning, and people need to be ready to learn anytime, anywhere, for lifelong learning to not fall behind.

Employers believe that 4 out of 10 workers will need to update their skills within 6 months. At the same time, 90% of businesses want their employees to have new skills at work.

As a result, micro-courses with certificates (micro/nano – credential) were created. With this form of learning, learners actively “upgrade” themselves with short-term training courses, in a certain field at work or in the community. These courses quickly update knowledge according to 3 criteria: concise, focused, and easy to understand, and grant certificates and certifications to learners. Thanks to being centered around a few skills and professional foundations, micro-credentials empower students to easily and immediately apply the knowledge they have learned to work or lay a foundation for them to continue pursuing higher level education in the future.

There have been nearly 1,200 micro-credential courses conducted at 950 universities around the world (according to ClassCentral, 2020). Higher Ed Landscape’s Education Dynamics’ 2021 report also reveals an apparent increase in the completion rates of short-term training programs. Micro-credential courses have become part of the training strategy of many organizations and businesses, to support employees in continuously improving their expertise, while still ensuring that job progress is maintained.

Conclusion

In the context of a “hibernating” economy recently, the education market in general and Edtech in particular are kept extremely vibrant with a series of new innovations and big deals. It is expected that by 2027, the market capacity will reach USD 462.6 billion. Businesses who wish to mark their presence in this giant picture need to pay attention to core issues such as: technology development trends that affect teaching and learning behavior; target problems, and constant adaption.

Exclusive article by FPT IS Technology Expert

Nguyen Thi Ngoc

Director of VioEdu Online Education System & Violympic Center

FPT IS Company Limited