COVID-19 pandemic had a dire effect on schools and education systems worldwide. Physical classrooms are still not able to function properly due to the pandemic. Thus, education has shifted online, which has led to the development of online education technology. As per a survey done by Microsoft, 82% of educators revealed that they felt there was a direct link between the lockdown and the development of online educational technology. The current conditions have also encouraged all related to education to adapt the online mode. However, as schools try to implement an online learning approach for a post-pandemic future, several problems have arisen to the surface. And now there is a dire need for a technology that keeps in mind all the factors related to safety, student centricity, social learning, security skill focus, and scalability.
Recently, Microsoft unveiled several learning tools designed to make both teachers and students better off. This is a massive contribution to the Smart Education and Learning Market as the company made these developments keeping in mind factors such as inclusive experiences for immersive and inclusive experience for learning complex material, online learning environments, analytics, and feedback tools. For instance, Microsoft stated, Reading Progress is a software tool specializing in customizing the learning experience while also fostering student success. Another tool introduced is Group Assignments which would enable teachers to supervise the organization and allocate group tasks to all students. The company’s objective is to enhance the learning experience through technology, disregarding the geographical limitations, might be achieved collectively through these new tools.
Some reports have indicated that there is a slight decline in the reading skills of some students due to the change in the form of classes. Considering this problem, the company brought forward the Reading Progress Tool, which would help educators and students better assess their student’s reading progress and support them in improving their literary skills at the pace they are comfortable. The best thing regarding the tool is that it is free of cost.
The tool will facilitate educators to save time and interact independently with students using both audio and video. Further, it would also help them visualize the reading progress of their students. In addition, the tool presents a comprehensive view of analytics on students’ achievements with reading.
The company is optimistic that with a series of tools brought by it to the education sector, students will feel more comfortable studying through online mode and would not feel too many obstacles due to location and time differences.