The age of information has rapidly replaced the industrial revolution as the primary means for producing valuable products and services, and when products are produced, the internet is quite often involved. We know the age of information intimately because we live it.

The Age of Information and Education

Everywhere around us this revolutionary global cultural change is occurring, and educators, tutors and workplaces alike are scrambling to accommodate it. Enter the information age personalized model.

The information age personalized model is one “which students follow individualized paths based upon their own prior knowledge, learning styles and interests.”

This path ultimately leads to the workforce, one students will be prepared for. For example, this very article was written on a mobile device, in a coffee shop. This means of production is becoming the norm. As our work force becomes more mobile, originates in the internet ecosystem, and relies heavily on information technology, our youth need the skills to adapt.

Let’s look at today’s trends.

• Bring your own device (BYOD): this trend applies in education as well as the workplace. Students or employees bring the device they’re most comfortable with to complete the task at hand. Because this trend is seen in workplaces as well, the sooner students become comfortable with it, the better.
• Mobile learning and a mobile workplace: Naturally enabled by the BYOD trend, mobile learning provides the means for students and employees to keep in touch with teachers or employers and a one stop place to access homework, or alternatively. training lessons. For an example on how BYOD enables mobility, a student may bring their laptop to school to write an essay with peers and use the same laptop at home to complete online tutoring lessons.
• Big Data: Teachers of tomorrow will have access to apps that chart and analyse each student’s progress to personalize education. Growingstars online tutoring employs a similar process today; a student’s progress is charted and evaluated by Education Managers who provide progress reports to parents. Students who benefit from online tutoring receive personalized guidance and one on one attention. Youth of today will experience Big Data within the classroom, during the online tutoring session and as a normal aspect of daily life in the workplace.

As these trends coalesce and schools adapt to keep up with the wave, students need guidance in how to adapt as well. During this potent transition, online tutoring can be a way to show students that their devices can be used for learning and improving, not just for games and social media.

Promoting a distraction free, focused and personalized use of devices now will normalize them to the ubiquitous use of devices tomorrow. As they graduate with better grades and higher confidence, they can emerge into the workforce ready for tomorrow’s unique and uncharted challenges.