Digitalization in Education: How Schools Are Laying a Digital Foundation

By incorporating digital tools, schools are boosting student engagement while streamlining work for teachers and administrators

Tablets, digital records, interactive displays — American education has come a long way since the notebooks and blackboards of the 20th century. Widespread access to the internet and digital devices has accelerated how students learn, and teaching methods have grown more sophisticated in response. That rising sophistication calls for new tools that better meet the needs of teachers, administrators, and students alike.

Enter digitalization in education. This 21st-century approach aims to improve student experiences and streamline administrative work. But what does the digitalization of education look like? What does digitalization in education mean in practical terms? This guide will explore how your institution can use new digital tools to ease and improve your work.

To learn more about how digitalization is changing how we work, read the guide Digitalization in Business: An Executive's Guide.

What is digitalization in education?

In business contexts, digitalization is the replacement of analog processes and tools with digital ones. It prompts us to ask, “How can we improve our work with new technology?” Its aim is generally to increase workplace efficiency, make work easier, and increase productivity. But digitalization in education doesn’t only benefit teachers and administrators. Today’s students are more comfortable with technology than ever before. As a result, bringing tech to the classroom makes sense.

Here’s an example. Perhaps a class is studying Ancient Greece, but students are having trouble connecting with the material. Traditional teaching would simply proceed with a series of lectures, reading assignments, in-class discussions, and a capstone exam or paper. But a forward-thinking teacher could turn to a program like Discovery Tour, which allows students to explore the era in painstaking virtual recreation. They can follow their curiosity and opt into guided tours on everything from pottery to civics. Suddenly, the material is vivid and immediate. Discovery Tour also includes quizzes and other educational activities to measure success.

There are legions of tools like Discovery Tour that can support the educational experience. More reach the market every day. These pave the way for a truly digitalized educational experience.

Benefits of digitalization of education

Students

Today’s students are digital natives. The phones they carry and use are more powerful than computers were just 20 years ago. By shifting teaching modes to these platforms, teachers can help students feel more comfortable while learning. Research shows that integrating technology in lessons has a direct positive relationship with engagement and self-directed learning. Technology-based teaching solutions can also make learning more fun with interactive sites, apps, and games.

Digitalization in education doesn’t just improve engagement. It also makes entirely new experiences available. Digital libraries can allow instant access to reading materials on almost any subject. Guest speakers who couldn’t normally visit in person can give virtual lectures. And online learning portals can make it easy for students to submit assignments, engage in course-related discussions, and review materials from earlier in the term.

Teachers

Students aren’t the only ones who stand to gain from the digitalization of education. There are several ways in which moving to digital can also help teachers. For instance, fostering more engaged students can help teachers do their jobs more effectively. That can lead to better academic outcomes for students.

But plenty of technology solutions focus specifically on teaching. One major consideration for teachers is cost savings. With budgets stretched thin, the constant replenishing of paper worksheets, rebuying of aging textbooks, and more can put undue pressure on a school. That’s especially true as the price of paper continues to climb. Replacing these with digital alternatives makes them infinitely reusable and safe from degradation. It can also save precious funds that can be redirected elsewhere.

Digital platforms for communication and collaboration can make it easier for teachers to work together. That lets them design lesson plans that better fit their students. Online portals and assignment submissions can centralize those assignments. Teachers can then more quickly find and review them, freeing up time to provide deeper feedback. Digital assignments also unlock the potential for automated grading where appropriate. From there, digitally stored grades can help teachers build out comprehensive data about their students. In what subjects or topics do they struggle? Where are their strengths? What kind of attention do they need? Seeing the trends in students’ grade data can help identify each.

Administrators

Teachers work on the front lines of education. But administrators keep institutions running behind the scenes. Their work may stand to benefit most from the efficiency gains that digitalization in education can bring, particularly when it comes to records management.

Digital records take up far less space than their physical counterparts. Instead of in rows of file cabinets, these records can be stored on a computer hard drive or in the cloud. Finding the right digital document is much faster thanks to features such as tagging, indexing, and search. Once the document is found, workers can share it instantly over any distance. And workers can make as many copies as they need without additional spending on materials. Finally, digital records can benefit from increased security. Tools such as encryption can help ensure that. So can the strict compliance standards cloud companies must meet. That can help protect student and faculty privacy.

Guthrie Public Schools in Oklahoma saw several of these benefits when it started its digital transformation. In the space saved by digitizing records, the school system was able to remodel its cafeteria. Digital student records became much more accessible almost immediately.

“When our registrar was on vacation for a couple weeks over the summer, the high school principal called me,” recalled IT Director Dee Benson. “He needed information about a student. Rather than walking down the hall to ask the registrar for help or rifling through four or five filing cabinets, he found their file by pulling up the student’s name in their online archival system. He thought that was the greatest thing he’d ever seen."

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Note: Information and external links are provided for your convenience and for educational purposes only, and shall not be construed, or relied upon, as legal or financial advice. PFU America, Inc. makes no representations about the contents, features, or specifications on such third-party sites, software, and/or offerings (collectively “Third-Party Offerings”) and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Offerings. Please consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation as regulations may be subject to change.