By Dayo Adesulu

Leader, Centre for Digital Data, Analytics and Adaptive Learning, Dr. Johann Ari Larusson has tasked teachers to deploy technology into impartation of knowledge to students, stating that leveraging technology in education has numerous benefits.

Delivering a public lecture on ‘Teaching and Learning for the Next Generation’ to mark Corona Schools’ Trust Council 60th anniversary held at the Muson Centre, Lagos, Larusson said: ‘’Supporting teaching and learning with technology is becoming as commonplace as chalk in many of today’s educational institutions around the world.’’Larusson who shared his expertise and knowledge on the possibilities of the Nigerian Educational future, highlighted the emerging educational trends and discussed research efforts.

He believes that a key focus of future education and learning in Nigeria, like all countries, should be on preparing learners for success in a dynamic, 21st Century world.

He explained that the future of education will be driven by the appropriate collaboration between learning science, data science and machine learning more so than today.

According to Dr. Larusson, “If our current and next generation of learners are to thrive in a future, the 21st Century environment, must provide them with content that will prepare them for the jobs and workplaces of the future and deliver this content in a way that reflects modern life.

“This will require a transformation of how, when and where we teach, all the while focusing on providing educational experiences that make a real and positive difference to the lives of learners and the communities in which they live”.

Stressing the importance of data usage in teaching, Larusson noted that data can provide instructors with continuous awareness, and predictions of a student’s performance, that allow for just-in-time interventions for each and every student.

The data also helps inform better designs of technology, instructional content and practices.Other benefits of data, he added include: Facilitate creation of wholly new ways of doing teaching,  learning and assessment. Having access to historical, as well as continuously updating data points, we can build systems and methods that provide each and every student with personalized learning pathways, that adjust to their individual skills, prior knowledge, future goals, and current progress.