EYECARE: Optometry Digital Age Dictates Education Experience By Mark Mattison-Shupnick Monday, November 14, 2016 12:29 AM RELATED CONTENT Lesson Plans The way we learn is rapidly changing, as many educators will attest. In particular, the way educational content is packaged and presented has taken on new dimensions, largely through the influence of the internet. For instance, we’ve become used to receiving short, quick bites of information that build to a larger view. The internet has also created the expectation, especially among digital natives, that learning should be entertaining, engaging and available on any electronic device, anywhere, anytime. In short, our digital world has become learner-centric, and educators who understand that are developing new methods to connect with today’s learners. Here are some examples. Gamification Gamification is a great descriptor about the way education can be made more effective. Like a game online or in everyday life, being involved in the “how to” or the “why” makes it more memorable. The player’s involvement can be as much 90 percent when gamified, as opposed to only 30 percent when taught in a lecture setting using visuals and discussion. Personalization Every learner has a different style of absorbing and processing new information, and there are many ways that learning can be made more effective for each individual learner. Digital learning allows the participant to organize and adjust learning tools and course paths so it better meets their learning style and the material is learned sooner and more completely. Mobile The ubiquity of smartphones and tablets allows learners to access educational content anytime and anywhere. The mobile device—and the connection to it—automatically recognizes the content and reconfigures it for optimal viewing, improving access and facilitating utilization. Presenting content in shorter, more digestible segments also enhances learning on mobile devices. Automation Education materials can be easily assembled by taking advantage of digital tools that enable all the forms of presentation to be combined. Video, audio, text, images, GIFs and more can be completed with the drag and drop tool. Many types of educational software provide easy authoring and hosting tools without the need for a large IT group coding the course work. Augmented Learning When education is participatory and the learner is immersed in the course, class or training, the quicker they learn. New augmented and virtual reality systems create an immersive environment that can facilitate learning and even make it fun. Another benefit of these systems is that they be effective for tactile, auditory and visual learners.