Thanks to tech advancements, internet, smartphones, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are collectively revolutionizing the education sector as we know it and making learning a little bit “cooler”. Globally, education entities have made AI investments to the tune of billions in an effort to cope with the fast-changing world. Tech companies, on the other hand, are continually designing intelligent systems that “think” through and memorize information in an almost identical fashion to humans. 
 
Smartphones and tablets are also having their fair share of contribution to this new trend. All learners need to access volumes of information is a browsing device and an internet connection and everything else falls into place. There are even university courses on the internet today, not forgetting the articulate, easy-to-follow YouTube tutorials on literally every topic imaginable. 
 
These tech advancements aren’t only changing how learners consume information. It is sweeping across every big and small department within the education sector. I’m talking changing how educators interact with the learners, how classrooms are set, to how grading and awarding are done. In a nutshell, technology has successfully made education a personalized experience rather than a mass exercise. The learner has a direct link to the information sources and the educator’s role has changed from being the information owner to a learning facilitator. 
 
Case Study
 
Osmosis is offering students smart, highly effective ways of studying thanks to technology. The organization has an assembly of thousands of video tutorials, flashcards, and guiding questions that assist learners to access information in a more consumable fashion. All you need is to purchase a study plan amongst a host of their plans and you will be good to go.
 
Learning by osmosis is no longer a far-fetched dream. Learners of pathology, physiology, and pharmacology have greatly benefited from this form of learning. They get personalized learning and exam schedules based on each learner’s potential and previous performances, reference materials, and personalized reminder emails that keep the learners on their toes at all time. At the end of it all, learning becomes fun and effortless. 
 
Ways through which Internet, AI, and Smartphones are Shaping the Education Industry:
 
1.         Enhanced continuous learning
 
Traditionally, learning started at a finite age- say 3 years- and ended somewhere in the mid-20s. It is as if learning has a specified shelf-life and then once it reaches expiry date, it is substituted with working life. This trend is swiftly coming to an end thanks to the internet and smartphones. People in their 60s and even 80s are now learning through their phones. People are using YouTube tutorials to learn about lawn management, rodent control, cooking, and many other areas that they previously thought were reserved for professionals. 
 
2.         Teaching method algorithms
 
Traditional teaching methods have been blamed for putting all learners into a single basket and then teaching, testing, grading, and awarding them using the same parameters, without caring about how unique people are. Some learners are good in sports, others are good in social sciences, others are good in math, while others are good in sciences. Thanks to AI, educators can be able to tell where exactly a student is weak and where he/she is strong. That enables them to focus more on the strengths other than condemning a kid to failure just because he/she is learning the things she can’t comprehend. 
 
3.         Learners are more empowered with information.
 
Previously, educators have been focusing on training learners on how to handle different tasks in an already-established job market. There wasn’t really any room to learn and tweak things in the market- graduates had to fit into the system otherwise one would be deemed unprofessional. Well, not anymore.
 
Thanks to the internet, educators are now challenged to prepare learners to become innovators. Graduates can now enter a profession and change their outlook from within. No one will ever be forced to conform to ridiculous industry requirements anymore.
 
4.         Better grading
 
Thanks to AI, students will soon start getting the grades they deserve without having to worry about impressing the examiners. Machines have the ability to read a learner’s handwriting, mark an exam, and then grade it appropriately. Professors will no longer hold the fate of the students.
 
5.         Kids will be teachers as well
 
If a kid is conversant with computers and programming codes from as early as 5 years, then he/she is a prime candidate for teaching roles. He/she can, for example, help her mother to organize her recipes or teach her grandparents how to use different prescription drugs. In a classroom setup, that kid can teach her teachers how to set up different tech learning tools. In simple terms, technology has made it possible for teachers and learners to change roles every now and then. 
 

Author Bio: Laura is a marketing specialist at SEOforX. She helps her company advertise its products and services and she has a thorough knowledge on developing marketing approaches for products and brands. Besides being a marketing specialist she has a special interest in financial technology. She finds Fintech fascinating and writes about how the new technology is being used to improve activities in the finance sector.
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Is traveling the purest form of education? Without a doubt, it is. My experience as a traveling single mother of two has taught me that there are tons of information and knowledge out there waiting to be tapped into, most of which a four-walled classroom will never satisfactorily provide to its learners. I have traveled both locally and overseas and that has helped me to grow as a person and to see the world with an enhanced optimism. My kids, on the other hand, have had a chance to interact with many different people and cultures and that has opened their minds to great opportunities, now and in the future. 

Unlike a classroom that confines learners to only the knowledge that textbooks provide (some of which is inaccurate), the world out there is one big pool of raw, undistorted data. The more you quench your thirst for knowledge in this pool, the more you realize how thirsty you are for more and more. What’s more, traveling is a fun form of education which doesn’t require you to sit for exams every now and then. And again, where else can you study as you vacation? 
 
Technology has made traveling easier and cheaper than ever before. Like in my case, I’m able to backpack across continents together with my kids with an unimaginably small budget. Vacation rentals are everywhere nowadays so accommodation isn’t an issue anymore while blogging and YouTubing has grown to become reliable income sources for travelers. If you are anything like me, therefore, you will be able to travel the world with only a camera, a laptop, a versatile bag, and anything else that you feel is essential for your traveling.
 
I know what you are probably asking yourself right now: Are there other solid reasons that would convince me to leave everything behind and follow the wind all over the world? Well, here are the 5 reasons that qualify traveling as the purest form of education:
 
1.         History is most real when you travel
 
If you are a history enthusiast like my kids and me, you will find traveling very fulfilling and fun. Everything you have read in your school library is a tiny part of a greater puzzle that is the history of the world. Do you want to understand British history in the rawest form? Just visit London; walk around its streets and visit different museums. Do you want to learn more about slavery? Visit West Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA and talk firsthand to the descendants of the slaves. In a nutshell, you will understand the history of a people by interacting with them and sharing in their pain.
 
2.         A road to self-discovery
 
For those who travel purely for vacation purposes, traveling is a bed of roses whose extravagance and glamour is to be admired. But this isn’t entirely the case. Traveling with the aim of learning takes you to places that you can’t fathom as of now. You will meet people who live in abject poverty, societies that were destroyed by civil war or diseases, as well as people who have experienced the worst form of tribalism, ethnicity, and religious intolerance. I have seen all these; I have volunteered to help where I could. At the end of it all, I have developed a stronger sense of resilience, tolerance, courage, and patience. My kids have discovered strengths, passions, and interests no one would have thought they had. If life is a school, traveling is, indeed, the best class to be in.
 
3.         Boosting your social skills
 
Social skills, social development, and a host of other courses taught in high schools and colleges are good at boosting the learner’s confidence, but they cannot beat traveling at that. Traveling necessitates inner confidence that helps you to ask for directions from strangers, speak foreign languages even when you understand very little of it, and trust people you probably could not have trusted had you been home. The practicality of traveling boosts your social skills in ways you can never imagine.
 
4.         You learn new languages
 
Forget translation apps and the foreign language classes you’ve been attending. Traveling and interacting with a language right from its source is invaluable. If you want to learn French, book a vacation rental in Paris and spend some time with French native speakers. During summer, If you want to master English and yet want to visit some of the best beaches in the US, I would recommend visiting Florida. You will learn the official language, the slang, the exact pronunciation, accent, and much nitty-gritty that your teacher cannot teach you. My teenage son speaks 5 international languages fluently and can get along with about ten others, yet he has never been to any language class.
 
5.         You understand the grandeur of nature
 
Are you a nature enthusiast? How many conferences on global warming, nature conservation, air pollution, and climate change have you attended? As many as they could be, their combined value can never exceed the value of a trip to regions affected by all those things. You cannot appreciate the importance of wildlife conservation until you visit Africa, for example, and discover how poaching is swiftly wiping wild species from the surface of the earth.
 

Author Bio: Laura is a marketing specialist at SEOforX. She helps her company advertise its products and services and she has a thorough knowledge on developing marketing approaches for products and brands. Besides being a marketing specialist she has a special interest in financial technology. She finds Fintech fascinating and writes about how the new technology is being used to improve activities in the finance sector.

The latest figures show that out of the estimated 7.5 billion people on Earth, 1.5 billion individuals speak English. For those who are looking to adopt a new language, studying English as a second language is a wise choice for this reason alone. Knowing English can be useful in a variety of everyday situations. From business to travel, to daily conversations or consuming media, it is easy to run into situations where the language is important to know. It is also helpful to learn English from native speakers to have the best grasp of correct vocabulary and pronunciation.

If you are considering taking a trip to the United States to learn English as a second language, explore three reasons to do so.

It is spoken in many countries around the globe

Whether studying castles in English history during a university course, or traveling the world, one will quickly find that English is spoken almost everywhere. In fact, English is the official language of about 50 countries. This makes it the third most popular language among the entire global population. From islands such as Barbados and Antigua, to countries such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, it is easy to find English speakers. Knowing the language becomes even more crucial, then, for those who plan to travel the world for leisure, business, or both.

Over 1 billion people speak English as a second language

It may come as a surprise to know that of the 1.5 billion global English speakers, over 1 billion speak it as a second language. Only 400 million are said to have English as their first language. Across all continents, it is common to run into individuals who can hold even basic conversations in the language. Therefore, because of how useful and ubiquitous it has become, it is no surprise that so many individuals choose English as their secondary language. If you choose English as your second language, you will be joining a large global group who has already done so.

It is a valuable skill for employment

Currently, over 50% of the world’s population can speak at least two languages. With the persistent increase in globalization, it is becoming more important than ever before to be able to communicate with people around the world. This is especially true for those who work in businesses that have international employees or clients. Rather than having to hire translators, companies are continuously looking for employees who can speak multiple languages to assist with day-to-day business. Individuals who know more than one language (especially if one of those languages is English) can expect to have better job opportunities than those who do not.

Speaking English as a second language has many significant benefits. Whether you are looking to use your knowledge for fun and travel, or to gain an advantage in your career, learning English can be an extremely helpful tool.



​Author Bio: Karoline left her corporate job to spend more time with her family and indulge in her passions of writing and travel. She now works as a freelance writer, offering advice and tips on a range of topics.​

The college application process can be overwhelming. There are recommendations to gather, campuses to visit, and, of course, applications to complete. For international students applying to American colleges and universities, this process can be exponentially more complex and intimidating.

While the pieces of the process are not all easily overcome, you may be able to reduce some of your stress by reviewing the various types of college applications that are commonly found in the United States. Each school ultimately has its own expectations and requirements, but if you are applying to American schools, it is very likely that you will see one or more of the following in your future:


1. The Common Application
The Common Application was developed to standardize the college application process and to simplify it for those students applying to multiple schools. Accepted by more than 600 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, the Common Application first asks for simple demographic information like your name and address. It also asks for general information about your academic history, including courses taken and GPA. Applicants are generally expected to provide a minimum of one recommendation and to complete a minimum of one essay. Keep in mind that the schools to which you are applying may have other expectations, so it is always best to speak with admissions departments before submitting your applications. The Common Application is available online.


2. The Universal College Application
Like the Common Application, the Universal College Application is a platform that can be used to simultaneously apply to multiple schools. In this case, however, the application is accepted by far fewer colleges and universities (i.e. less than 100). The Universal College Application asks students demographic questions, as well as information about their academic, employment, extracurricular, and testing history. As always, verify with your prospective schools that they accept the application and do not require any additional information from you.


3. Institution-specific applications
Although many schools accept the standardized, streamlined applications mentioned above, just as many still rely on their own applications, which are unique to their institution and their programs. With individual, school-specific applications, students are expected to submit multiple supporting documents—like personal statements, test scores, and transcripts—as well as one or more references specifically addressing why the school should accept you into the institution. This must be repeated for every college or university on your short list. 

If you are not certain about what the school expects from you, you can likely find this information on its website. In the event that you need additional information or have questions, admissions counselors are usually available to assist prospective students.


4. The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success Application 
As technology becomes more advanced and more widely available, institutions have begun to embrace new models and templates for their application process, like the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success Application. This model was developed for use beginning in the fall of 2016.

Over the course of their high school careers, students can use the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success Application to organize the work that they have done into a digital portfolio. When the time comes to submit college applications, students can refer back to their work, choosing the best examples to submit. In addition, because the application is worked on over the course of several years, students have the opportunity to address potential problems early and to get assistance well before deadlines. Keep in mind that this application is still very new and is in limited use. 

For more information, here is a comprehensive article on "12 College Interview Questions You Must Prepare For."


David White is a contributing writer for UniversityTutor.com, the world's largest global marketplace for finding independent tutors.