Opinion: 5G will permanently change education

The newest cellular network generation is 5G. Most new phones being made have this, largely due to the rapid increase in loading speed, which has the potential of being 100 times faster than 4G.   

This increase in speed can dramatically redefine future learning experiences. This leads to faster, “smoother and easier interaction, immersion, personalization, flexibility and access for all,” according to World Bank Blogs. This creates incentives for more online education and a larger scope of who can access fast education opportunities.  

The web is constantly evolving as well. When using social media, ads are targeted towards you based off other websites you have used (behavioral advertising). When using the Google search engine, you can reverse image search a picture back to its origin (artificial intelligence.) When using Google Maps on your phone, you can view buildings and the terrain in 3D (3D graphics). These are all unique aspects of Web3.  

They make the internet broader in its capabilities, as well as a dependence in everyday life, including education.  

It does reduce the expense of in-person educators, as well as smart searches which reduce research time and personalized education software to allow students to go at their own pace. 

Membean is a personalized vocabulary learning system. Instead of one vocabulary test for a whole classroom, it allows each student to learn vocabulary independently through interactive learning environments. Using recently achievable algorithms due to the changing web, long-term retention of vocabulary is seen when compared to the traditional classroom. 

Makenna Manning is a first-year student studying secondary education. Currently, she teaches at an elementary school in Logan. When asked about the impact of evolving technology on education, Manning saw a more positive side of it. 

For older students, such as high school and college, Manning said that the increased technology in education allows students to manage busy schedules and responsibilities. The flexibility of online classes gives more opportunities for work, and taking care of one’s self. 

Take Utah State University for instance. We have Canvas which allows students to submit assignments at any time of day, as opposed to just in the classroom environment. It is flexible to students scheduling and individual work pace. Certain classes allow you to start assignments weeks ahead of time, as opposed to when the professor tells the whole class.  

However, children in primary education are often negatively affected by web-based learning systems.  

“I think it limits kids because some kids are very hands-on learners,” Manning said. “And then also, there’s the temptation to do other stuff on the computers.” 

 While Web3 is seen as “compostable human-centric and privacy preserving,” there are obvious negatives. Many educators struggle as well to adapt and change the structure of education they have held so strongly onto for a long time. It results in constant changes in curriculum, and learning styles which differentiate to that which educators learned in their own education to become teachers. 

For our age group as college students, our more developed brains which grew up in a technical age can adapt and thrive, but as the internet and networks evolve, education will alter.  

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Sara Prettyman is a Maryland-born-and-raised sophomore majoring in applied mathematics. She loves drawing, running and reading.
— A02342348@usu.edu

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Keith Wilson is a cartoonist for the Statesman. He is majoring in biochemistry and enjoys puns, drawing and big band swing dancing.