ABSTRACT
The relationship between teachers and their students is being increasingly mediated via educational technologies as described in the previous chapter. This increased use of technologies has implications for all levels of education, perhaps most evident in a higher education context where students are spending less time on campus and more time online than they did in the past. This chapter examines how research findings from the science of learning might be best used to help support learning as the relationship between teachers and learners evolves into the future. The chapter explores how the flexibility afforded by educational technologies is evident in the emergence of “flipped classes,” massive open online courses, and a growing number of programs being offered by institutions online. Moreover, data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are also all poised to substantially influence the adaptability and capacity for personalisation of educational technologies. These trends necessitate an ongoing adjustment of the role of teachers and their relationship with students. As the relationship changes, there is a pressing need to ensure that what is understood about quality student learning remains the primary consideration. Identified within the chapter are key areas where the science of learning can contribute to technology and learning, including informing the development and evaluation of new technologies, assisting students to work with new technologies, and determining how technologies can best facilitate teaching and learning.
