Tech-based activities have been enhancing education and fostering growth in our classrooms for the better part of the 21st century. If you’re not familiar with the importance, practicality and high levels of fun associated with learning with technology, we suggest you keep reading.
Failing With Purpose: A New Approach To Learning
All too often, we place too much emphasis on driving home concepts and confirming student knowledge by administering tests on a regular basis. Is this the best way for kids to learn, though? Traditionally, most education models have revolved around this approach, but in recent years, more and more teachers have been embracing STEM methods to teach kids 21st century skills. By actively engaging them in intriguing activities rather than lectures, kids are more apt to retain the material. What might be the biggest secret to their success? Encouraging them to fail.
Students as well as teachers can learn so much by failing to accomplish something. Tinkering with new tools and becoming familiar with their positive impacts as well as the negative is a great way to move education forward. Especially now, with all of the innovative tech tools available, if there is any aspect of classroom culture that is not working and having a positive effect on students, it can immediately be dumped and replaced with something else. It takes time to develop a sense of trust and comfort in new teaching tools, but if anything goes wrong along the way, it’s not a loss; it simply is a learning opportunity that will help both teachers and students in the long run.
The best ways to prepare for failing (it’s weird to expect to fail in education) are, in fact, to do just that. Mentally commit to the fact that it’s going to happen and embrace it. Letting students fail and encouraging them in the process is important for them to build resiliency and, of course, learn from their mistakes. Another way to put a positive spin on the situation is to share the mistakes you make with everyone else. You may have found that the EdTech tools you thought would be great turned out to be more of a distraction. Thankfully, in the 21st century, there are plenty of social tools to let other teachers or administrators know how and why you think they failed. If you failed because you tried something bold, that’s good. If you failed because you did not do your due diligence, that’s not good. And, remember, there’s tech to help everyone.
Confirming The Importance Of Technology In The Classroom
People in the education community are starting to become aware of the availability, practicality and importance of educational technology being used in schools, but others still have a lot of questions. For every piece of advice, there seem to be some myths that nobody seems to want to confirm or deny. Plenty of people unfortunately believe that technology in classrooms is only a distraction for children or that it does not provide enough of a benefit to help boost learning in kids who struggle more than others. Truth is, EdTech helps in both those areas—and can drastically enhance education for today’s children by better preparing them for the actual careers they will have.
The reality, however, is that technology can improve learning outcomes—for everyone. In the classroom, interactive lessons with real-time implications can engage students on much higher levels. After school’s out, however, it can continue doing the same. One specific area in which technology has allowed for an increase in effectiveness is with tutoring. Even the poorest learners can amplify their knowledge when engaged in one-on-one instruction. Then, once they return to the classroom, they’re more familiar with the topics being covered, with STEM skills and EdTech apps.
Technology is a tool that can and should be used to level the playing field among those kids who do have certain learning disabilities and those who learn at an accelerated rate. Assistive tech apps can play a truly pivotal role in making sure that no children fall behind in not only being exposed to learning technology, but in learning in general. It’s finding the right technology, however, to supplement learning that makes all the difference and knowing where to look is vital. Not every technology will work in school because, frankly, they’re not all designed to do so. By selecting the proper tools to boost engagement and enjoyability, we believe we can better education and have a legitimate impact on students’ future success. The right tools make all the difference.
Blending Learning: Staying Ahead Of The Game
Blended learning, if approached with the proper attitude, can be a game changer for students. By integrating technology-based learning into a portion of the school day to supplement the traditional lectures, students are apt to become much more engaged and retention rates tend to spike. Acquiring the proper tools is the first step to beginning blending in the classroom, but what comes next is also key. People always say you’ll only get as far as you’re prepared to go. In this case, that’s exactly right. As long as you know your goals from the onset, sticking to them becomes much easier and as long as you stick to them as best you can, you’ll be alright.
There have been thousands of suggestions for how to best create the perfect classroom for the 21st century, but we’ve narrowed them down to the top two suggestions. First, teachers must always remember to put learning objectives first. That’s why they’re in the building. Online instruction is great, but it needs to be relevant and engaging as well as something that can vibrantly be discussed in class. Topics and activities that bode well in preparing students for the future, such as collaborative, tech-fueled projects, are great to incorporate from time to time as well. Blended learning has the potential to cultivate skills that are now being looked for in the workforce—something that traditional instruction doesn’t always deliver.
Once teachers have a solid foundation in place and have gotten comfortable with the new classroom model, they can then focus on expanding their role. This often leads to the realization that the teacher is no longer the only teacher in the room. Twenty-five new teachers can and should be able to articulate key points from online lessons and demonstrate that they have grasped the material. The fact is that, with innovations in educational technology, teachers no longer have to teach something in order for their students to have learned it. When this happens, the role of the teacher is transcended from that of just lecturer to facilitator and this creates dynamic student groupings rather than fixed ones. In the process, teachers undergo other transformations that include improving from explainer of all concepts to intervener, someone who teaches content to someone who teaches content, skills and mindsets and from a generalist to a critically essential specialist.
What To Avoid To Maximize The Potential of eLearning
For every right way, there are probably four or five possible wrong ways to go about doing something. The same goes for learning and, in this case, more specifically, eLearning. It’s not uncommon for those in the education industry to believe that just because teachers are using technology in their lectures, that they are immersing kids into the world of eLearning. That’s not always correct. The tech needs to be meaningful and the instruction needs to remain superior. Here are common eLearning mistakes that could disrupt learning and marginalize student growth that you should try to avoid.
If the user’s experience is not simple (i.e. multiple clicks to get to the desired page), they will grow impatient and disengage. Keep redundant clicks to a minimum. Teachers should also minimize repetition, such as the learner clicking a “Next” button repeatedly. Their experience should be interactively consistent yet varied enough to keep them motivated throughout. Equally as important is keeping consistent in all other areas. Place commonly used features, like “Next,” “Close” or “Menu” in the same spaces repeatedly. Forcing children to search for these buttons is often frustrating and a waste of time. At the same time, however, it is important to remember that too many interactive elements could hinder the desired effect of teaching with technology. Students will stay much more interested when anticipating fun, interactive screens rather than knowing they’re coming at every turn.
Moving on to some other mistakes, you will probably find that students love being in control—so let them. Showing kids interactive multimedia elements that they can control themselves is great for engagement and conversation. Also keep in mind that a fifth grader probably doesn’t want to learn about shapes. Keep eLearning content at age appropriate levels to ensure that the technology has the chance to help them learn better. Also, while being sure you remain consistent in some aspects of presentation, also keep in mind not to repeat the same concepts or subjects multiple times. This wastes time and often results in kids losing focus. Finally, keep interaction purposeful. While it may be fun, if it doesn’t add to the learning experience and benefit students, keep it out. Now you’re really ready for a great eLearning lesson with EdTech!
Social Learning Through Collaboration
Education is now, arguably, a group effort. I’m sure we can all remember a time or two when a teacher looked over to two giggling students and sarcastically reminded them that his or her lecture was not a group activity. In modern times, however, collaboration has risen to become so valuable for enhancing education and building STEM skills like communication and teamwork through the effective and collaborative use of technology. The more social the learning nowadays, the more learning there is taking place.
There are all types of collaborative learning activities that can make kids better learners, namely what’s come to be commonly known as project-based learning or PBL. There are different ways to go about project-based learning and some may be a little more effective than others. Projects can last for up to a month, the entire school year or even just one day. Encourage students to brainstorm and use tech tools to come up with as much information on a topic as they can, organize it in a clear fashion and then individually present it to the rest of the group. This requires each student to participate fully and usually results in a flow of original information from each one. Without realizing it, they’re even developing social skills at the same time!
Whether you decide to implement project-based learning or some other form of collaborative learning, like blog writing or closed social media groups, there are some important factors to keep in mind in order to be successful. Each collaborative activity should be based on measurable learning objectives—instead of just being used for the sake of interaction. In addition, students should be aware that the collaborative activities they’re engaged in are an inseparable factor in gaining overall value from their eLearning course. Establish certain criteria upfront so they know what is expected of them in order to be successful. All while keeping the mood light enough, remember to stress the importance of each student’s individual accountability. This will hopefully discourage one student from doing all the work and each member of the team contributing equally. When each group member executes their part of the project, there’s no reason that the group should fail and, oh yeah, they’ll learn a lot about collaboration, teamwork and communication through use of their tech tools along the way!