If you’re a teacher, what can be done to incorporate technology into the classroom? One of the first steps is to ask yourself: “What can I learn from this technology?” The answers will likely surprise you. From helping with communication between students and teachers (and even peer-to Peer), to planning lesson calendars, to improving lessons and presentations with visuals and media, there’s really no end to the new ways to utilize technology in the classroom.
Teachers can do their part by creating digital content to enhance the way they teach. Some of the options include creating digital copies of journal articles, lesson plans, notes, and assignments. These can be used on school computers to help with student organization and understandability. In the field trips and workshops, creating digital content is an excellent way to show students about another culture and to give them an idea about working with others through digital means.
In addition to using digital content, teachers can also take gamified learning to a new level. Gamification is defined as using technology to aid learning or enhance existing methods of learning. In the world of teaching, the use of gamification is becoming more common as students are given the ability to gain points for participating in different activities. This type of gamified learning is certainly proving beneficial in many ways.
Teachers can adjust game play according to the age level of their students. They can also set up learning stations in the classroom that features items such as virtual chess, scavenger hunt, trivia game, and other games. These learning stations give students a reason to interact while in the class and while taking part in online activities. It gives them an opportunity to gain more confidence and to perform better in schoolwork and in the classroom. If students perform well in these learning stations, it means they have gained valuable points and can use these points to redeem for prizes or coupons from the online stores.
The classroom also benefits from digital manipulatives. This type of manipulative allows teachers to bring a hands-on approach to lesson planning. Online videos are great examples of virtual manipulatives. These videos allow students to follow step-by-step instructions on how to prepare for field trips. Likewise, they also provide visual cues as they help them prepare for field trips outside the school. In using technology in the classroom for these purposes, instructors do not have to spend long hours just to prepare lesson plans and conduct field trips.
Another great thing about creating digital content is that they can be used for homework. Many parents and teachers encourage their students to create online activities to earn prizes or for other rewards. Creating digital content allows the teacher to gather student feedback on the work early on so that lessons can be adjusted if necessary.
Yet another way to use technology in the classroom is through social media. It has become common for teachers to incorporate social media into the classroom. Some actually use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and MySpace for this purpose. There are various ways to use social media in the classroom. For example, teachers can organize games on these platforms for students to compete in and win prizes.
The goal of all these tips is for students to become more engaged with the lessons that they are being taught. Teachers can also use some of these tips in other settings like the office. For example, by incorporating digital field trips into the agenda, it provides a way for students to interact with others outside of the classroom. This way they can learn more about the world while gaining valuable experience that they can carry with them after school.