What Kind of Edutech is being Introduced?

Technological advancements are progressing at a rapid pace.

What began as the addition mainframes and minicomputers into schools during the 1970s has quickly developed into classrooms filled with Macintosh laptops and ubiquitous WiFi signal.

After just 15 years, over a quarter of high schools began using PCs for career guidance.

Many of today’s schools contain hundreds of computers.

WiFi is ubiquitous and stringent rules once intended to ban smartphones from the classroom are quickly becoming more lenient.

Specialist educational departments make use of 3D printing and power tools.

ICT classrooms are being kitted out with the latest in computer hardware.

Technology is being incorporated into the world of education at a incredibly fast pace.

Not only that, but existing technologies that have been used for decades are receiving many innovative upgrades.

Where text-based digital documents were once the standard in classroom-based tech, graphics and video are quickly taking their place.

Larger computer storage, upgraded RAM capacity and fiber-optic WiFi capabilities are becoming commonplace in schools and colleges.

Based on its progress so far, the future of technology in schools could hold far greater possibilities than we see today.

We shall explore this more in depth later.

How to Introduce Technology Into your Classroom

The wealth of available digital resources can be intimidating at first.

It can be hard to know how to incorporate these new methods into your teaching practice.

Getting Started

Before introducing technology into the classroom, it’s crucial to remember that several other changes will have to take place once it has been implemented.

Teaching styles will have to be adjusted. With the inclusion of technology, the tutor will no longer be the center of attention.

Classroom focus will, depending on the frequency of use, be largely centered around technology.

A teacher will still be necessary. Students will still require assistance and guidance.

Learning will, however, become considerable more proactive and independent, led by students.

Taking this into account allows preparation to be made.

Furthermore, considering the benefit that technology will have on your lessons will allow you to decide how best to incorporate it.

Integrating Technology

There are a variety of ways to bring tech into the classroom.

If your classroom has an interactive whiteboard and projector already, there are many online applications that can be used to facilitate the learning process.

Here are a number of tools to use with whiteboards in the classroom:

• Interactive websites like BrainPOP offer entertaining video clips and activities that students can participate in.
• Scholastic also have a range of whiteboard activities, from reading exercises for younger students to interactive quizzes and walkthroughs.
• Use video conferencing tools like Skype to connect with speakers outside of the classroom.
• Display information on attractive slides using Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple’s Keynote.

Some classrooms can have clusters of 2-6 computers.

This provides the opportunity to use other, more in-depth tools with your students:

• Kidblog allows students to create and publish work to a connected space, encouraging peer-to-peer collaboration.
• Use a tool like Edmodo or Moodle to manage lesson content as well as assessments and projects.
• Instruct students to create their own videos using Animoto.
• Help students to build websites using Wix or Weebly.

You might even have access to whole rooms full of computers. If so, you can use:

• Allow students to progress through lesson content independently using ebooks and Voicethreads.
• Conduct live quizzes and polls to test student understanding using a tool like Poll Everywhere.
• Make use of collaborative note taking and information sharing with Evernote.

As well as having personal laptops and notebooks, if your students have smartphones, more tools can be used in the classroom:

• Allow students to create their own educational videos using the Animoto app.
• Provide ebooks for independent reading.
• Give access to course content using the Edmodo app.
• Allow independent research.