TECH EDUCATION

Examples of Technologies Used in Classroom

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Students of this era are so lucky simply because they get to enjoy the privilege of using technology even in their own very classrooms. How awesome that is! Learning actually made much more fun and easy! Today it is a lot more likely that the majority of the classrooms that you enter in will have some access to a number of various forms of technology that is used to enhance student learning. There is no hesitation that technology has greatly turned into an amazing and useful tool in the classroom and the teachers are tasked to make use of all the tools provided by the school. It is very important for the teachers to know most of these useful technologies like the latest gadgets and learn how to use them otherwise it cannot be implemented in a school. But however with all these new learning technologies coming up, it is quite tricky to tell whether it will catch or not. But then again you never know unless you try it out!  In this case, we shall define technology as an electronic tool that is used to assist improve the instruction within the classroom. This article is created to teach you some of the ways in which you can use technologies in classroom while using clear examples below;

 

  1. Class blog or wiki: the first example of using technologies in classroom is through creating a class blog or a wiki that is used by the students and teachers to interact. First of all what is a wiki? It is basically a website that makes use of software that lets very many different people to edit it more like Wikipedia. Through such a site, you will be able to easily integrate technology in the classroom and help the students widen their knowledge. Teachers can also use such a technology to be able to drive outside class discussions which can be very helpful especially for the AP/IB students that are motivated but don’t have enough time to attend class. So the teacher should endeavor that the students work collectively so as to create such a page and then let the students be able to correct their fellow students work and work together so as to make it a success.
  2. Computers: the computer is definitely the first thing that will come to peoples mind when technology is talked about and it’s the most common tool that is used in classrooms today. These computers range from laptops that are portable and then to the desktops. These computers in some instances can only be used by the teachers or in other instances availed to students. There are some lucky schools that are able to provide laptop computers to each of their students. This way both the teachers and students will be able to easily access the internet even during classroom time. The advantage of using a computer in the classroom is that it will help improve on a student’s typing skills from a very early age and then it also allows them to view materials that are educational.  The teachers can also use the computer to look for research materials, can be used to hook up to an external display that is used to show videos, websites and any other educational content and be able to produce very many instructor’s lessons. There are also a number of educational programs that many schools can subscribe to and it will provide the teachers access to the work and progress of the students hence a close monitoring of students. Another good example why most schools use computers in classroom is because they are a lot cheaper especially for students because they can use it to produce their work assignments for example making videos, typing papers and producing a presentation.
  3. Smart interactive whiteboards: another simple way in which technology is used in classroom is through this smart interactive technology which is more like a modern white board but contains a touch screen functionality built on it. This is very easy because all the teacher has to do is make illustrations while using either a pen or just their fingers. Teachers will have to make use of projectors to assist them display the visual images on these smart interactive whiteboards. This is very helpful at bettering the learning process of the students especially through the visual images that are projected.  These same whiteboards can also be used by the students in the classroom to write, draw or even just manipulate images for faster learning process. These smart whiteboards are designed in different sizes however with the wider ones having more advantage since they are able to show larger images as compared to the smaller ones. The wider smart whiteboards also having the advantage of allowing two students make use of it at the same time. The majority of them are electronically powered which means they have a switch button used for powering it on. Another positive side to these smart whiteboards is that they are able to save the teachers work for future use unlike the normal white boards in which work can be erased after every lecture.
  4. Digital microphones: there is no excuse in this era for a teacher not being loud or audible enough because of the digital microphones which is a technology that can be used in classrooms especially when it’s a big one. This is because the problem with the big classrooms is that they usually contain endless noise and that is why teachers choose to use the wireless digital microphones. These modern types of microphones have the ability to transmit the voice to the loud speakers so that every single student is able to hear what the teacher is saying without missing out a point. This kind of technology is very important in a way that the teacher doesn’t have to constantly keep straining their voices while they are trying to speak loudly or keep repeating the some points so all the students can hear. The good thing is that they are not even that costly which means they are very affordable even for the small income generating schools to afford one to all the classrooms. Also if a student has a question to ask, then they can also use the digital microphone and in the same way they can also use it for class debates so they are heard loud and clear.
  5. Online study tools: online study tools are one of the most excellent ways in which technology can be used in classrooms today. When you search on the internet, you will find very many study tools like for example ‘dynamic period table’ that can be used especially the students taking a subject like chemistry to help them keep elements apart, then there is the ‘foldit’ that can be used by students taking biology to assist then easily understand the basics about proteins. In order for a student to learn how to solve math challenges then they can use the mathway.com to assist them. Most of these online study tools allows the students to select a subject and then after hit then solve and then the equation while be solved by the study tool. This way learning is not only made easy to understand but also fun.
  6. Online media: this is more like an online streaming media that can be used for both the teachers and the students to help them in the classrooms. You can use it along with the help of other technological tools like a projector, internet, white board and a computer. Through this kind of online media, a teacher will be able to display some real-time examples while using some sites on the internet like Youtube.com. Usually a website like the one mentioned contains some videos that can be used for academic references like for example let’s say there is an ongoing geography lesson and the teacher is explaining about industrialization and their impacts on the environment while using the live stream Youtube videos that are related. Now this kind of illustration will help the students be very attentive as to what is happening around them and them assist them be able to learn quickly as compared to textbooks that can be so boring at times with images that might even not be so easy to understand.
  7. Mobile phones: another example of technology that is used in classrooms today is the mobile phones although there has been a debate about it with most schools refusing to use them. However you should know that today mobile phones especially the smart phones are used by teachers and students for academic purposes mainly. And it has been highly adopted because of its flexibility, portability and privacy among others. These mobile phones are almost like e-learning as you can be able to study from any place. You will realize that almost these smart mobile phones are light, they also do have the same applications on them just like any other simple personal computer and lets the students be able to gain access to academic information for instance assignments through an Education Mobile Application or APP. There are some educational mobile apps like the ‘Piazza’ that teachers can use and encourage their students to access course materials from. This app can also be used by the student to post some questions about like a particular subject either in the classroom or even outside of it.
  8. Through flash notes: forget about the old days when the students would have to doodle on the side of their spiral note books while they were trying to take notes from a boring subject teacher. Well, not any more with the flash notes technology that can be used in classrooms today. These flash notes allow the students to even be able to upload the notes of their teachers and then make some money out of it through selling it to the other students that might require additional help or resources to help them learn better. It contains a rating system that is designed to let the students that takes the best notes to get a lot more business. This is very important as it assist to extend the general pool of knowledge as the students go ahead to share their notes with each other and that is how you have a class with bright students.
  9. Lesson cast: there are times when a teacher will require some help as well as support on their lesson plans in the same way that the students require help while studying for exams and that is when the lesson cast technology comes into the classroom. This lets the teachers submit in a two minute lesson plan, idea or a resource while making use of documents, video, power point and so on and then be able to share it with the other teachers. It is mainly a free based software that is able to provide a networking opportunity as well as wide pool of knowledge that is used to impact education in a positive way worldwide. An example is the ‘teachers paying teachers’ which is a network that lets the educators be able to sell their lesson plans to their other fellow teachers and make off some money.
  10. LEAP motion: there is another kind of technology that can be used in classrooms today by both the teachers and the students as well. This technology will let you be able to sign in your name on a digital document with the use of your fingers and the air alone. This way you will be able to obtain a very natural way while you make interactions with the computer. It contains a hardware that lets any person easily draw, write, play, zoom and even interact with their computer screen and this way a student or teacher will find it very easy to make illustrations or notes while they are learning or teaching. It does this by letting the mouse follow your hand or finger movements only.

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Vanilla Farmer, Amazon Retailer & Tech Researcher. Yosaki is my personal blog but I'm working on some big tech project back doors. I will keep on posting various topics on things I have knowledge about.

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