5 new innovations to help teachers engage students from within the classroom

Advances in the IT industry have completely revolutionized that the way people interact and learn. Sadly, the education system needs to improve.

Some institutions still adhere to the old-fashioned learning model, and they refuse to adapt because they see technology a distraction. Rather than limit innovation, teachers can put smart gadgets to good use. E-learning can change the way a student understands a concept or a process in class, although it’s up to the teacher to keep them engaged and interested.

Here are 5 amazing innovations that can help teachers use technology in class to make learning more productive.

Technology Empowers Teachers

Most teachers are used to rejecting educational technologies that are distracting attention from instruction. But the best tools can actually enable them to achieve more within the class using fewer resources. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have the potential to enable and stir dynamic communication with pupils and students. Empowering technologies like mobile apps are extremely appealing to the modern day student. They can be used to track their progress, both at home and in the physical classroom. To the average teacher, apps help them understand how difficult a certain subject or part of a curriculum is tough for a student to grasp.

High-tech Lesson Planning

Planning a lesson the old fashion way doesn’t guarantee a teacher that students will get the point. With technology, the process of planning a lesson using tutorials and visuals can better explain a process or a concept. There are online resources teachers can access to organize their curriculum. Using an online video to explain programming languages in universities can be a lot better (and more productive) than using conventional textbooks to teach a student how to code. This principle can be applied in high school as well. Classes like match and chemistry can seem nerve-racking to pupils. But when formulas and equations are explained with videos, students can get the bigger picture with more appealing examples.

Open-Source Technology

Many institutions wrongfully believe that education technologies are complex and expensive. However, open-source technologies are not. They’re actually pretty affordable, stable and secure. A lot of businesses today use open-source servers and team management platforms to connect, save cash and encourage team collaboration. Why should schools be any different? Trello for example, can be made into a virtual classroom. Teachers can share insights to the whole class, and students can interact and collaborate, as well as share ideas and ask questions. With Trello, teachers can assign projects and compel students to brainstorm ideas. The platform can be accessed from nearly every smart device, thus enabling students to participate whether they’re at home, in class or out of the country.

Online Education Portfolios

Paper-based portfolios have been known to teachers for generations. A portfolio allows a student to express their creative spirit and assess in-depth subjects. However, with an online portfolio a teacher can review and assess a paper a lot better. Even programs like Microsoft Word have a review section that permit a teacher to analyze papers and recommend feedback to the student. Afterwards, they can be sent back for review via email. Another benefit on web-based portfolios is that the teacher can check plagiarism. There are many online tools that are free of charge. This way, students won’t be able to copy papers from the web, and are encouraged to use their own knowledge to craft them.

Teaching Online

Not many schools and universities encourage online learning. Nonetheless, some institutions embrace this practice. Online teaching can help both teachers and students. If they can’t attend a class, they can access a link and watch pre-recorded classes. They can watch it over and over again until they understand the core principles. This helps teacher’s focus on more delicate subjects in class, not to mention that there are lots of online classes for them as well. Organizing a class can be challenging, especially in a class with students of different learning capabilities.

One of the hardest things to do as a teacher is to adapt a curriculum to match the learning capacities of all students. Pupil tracking progress is nerve-racking, and it takes times to understand their learning pace. With online learning, apps and smart devices, the whole process of teaching can become a lot smoother and less painstaking.

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