How to Teach Education Using Technology

Students can find a wealth of information and resources on the internet, such as educational videos, tutorials/guidebooks, and informational websites. This enables them to become self-sufficient learners.

Technology also promotes collaboration and communication. For example, students can work together on a group project using a program that creates wiki pages.

Differentiated Instruction

Teachers know that students don’t all learn the same way, have the same knowledge or level of experience. That’s why differentiation is important. Differentiation is a teaching strategy that involves adapting a lesson to meet the needs of each student in a class without sacrificing high standards.

This might sound like it’s a lot of work for teachers, but there are actually some strategies that can make the process less time consuming and more manageable. Using technology to support differentiation is one of these options.

Differentiation can be broken down into four areas: content, process, product and learning environment. For example, in a station rotation model seen on an Edutopia video, teachers can offer students a choice of ways to learn information or demonstrate understanding.

Online Resources

Students have grown up surrounded by technology and don’t know life without it. Whether they learn online or in a traditional classroom, digital tools enable them to easily access assignments, materials and learning tools.

For example, students can keep calendars and assignments organized using online platforms such as Google Classroom or Schoology. They can also keep track of their work through online grading systems. And they won’t have to worry about losing paper handouts or books because their work is stored online.

Educational apps like Kahoot allow students to review class material on their own or in groups. And programs like Newsela and Freckle allow students to read textbooks at their appropriate reading level. These kinds of programs give students more personalized instruction and expand their knowledge based on their interests.

Collaboration

Collaboration is one of the most important skills a teacher can teach. With the help of educational technology, students learn how to work in diverse teams while gaining valuable real-world experience.

These tools range from communication platforms that allow synchronous and asynchronous text, voice or video chat to collaborative learning spaces that facilitate the formation of bonds and document editing. This enables students to collaborate from anywhere in the world and helps foster teamwork skills that will be applicable to their future careers.

Additionally, technology can connect students to experts and professionals in their field through virtual guest speaker sessions. This allows them to learn from someone outside of the classroom and gain a unique perspective on complex subjects. These experiences can be particularly helpful for students that have trouble grasping subject matter.

Self-Directed Learning

Self-directed learning is a great way to make students feel empowered and responsible for their own education. It helps them develop skills that they can carry over into other classes and beyond school. It also encourages deeper learning and supports students to set higher goals for themselves.

Educators can help support self-directed learning by making sure that the tools they use are appropriate for students’ abilities and learning styles. For example, using programs that provide individualized math instruction to meet each student’s needs or that allow all students in a class to read content at their just-right level will enable students to practice these skills independently.

It’s also important that students know how to access information and determine its validity. This can be a challenge in an age of “fake news,” but knowing how to research and evaluate sources is critical for effective self-directed learning.

Life Skills

Life skills development is an important component of education. It polishes the ability to adapt to all kinds of circumstances and helps in growing both personally and professionally. A lack of these skills results in bullying, dropout rates, drug and alcohol abuse and bad grades.

Life Skills Development also includes verbal and written communication, interpersonal and critical thinking, self-awareness, stress management resilience and coping with emotions. These are essential tools for everyone to succeed in the world outside of school.

Using technology to teach these skills allows students to work independently, at their own pace and learn from their mistakes. Using apps that highlight spelling errors or read aloud can help students with learning disabilities and other challenges find success in the classroom. Community-based instruction can also be part of a student’s LS curriculum and incorporates IEP goals/objectives into activities that occur in the real world.

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