The Changing Dynamic of Technology in the Classroom

The modern classroom is a technology-rich environment where students and teachers interact and collaborate, helping everyone achieve their goals as a team. Technology in the classroom is here to stay, and it is proving to be beneficial to both teachers and students. By finding ways to integrate technology in the classroom, teachers can create more successful learning environments with greater student engagement. Collaborative learning also becomes more effective because teachers and students alike can come together to use the technology.

Using Technology in the Classroom

Both students and teachers can benefit from technology in the classroom. For the student, it can make learning more engaging and effective. For the teacher, it can streamline education and provide greater one-on-one opportunities with students. Using technology in the classroom also helps develop the skills students will need in the future as they become part of the digital world.

Start with Computers and Tablets

Putting computers and tablets in the hands of students extends education beyond the classroom. Not only can students play games that enhance their education, but they can also use them to connect with outside resources. Through the internet, students can conduct research without leaving the classroom, and teachers can access virtual tours and video-based learning to enhance the curriculum they bring to the classroom. Tablets put this accessibility in the hand of each individual student, creating an even more integrated learning environment.

Get Creative with Apps

Once every student has access to a tablet or computer, you can get creative with apps. Apps can do everything from tracking reading minutes for book challenges to practicing times tables in math class or watching virtual dissections in a high school health class. Apps using machine learning and artificial intelligence are now making it possible to provide tutoring in the classroom without the need to bring in a physical tutor.

Apps do not just help students. They also assist teachers by allowing them to support struggling students with individualized instruction and tutoring via an app, making the teacher's job easier and more streamlined.

Drive Collaboration in Your Classroom

The collaborative classroom creates a learning environment where students and teachers collaborate to guide learning experiences. Collaborative learning projects invite teams to work with one another to achieve learning objectives. In a collaborative classroom, the focus moves beyond lectures and into a more interactive learning experience for all, with more student participation.

Picture a classroom where students enter at the start of the class and see a question or series of questions on an interactive whiteboard. Using a connected app, they enter their responses, which show up in a tally on the board. The teacher then shows the right answer or explores the student responses, and students see where they went wrong or how to figure out the answer in real-time. Using the same setup, the teacher can take a poll of the students or ask students to anonymously enter their own questions for the benefit of the class without requiring anyone to speak out loud, which is hard for some students. The way this improves learning is significant, and the ease with which the teacher can meet the needs of each individual student makes the job of the educator simpler.

Comfortable Collaboration and Interactive Questions

Interactive questions using technology make collaboration comfortable for both students and teachers. A student is not called out directly in front of the class, and a teacher can quickly correct course with real-time feedback from students. Students become more engaged with the introduction of smart technology. In one recent Entrepreneur.com article, student engagement reportedly increased in classrooms by 55% after the introduction of smart technology. Both teachers and students feel more comfortable with collaboration using technology.

Learn From Home as Well as in the Classroom

After COVID, teachers and school districts found ways to teach students remotely. Many of those pieces of technology continue in today’s classroom. This means students who cannot attend school due to illness or travel can stay connected and continue learning. When a district cannot meet in person due to weather or other similar problems, students and teachers can continue their learning experiences through remote learning. This type of technology also provides greater flexibility for districts that need to reach remote learners.

Result-Driven Learning Focus from Students

Through technology, teachers and students see better results. As teachers learn how to use technology in the classroom to improve collaboration and individualized instruction, they are better able to achieve academic goals for students of all ability levels.

The ability to track student progress using technology is astounding. For example, if a test or assignment is given using classroom tech, the teacher can monitor their progress at the keystroke level. This can provide insight into which questions are more difficult for students, allowing the teacher to better target their instruction. Another example is a teacher who records a video-based lesson or creates a multimedia presentation, then uses the classroom time to provide one-on-one help to individual students while the rest progress through the lesson at their own pace.

Personalized and Assistive Learning

Technology allows for greater personalization in instruction. Not only can a teacher give personalized lessons to each student group based on their current academic achievement, but a greater number of teachers are turning to tech to provide personalized learning on an individual level. Chatbots in an education app allow shy students to ask questions or enter responses when they would normally hesitate to do so in front of the group. When one student struggles to keep up, assistive learning programs and apps allow them to get the extra practice they need without pausing the whole class’s progress.

Adaptive Learning Environments

With the right technology, the learning environment can be adapted to meet the unique needs of individuals. A non-verbal student can use technology to provide responses to a lecture question via a speech device, or a student with hearing loss can use technology to see the lesson material transcribed. These are just a few examples of how technology helps teachers integrate education for all learners, regardless of the challenges they may face.

Content and Interaction to Peak Curiosity

One of the best ways to create engagement is to pique a child’s natural curiosity. If you are learning about France, you can use technology to take virtual tours of popular landmarks or to video chat with a classroom in a French school. Interactive, multimedia lesson plans make students curious about the material, and that curiosity will help them retain more of what they learn. Content created for in-classroom lectures can then be posted online to help students review lessons and retain more of the material.

By embracing the power of technology, today’s teacher can interact directly with students on an individual basis, create adaptive learning environments and shorten the amount of time it takes to prepare lessons. All of this adds up to a more effective learning experience for students. If you are curious to learn more about the role of technology in the classroom or are interested in gaining the skills necessary to become an effective classroom teacher, University of the Cumberlands can help. Our Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and our Bachelor of Arts in Middle School Education will teach you not only how to use tech in the classroom but also how to help students attain their own learning objectives. Reach out to the admissions team today to learn more about these rigorous programs and how they can help you gain the right credentials to enter the exciting world of education.