EdTech & Innovation

Virtual Reality (VR) has become a hot topic in education as of late with the arrival of many options for the technology in the video game world. Whether or not video games can teach children has been a long debate, but the addition of VR has possibly complicated or alleviated the situation further. According to a survey completed by GFK, 85 percent of teachers are ready to include VR in their classrooms. At the same time, 84 percent of teachers believe using VR could enhance the one thing that has seemed to be lost in classrooms in recent years: student motivation. These statistics come as no surprise considering how many students are so familiar with the technology, and two out of three teachers claim to be technology innovators for that very reason.

How Ready are Teachers and Classrooms?

 Many teachers claim to be ready, but they might not see the amount of training and preparation it takes to use VR. Also, there is the concern of whether or not school districts can even afford the technology. So far, the cheapest route to go is headsets that work with Smartphones. However, with budget cuts across the board and technology that is already out of date being in classrooms, the concern of how to fund upgrading to this technology remains.

What is Currently Used and What Does Funding Look Like?

At current, most schools only make use of laptops, computer labs, iPads, and SmartBoards. Some of this technology has been provided by teachers themselves due to the lack of funds. Through this method, many applications have come into existence, and several successful start-up companies have been born. However, it is not fair to teachers to expect them to fund everything out of their own pockets much longer, especially as technology becomes more expensive and demanding in the classroom.

How Can VR be Used? What is the Hold Up?

There are many advantages to using VR in classrooms, though. Studies indicate that science and social studies classes would benefit from using VR the most because of the ability VR offers to simulate situations throughout history and in laboratories. For these simulations to occur, though, some technology programs currently available on the market need also to expand to meet the potential demand for these programs shortly. Even though students are ready for such technologies, and teachers crave having them in the classroom, current school curriculum just cannot seem to keep up with either situation. This is a shame considering the effect VR can have on students’ learning experiences and opportunities.

One Teacher’s Story

One teacher, in particular, Erin J. Merrill, has found a way to bring VR into her social studies classroom at the middle school where she teaches, though. She was able to find VR headsets on Amazon for as cheap as $10.00 each, which was helpful to find in a school that allows teachers to bring their own devices into the classroom. She also stated that each student does not have to have their VR headset as a group can share throughout a lesson. She requested students to use their on Smartphones to find 360-degree videos on YouTube and to download other applications found through Orbulus, Trench Experience VR, and Google Cardboard. Merrill foresees writing a grant in the future for a 360-degree camera of her own to have in the classroom for the sake of making her videos and experiences since students found the lesson plans revolving around VR to be so enlightening and eye-opening.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, due to the funding situations of most school districts that have previously been mentioned, most teachers who are ready to include VR in their classrooms will not have any other choice but to look into grant funding for such technology. Students are ready for it. Most teachers are ready for it. Therefore, the curriculum and budgeting in school districts should find a way to be ready for it, too.

There is no doubt that technology both improves and complicates education.  Technology can turn education into a more interactive, global experience, though it also raises new issues regarding classroom management and student misuse of class time.  However, with guidance and dedication, teachers can implement wearable technology to help students engage with lessons on a deeper, more intrinsic level.  Here are 5 ways educators can leverage wearable technology to enhance student engagement.

1.      Fitness Trackers

Fitness trackers, like FitBit or the Adidas Zone, can help students take ownership of their physical education and health classes.  Instead of running a mile only once a week, students can monitor their daily fitness growth and progress over the term of the class.  Physical education teachers can assign fitness homework and have access to monitoring, track the students as they make and reach health and fitness goals, and adjust their classes to accommodate the students’ changing fitness levels.  This can make fitness goals and tests less competitive since physical competition can be intimidating for some students.  On the other hand, students who are motivated by competition can enter into small-group competitions through their fitness trackers.

2.      Virtual Reality

History, civics, and language teachers can make instruction true-to-life through the use of virtual reality headsets in their classrooms.  Virtual reality allows users to feel immersed in another place or experience, an invaluable asset for students learning about foreign cultures, cities, or ancient empires.  Teachers can lead virtual tours through the cities and events they’re teaching about, instead of relying on pictures, posters, and slideshows.  Students can move from reading about a country to viewing its geography on a map, to walking the streets of its cities using virtual reality headgear.

3.      Smart Watches

Smartwatches are a great way to enhance student-teacher communication and help students hold themselves accountable.  Smartwatches increase students’ ability to self-monitor and self-regulate their learning experiences.  Smartwatches can be synced to a user’s phone or tablet and can increase communication between teachers and students.  Students can send questions to a teacher remotely (if they’re too shy to ask aloud), schedule and receive reminders about school work, or be used as an alarm or remote.

4.      GoPro and Video Recorders

GoPro is just one of several portable, wearable video recorders on the market.  They can be used by teachers to record lessons and in-class experiences to be used by students who are absent or unable to attend traditional school, or they can be used to enhance the learning environment.  GoPro allows the student to take the driver’s seat in exploring the world around them as it relates to the curriculum of a class, especially in journalism, communication, and television production classes.

5.      Google Glass

Google Glasses are perhaps the pinnacle of wearable technology.  They take all the capabilities of a phone or tablet and wrap them around a student’s head in a pair of glasses.  They are equipped with 4G and wireless internet technology, meaning that students can use them for both classroom input as well as output.  Teachers can communicate with students, watch a student’s process (and not just the final result) in doing work through the Google Glass’ camera, and communicate with them in real-time, even when the students are at home.  Google Glass is also hands-free, meaning it won’t interfere with the students’ other in-class tasks.

While these wearable technologies have creative uses in the regular education classroom, there are also a lot of exciting implications for special education students as well.  Students with autism, for example, who may have difficulty communicating may find comfort in constant access to technology – like the Google Glass or smart watches – that allow them to view and communicate from behind a comfortable distance.  These technologies also allow students to demonstrate their learning and understanding in deeper, more practical ways than traditional standardized tests or pen-and-paper responses.

Technology may offer certain temptations to students – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are easy to use for personal, non-academic reasons – and may at times make it harder for teachers to monitor their students, but the potential benefits of wearable technology far outweigh these hypothetical challenges.  Wearable technology can make education more accessible, meaningful, and engaging for students of all abilities and interests.

The Difference Between Teachers and Technology Experts

 Although many teachers now have grown-up in the technology age, many traditional or “old-school” teachers are still not feeling equipped to teach in the classroom of the 21^st century. Teachers that earned their certificates in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and even the 90’s may or may not feel prepared to operate and utilize today’s education equipment in the classroom. From the replacement of chalkboards with smart boards to the use of iPads in the classroom with apps for learning in English, Math, Science, and many other areas, the advances in technology are taking hold in today’s classrooms. The question remains how do we educate our teachers on how to use the technology?

What Needs to Change

Despite the fast-paced advances in the development of technology, technology can be used well if the teachers are first educated on how to take advantage of the resources that they have available to them. Teachers do not only need fancy apps and computer programs, but they also need proper training, as well as simple devices with easy to use features, affordable gadgets and programs, and ongoing support.

1. Include Teachers on the Decisions! – Teachers are not often included in the decision about what materials to purchase for their school and or how those materials will be utilized, but are expected to use them regardless. One of the biggest most common mistakes that increase the gap of comprehension between teachers and how to use their resources is that often teachers are simply handed a new program, device, gadget, or system, and are told to use it. Principals, executives, and other administrators make decisions about purchases but very rarely is teacher input included in the discussion. Open a dialogue about the needs of the educators before sliding the school board’s credit card across the machine.

2. Provide Proper Training – Instructions needs to be provided to groups and or individual instructors as needed through multiple sessions of training before each product or program is introduced to the student body. How can we expect teachers that were not trained in the 21^st century to understand how to implement programs and devices of the 21^st century, without proper training? Training requires patience, professional trainers, and can even require one on one attention. If we expect our teachers to implement unknown technologies we have to offer adequate time, training, and attention to each teacher who may have questions about the functions of a new program.

3. Purchase Simple Devices – Start from the understanding that not all teachers are automatically technology gurus. If a school, a university, or a community center is employing new technology in their programs and classrooms, they should not only talk to their educators and teachers before putting out the money for a complicated device, but also start with purchasing some basic programs, games, and apps that are easy to use. If a teacher is familiar and more comfortable with using a certain device, he or she will be more apt to use it, rather than leaving it on the shelf and collecting dust in the closet.

4. Use Affordable Programs and Devices – Although it is true that many new technologies and devices are outrageously expensive, some start-ups are offering free apps and other programs to gain publicity and market their company. Make use of free and or low-costs devices and apps to reduce the schools’ costs and minimize teacher out-of-pocket expense. After all, not all school districts will have access to equal funds for implementing technology of the 21^st century in the classroom.

5. Offer Ongoing Support – Lastly, after a new program or device is introduced to the classroom, and all the teachers have received training, don’t assume that the teachers understand 100% how to use the technology. Provide ongoing support, training, and continuing education regarding the new products. The process of learning must start with the teachers, in order for the students to also effectively learn! As teachers always provide ongoing feedback, exams, and reviews for students, even technology experts, administrators, and trainees need to remain available to teachers to listen to feedback and provide additional instruction after the initial use of a product.

With the advancing technology age, efforts need to be made by both teacher and technology experts to meet in the middle. Just like we cannot expect technology experts to automatically become amazing teachers, we cannot expect our teachers to be immediately knowledgeable about how to operate a Smart Board or how to manage a class of students with iPads. By including teachers in the discussion about materials they need for the classroom, offering training and ongoing support, and using both simple and affordable gadgets and programs, teachers and educators will feel that their voice is being heard, and will be more motivated to learn how to use the technology in the classroom to the benefit of their students.

The ultimate goal of any good teacher is not just to teach his or her content, but to mold young men and women who will be productive, contributing members of society who can solve problems and, hopefully, make the world a better place. It’s not always important that a student can, in isolation, recite the Pythagorean Theorem or a list of prepositions.  Instead, it’s important to use the tools and the knowledge learned in the classroom to positively impact the world around us.

And that’s where Makerspaces come in! A Makerspace is a way to bring rote learning to life, to teach students to become lifelong learners, and to encourage problem-solving skills.

What is a Makerspace?

Makerspaces are “community centers with tools.” It is a physical location – in a school or, in a broader sense, in a community – where people gather to brainstorm, solve problems, and create art and technology. A good makerspace will have an expert (or teacher) available as a guide, monitor, and coach, but most of the time users (students) will get guidance, inspiration, and advice from their co-users.

Makerspaces are special because they are designed to promote self-directed learning and independence. In the classroom, makerspaces are used when a teacher presents a problem, challenge, or question, and the students hypothesize, experiment, create, and design to solve said problem. Students learn by creating, doing, and teaching along side their classmates.

These special areas, in an educational setting, are often equipped with computers and tablets, 3D and traditional printers, software, electronics, craft and hardware supplies, and tools. These are all useful and sometimes essential tools to teach students how to problem-solve in simulated real-world scenarios. However, these items are also extremely expensive, especially for a school that is trying to start their makerspace.

So how can schools create makerspaces without breaking the budget?

Makerspaces on a Tight Budget

Even though it’s nice to dream of a makerspace with fancy gadgets and expensive technology, the truth is that you truly can start a makerspace, even with a small or nonexistent budget. By following these five tips, you can start a Makerspace on literally any budget!

1. Spread the word

Tap into the community. Chances are, parents will be excited about innovation and hands-on experiences for their children, and they may have untapped resources they’d be willing to share with you. Maybe they’ll buy some of the things you want, or maybe they’ll suggest an alternative item that they would be willing to donate to your Makerspace. Or maybe they already have a lot of what you need and would be willing to loan or give it to your school or organization. Whatever the case, community support will go a long way in helping you procure the materials you need.

2. Look for – and ask for – donations

Legos, craft supplies, leftover construction materials, old and refurbished technology – there is so much out there that might be yours if you just ask the right people or advertise in the right spots. Keep your mind open to items you hadn’t considered. While you might not necessarily get a class set of iPads or tablets, you might find that someone has something else that could be just as beneficial to your students’ developing imaginations and your burgeoning Makerspace.

3. Utilize existing supplies and materials

Scavenge your school and the classrooms of your fellow teachers. Maybe the physics teachers have unused building sets, maybe the art teacher has supplies that they are willing to part with. Start small and gradually build up your reserves.

4. Take advantage of crowdfunding or teacher support sites

GoFundMe and Kickstarter are two popular crowdfunding sites, but for teachers there is truly no greater financial resource then DonorsChoose.org. At Donors Choose, teachers put up proposals and ideas for classroom supplies and activities, and benefactors choose the projects they wish to find, in part or in full. If you’re hoping to start a Makerspace, create a DonorsChoose project, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the funds you receive!

5. Recycle

Scavenge the items in your school that are going to be thrown away! Cardboard boxes are treasures for a Makerspace, and other items that may be perceived as garbage can be disassembled or repurposed by creative young imaginations.

Makerspaces are all about student exploration and creativity. And while it might be nice to have fancy technology and expensive accessories, what it comes down to is nurturing student independence and fostering problem-solving skills. Don’t let a lack of funds prevent you or your school from investing in strategies that will benefit your students. It might be tough to find a way to achieve your goals of creating a Makerspace in your school or district, but it will be worth it in the end.

For you visual learners, here is an great video that discusses how to develop a thriving makerspace.

Many new teachers fresh out of college and other pathways to teaching possess new ideas, but they have to prepare for any challenge in the classroom, especially regarding using technology. Edtech has greatly expanded what a classroom can accomplish, so new teachers have to acclimate to these technologies as quickly as possible. Here are some basic edtech options that teachers need to know when they first step into their own classrooms.

Locating New Ideas for the Classroom

One of the best resources of where to find ideas to integrate into any classroom would be TeachersPayTeachers. Many teachers use this site to share their ideas with other teachers for the sake of building a stable support system across the internet. It opens gateways to new ideas for teachers of all experience levels. Shared ideas include décor for the classroom, organizational tools, and standards-aligned activities that can be located with a simple search.

Managing Tasks

To-do lists do not quite cut it when it comes to managing all of the tasks that need to be completed when preparing and managing a classroom. For iOS users, 30/30 is a great app to help with managing those many tasks. It can mix personal and work items in a color-coded mode to differentiate types of tasks. For Android users, Tassky functions in much the same way.

 Dealing with Interactive Whiteboards

Many classrooms come equipped with hardware technology, too, like interactive whiteboards and learning how to use one can be rather difficult without some training. There are several tools available to become familiar with this type of technology and fast. Two examples are Flockdraw and Cosketch. Both of these tools allow for interaction using whiteboard software on any computer. It promotes collaboration, which is another skill that new teachers need to perfect as soon as possible.

Maintaining E-portfolios

A new type of tech that has become rather popular in the last few years is e-portfolios. Students learn through to and how to maintain these portfolios with tools related to Google Sites, Wikispaces, and WordPress classroom edition. They learn how to work on smaller assignments that build to a culminating project alongside learning how to collaborate with other students instead of just submitting assignments to teachers for approval or feedback. A new teacher should familiarize him or herself with these options as soon as possible to begin planning their classrooms around an e-portfolio early on. E-portfolios take a lot of planning and effort on the teacher’s part, so the sooner this process begins, the sooner it can be perfected and improved upon before it is rolled out to students.

New teachers can also take advantage of e-portfolios in another way. An e-portfolio provides a great solution to making lesson plans and units, too. Everything can be organized in a neat and efficient manner, too. The main benefit to using e-portfolios for lesson plans and units is how accessible they can be elsewhere. The days of backing everything up onto a USB thumb drive can end by using e-portfolios in this way. The essential key to not using USB thumb drives is they can be lost or broken much easier than a cloud storage option.

Conclusion

So many tools and apps exist in edtech nowadays that it can be difficult to figure out where to start learning what to use. Exploring these tools can be intimidating, too. Starting off by using these tools as early on in a career as possible will lead to learning how to incorporate other technology over the years, too. Therefore, new teachers need to work on preparing themselves for the evasion technology has made into education quickly to be ahead of the game.