digital learning

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

6 Ways Technology Utilization in a Classroom Environment

Technology is increasingly becoming a fundamental part of our lives. Its adoption to the various functionalities of a person’s life from childhood with playing toys to adulthood has made life easier and complex at the same time. Its implementation is being advocated for yet its effects seem to grow with each passing day. However, it is important to understand that its use is diverse and the benefits associated outweigh the limitations and effects.

As a fact, technology utilization in a classroom is now being used in schools for different learning activities. Today, many teachers have taken to issuing exam papers, results, reading materials and other evaluation or learning equipment online. These are just some of the ways that technology revolutionize education. Without the proper technological knowledge, some of the tasks expected of a teacher or student can be difficult to achieve. Therefore, technology is perceived as annoying, irritating and to some extent intimidating. Well, here are seven ways that you can use to implement or use technology in your classroom.

1. Social media

The social media is a major aspect of children in this era. Teachers can use this media or platform to their advantage by becoming friends and sharing essential information through the technological platform. Students, parents and their teachers can sign up for online conferencing and hold meetings, give parents their children’s school progress, share learning materials etc. Teachers, for example, can share unique students write ups with the rest of the class and or solicit their opinion in regards to a topic or subject to be or already covered. For example, through Twitter’s backchannel, teachers can obtain students feedback, share ideas or learning materials. Furthermore, the student’s attention will be with you as all of them are quite fond of the social media.

2. Blogs, Wiki and YouTube

Advanced level students can use these for learning purposes. This includes posting assessments and evaluations and other important such as best write-ups that students have in a certain period. The blogs can also be a strategic learning as well as a support initiative where students are encouraged to be themselves. They can post their hand works online for others to see, evaluate and rate or criticise for better growth. The teacher can also publish the best works by the students on the same platform. This further encourages them and also sharing the information in class is a major way of promoting and showing appreciation to the students.

3. Creating Google and Apple Apps

These are quite essential especially in sharing important and pertinent information with class, parents and other stakeholders. Teachers can create school calendars, an app containing different school materials to assist the students in reading on their own. In addition, the students can use many forums in these apps for their own benefit and learning purposes. For example, an educative and fun app for games is a nice way for the students to be engaged in a class. This is in relation to games that are related to different games that are developed from a topic on the school books or class subjects.

4. Video Streaming

Pictures, images or videos are quite fundamental in forming opinions and learning. It is said that information tends to be imprinted into a person’s mind and are easier to remember for everyone. Furthermore, they capture and entertain the students, which make learning fun. This is an example that is being set by YouTube and other video streaming facilities. With a step by step instruction manual with pictures to illustrate it further, it becomes the most effective means of teaching and for students, the easiest means to grasp and understand what is being taught. In addition, these videos are already there on any subject and therefore, finding one that rhymes with your topic is not that difficult.

5. Mobile devices

This is on an increasing trend especially in use inside the classrooms. It is evident that many students use them for other purposes other than learning. Therefore, introducing class assignments to be shared and distributed through the mobile devices e.g. WhatsApp. You can create students groups and assign them various tasks that they will be required to full fill using their internet or mobile connection. This ensures they pay attention to their learning and education and creates cohesion among the students assigned a specific task. Also encourage them to let others acquire reading materials by sharing them with others.

6. Video conferencing

This is one of the best means of teaching for both students and teachers. For students, it means that their favourite teacher will be present even though he/she is in a different geographical location. Video conferencing offers a platform for interactions between students and their teacher. It can be used to issue the student’s instructions on their daily tasks, offer presentations and much more.

Conclusion

Technology is a useful tool in the development and growth of schools and other educational institutions. Its utilisation for schooling and classroom purposes is an added advantage to the society and specifically to the children.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Equity

Digital Early Learning Program in Napa County sees strong results

Submitted by Dr. Barbara Nemko, Napa County Superintendent of Schools

 “The children love [the program] and in fact they ask daily, ‘Is it my turn on the iPad today?’ Also … we as teachers are learning too.” – Marianne Stegman, Site Supervisor, St. Helena Child Development Center

Tackling Achievement Gap Before Kindergarten

Research has shown that children from low-income families come to school typically lagging two years behind their more privileged peers on standardized language tests. This achievement gap, which has been called a 30 million word gap (Hart and Risley, 2004), affects their ability to learn to read, and persists throughout their school careers. Identified as equally important in learning to read by researchers is access to books in the home. Again, children from low income families frequently have few or no books at home, and enter kindergarten not knowing that books in English are read from left to right, or being able to identify the letters of the alphabet.

To prepare these at-risk students for kindergarten, The Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) began collaborating with local non-profit NapaLearns to launch the first countywide offering in the nation of a digital early-literacy program. The program primarily uses the Footsteps2Brilliance “app” on tablets and other devices, and is provided at no cost to preschools and to parents of preschool age children in the county, including those not enrolled in a preschool program.  The digital early literacy tools include libraries of books that are engaging, animated, and capable of reading themselves to children in either English or Spanish.  These books teach the 1,000 most important Dolch words, as well as phonics and comprehension skills, through stories and games that motivate children to want to read the stories again and again.  Once downloaded onto a device these books can be opened with or without wifi.  For those families who cannot afford a device, NCOE has partnered with NapaLearns to offer a rent-to-buy HD Kindle for children.

The Results are Immediate and Impressive

NCOE’s Digital Early Learning program was piloted in 2011 as a 4-week summer boot camp for four-year old English language learners.  Impressive results in language use led us to administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, pre- and post, to kindergarten students the following year, producing statistically significant results in both expressive and receptive language.  The countywide launch for all preschool students came in February 2014, and Napa County preschoolers were challenged by me to read one million words by June 30.  Instead, they topped five million, and have continued their astonishing rate of growth. A kindergarten teacher recently administered the DIBELS test and discovered that the children who scored the highest were those who spent the most time reading their digital books at home. There are currently over 1,200 children enrolled who have been exposed to  over 12 million words, and have correctly answered the comprehension questions on their  first try 67% of the time. These children are using the program at home 55% of the time.

The Family that Reads Together…

The staff working on our Digital Early Learning initiative have conducted extensive bilingual and multicultural community outreach, and opportunities for parent training, to ensure the widespread participation in this free program.  In one year we have provided more than 30 parent workshops, as well as workshops for preschool and kindergarten teachers.  Outside of Napa, we were invited to the White House Summit on Early Literacy to share about the positive impact of digital early learning in our county.  Moving forward, we are excited to begin an ongoing five-year longitudinal study, to determine if children who use our digital early literacy in preschool are more proficient readers at the end of third grade than children who do not.

For more information on this program, contact Seana Wagner, Public Information Officer at [email protected] or 707-265-2351.

 

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