6 Tips to Leverage Advanced Technology in College Education
BY KADY SMITH
“Tech gives the quietest student a voice.”
– Jerry Blumengarten,
Billy Jordan, a student of Arts from a renowned Australian University never thought that he would need virtual assistance for his annual project on the History of English Language and Literature. It took the chap only a couple of minutes to sign up with an academic help portal. Eventually, he got in touch with an online assignment expert, placed his query and received much-needed assistance on English Language and Literature at the comfort of his home.
That’s how technology has made its presence felt in the domain of education and learning. It has come a long way with some of the most notable instances such as the emergence of E-learning applications like Thinglink, TED-Ed and ClassDojo, and the transition from classroom learning to virtual tutoring.
Thus, with so many things happening around us, especially in the sector of education, now wonder why 86% of teachers think it is important or absolutely essential to use advanced technology in the classroom.
Now, in case, you are looking forward to embracing advanced technology in education and open a new vista for the young learners to see through, take note of the following suggestions prior to venturing out.
- Improve communication and ensure faster response
Around 50% of teachers across all age groups are of the opinion that they use computers to develop specific skills and communication. If we look back at the scenario prevalent a couple of decades ago, personal face-to-face interaction between a teacher and his student was the only form of communication one could ever think of.
Cut to the chase, in 2019, virtual classroom and online collaboration tools like TodaysMeet, Scribblar and Socrative have made things easier and seamless for the learners and academic mentors to deal with. You too can leverage its potential,
Here’s how.
® Optimise Email communication to get in touch with the students or their parents regarding meetings, seminars and revised dates of examination seamlessly.
® Utilise the potential of classroom management software like Otus to combine and share email and text, along with digital resources, grade book, recognitions and academic blogs.
- Assess students’ progress, help them with assignments virtually, in real-time
Digital simulation not only helps teachers prepare lessons and set of question papers for their students, but they can actually track the progress of their students in the comfort of a few clicks. In a world where changing academic norms and intricacies introduced in classroom training and assessment, embracing student-friendly and advanced academic tools shall deliver a competitive advantage over others.
Take note of the following suggestions for optimum results.
® Use audio recording tools: There are free and simple audio recording tools such as Vocaroo. Students can use it to record audio by using their laptop’s microphone. In case you are not present in the classroom or wish to send across assessment reminder to your students via remote access, using audio recording tools will serve the purpose of sending across the message you wish to deliver, despite physical absence.
® Utilise video communication: The realm of education and learning is experiencing a 180-degree shift with advancements in the sector of visually enriched interaction via various online tools.
Free video communication tools such as PowToon will allow you to create animated presentations and videos in the classroom to explain assignments and their key components in a better and impactful way.
On the other hand, advanced and free tool like Hippo Video provides you with an all-in-one platform for education and assessment. It is said to integrate with Google Classroom contextually, Google Slides and Docs edit, host, share and track student progress.
- Make the process of research more advanced and hassle-free
Research-based data in education is by far one of the most crucial aspects to meet by educators across the globe. Unless a particular lesson is explained with the help of real-life instances, case studies and archived data, you won’t be able to make an impact in the classroom. This calls for a data-savvy workforce in the academic institutes.
If you agree with the notion and significance of research-based education in today’s world, take note of the following tips to marry technology with your academic endeavours.
® If students need to add references to a particular case study, use advanced tools such as EndNote, RefWorks and JabRef to streamline the process of referencing in a seamless way.
® In case you are required to conduct extensive research, technologically advanced research tools such as Google Scholar and ResearchGate will allow you browse through thousands of scholarly articles and archived academic journals for better clarity and understanding.
- Provide opportunities to students to be more productive
With the help of technology, you can actually foster more productivity among students. It goes without saying that students shouldn’t be sitting idle and passively consume what’s written on the blackboard or displayed on the screen. The true form of education is the one that allows students to be a part of an activity, lead a particular project with creative and productive slants based on what has been taught in the class earlier.
Here’s how you can harness the potential of technology in this matter.
® Try to use technologies that support interactivity, foster critical thinking and problem solving skills among students. You may choose to opt for tools like Stencyl (to express creativity), Roblox for education (to build entrepreneurial skills among students) and more.
® It is suggested to include more sensory involvements in education and learning. According to a research, bodily movements can help keep the brain active. So, how about using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality or Mixed Reality to encourage all young learners. For example, the software Augment allows students and teachers to visualise 3D models in real time.
Technology can both be a boon and bane at the same time. Unless you are aware of its limit of usage or fail to notify the young users regarding the same, things would worsen down the road.
So, here are a few suggestions you can consider for safer usage of academic technologies on behalf of your students.
® Set up new guidelines for managing time with the use of technology in the academic premise.
® Teachers and parents should focus on establishing media-free zones. This, as a result, will keep the young users away from exploiting technological devices such as Smartphone, iPods, and tablets in libraries, examination halls and the likes.
® Set time limits for the students. For example, you may set out a rule that says no student will be allowed to surf the internet more than two hours a day.
® Set up free parental control software like OpenDNSFamilyShield, KidLogger and Spyrix Free Keylogger to block domains containing pornographic content, adult websites and track what students are up to.
- Teach digital etiquettes to students
Apart from utilising technological advancement in the sector of education and setting out strict rules regarding the use of various devices, one must focus on teaching digital etiquette to young users. According to a survey, primary students lack skills and etiquettes that are required by an individual to abide by the fair internet usage policy.
So, make it a point to teach students how to build a positive and responsible online presence.
Pay heed to the following suggestions.
® Teach students how to build a positive image online. Teach them how to write blogs and post such documents online.
® Introduce them to the online academic forums like teaching commons, thestudentroom and Quora where they can collaborate or get in touch with other students to share a common academic interest, discuss and share questions and answers to tricky assignments and more.
® You should critically evaluate the reliability and security aspects of a particular website before allowing students to access the same.
To Wrap Up
Now that you are aware of the six best tips to ensure the perfect amalgamation of advanced technology and education, embrace the best practice and put the best foot forward to transform a traditional classroom to a technologically revamped one.
Good luck!
Author Bio: Kady Smith works as an experienced assignment expert, dedicated to providing students with Management and Marketing assignment help on behalf of the digital brand MyAssignmenthelp.co.uk. Apart from that, Kady is an independent travel blogger and freelance illustrator, coming all the way from Glasgow, United Kingdom.
