Do you know your school system has changed so much since you left it years ago? If you really want to know, you can ask your kids or maybe your younger siblings what their classroom is like now. The subject of technology is taught to students from very early on. Considering that the future will be in the hands of those who know how to use technology, the education system is focusing on teaching technical skills to their students. But again, the adoption of technology is not consistent in classrooms. Some educational institutes install technology but are least bothered to maintain or update it. In this post, we will be looking at how technology can be adopted in the classroom and the benefits of doing so.
Quick Answer
Technology can be integrated in the classroom by incorporating digital tools like laptops, tablets, and specific education software to enhance teaching and learning processes. Teachers can use interactive whiteboards for presentations and simulations, and students can use educational apps for individualized learning. Just like that, online platforms can also be leveraged for homework submission, grading, feedback, and fostering collaboration among students through virtual group projects.
Why Should Technology be Adopted in the Classroom?
Before diving into the topic of how technology can be adopted, first, we will understand why there is a need. Childhood is the foundation years of one’s life. Imagine if these years are wasted making children by heart unnecessary information that is easily available on the internet, what will their future look like?
To me, it seems, it would be a lack of innovations and unnecessary hard work. Why waste your time, energy, and effort in remembering things when you have tools to store the information and access it anytime you need it?
Not everyone would agree with me regarding not byhearting information, and that’s okay. But, look at it this way. From early on in their lives, if children are taught how to think instead of what to think, wouldn’t that make their life easier?
What’s better than technology to teach students to think for themselves and make informed decisions? We are not just using technology to improve the present of the students, but we are also preparing them for the future. Instead of keeping them occupied with byhearting unnecessary information, with technology, we can teach them many important concepts.
Access to Information
When we talk about learning, the first thing that comes to our mind is the classroom. Without a doubt, it is the place where we have learned the fundamentals of every subject. But the new generation can do much more in their classrooms by adopting technology. There must have been a few moments in your life where even your school and teachers seemed limited in knowledge. But what if that never happens again?
Technology can provide students with access to the Internet, where the answer to every question is available with just a click. From conducting research to exploring various subjects, the number of educational resources one can find on the Internet is countless.
Prepare Students for the Future
Let us all agree on this – there is a day and night difference between our workplace and classroom. One of the main reasons for that is the complete lack of resources and knowledge of the modern world in our classroom. That can change with the adoption of technology. Knowing about the modern tools that are being used to make things easier is essential because if students spend so much time learning these things after graduation, then they will fall behind.
Students do not want to depend upon theoretical knowledge of the world anymore, they want to get their hands-on experience on modern tools as early as possible. It is essential for them to gain exposure to tools they are likely to encounter in the future at their workplace.
Digital Future
By now, everyone must have realized that technology is here to stay, and it will be our future. You can see how every sector has adopted technology and will continue to do so. These sectors will be the workplace of the students in the future. And, if they don’t learn how to use technology to solve problems at work, they will be easily replaced by the ones who know. Also, knowing about technology is not enough, they should be able to use it at work to collaborate with others to create value or solve problems.
How to Adopt Technology in the Classroom?
We discussed why we should adopt technology in the classroom and how the future is all about going digital. So, now let’s focus on how to adopt the technology.
Create Awareness
The first and foremost thing to adopt technology in the classroom is creating awareness. The students, faculty, and staff should know why technology is being adopted. There should be sessions conducted to educate individuals about the benefits technology will bring to the classroom.
Along with benefits, in these sessions, it should be highlighted that if technology is not made a part of the learning session, then their students won’t be prepared for the competition in the real world. The students, faculty, and staff will be more willing to adopt technology when they understand how it will benefit them.
Simplify the Change Process
From your personal experiences, you all can agree that adopting changes is not easy. And, especially a major change like adopting technology in the classroom can be challenging. This could be one of the reasons why educational institutes are easily demotivated to adopt technology or upgrade it because they have to deal with resistance.
The change process should be simplified by understanding the needs of the people involved in it. This will help the educational institutes to implement technology with little to no disagreements.
Get Started
The most important thing to adopting technology in the classroom is getting started. The educational institute should start by adopting user-friendly technology. This will give time to both teachers and students to get used to studying with technology.
These technologies should have intuitive features so that students can learn easily. The other area where educational institutes should focus on is the Wi-Fi connections and charging stations. The classrooms should be planned and designed in such a way that they can facilitate learning to use technology.
Benefits to Students
So far, we have seen how technology can be adopted in the classroom. Now let’s check the benefits that technology will offer to the students. What type of information are you more likely to remember? The ones that you see in the form of video or the ones that you read in the form of words? I would say it’s the former. And, it is pretty obvious considering it’s our characteristic to remember images more than words. The students can learn in the classroom more interestingly and engagingly with the help of technology.
The technology also allows the student to adjust their learning experience based on their abilities. In simple words, students can customize technology to learn according to their needs. Not every student is similar, some can learn faster, while others take more time to understand.
In such cases, technology will help teachers to identify students who need more assistance with their studies. Adopting technology will also give flexibility to teachers and students. The hectic school schedules can be replaced with flexible schedules. We covered more on the topic in our article about how technology benefits teachers.
Things to Take Care Of While Adopting Technology
It is true that the adoption of technology can change the way students learn in classrooms. But technology can be a double-edged sword sometimes. To make sure students only stay on the positive side of the internet, teachers need to take care of a few things.
Make Sure It Is Not a Distraction
There are countless learning options available on the Internet. But there are also countless options available for distracting the students’ minds. From Addicted games to Adult material, everything is still a click away. Teachers must keep an eye on students’ activities in the classroom. Websites and platforms that are not appropriate for the students can be banned by using customized software options in the classroom.
Train Students To Use The Technology
We should not just pretend that students will figure out how to use the devices by themselves. It may sound silly but teachers must spend the initial days to train students on how to use technology and devices properly. Help can be taken even from the IT professional if modern tools are being used, which will ensure a smooth transition from traditional teaching methods to modern ones.
Choose The Right Tools
There are a plethora of options available in the market as new tools are being invented every day. And choosing just a few tools from the ocean of options can be a bit tricky. Teachers can research which type of tools will be suitable for the students and which one they will find the most productive. Here also, help from experts can be taken if the options look too confusing.
Conclusion
Our world is ever-changing, and it is our responsibility to prepare our students to keep up with changing times. We can start this by implementing technology in their classrooms and teaching them how to use it in the right way. While adopting technology, educational institutes should also keep in mind that traditional learning is not eliminated. Because it is important to retain traditional education practices as much as it is important to adopt technology in classrooms. By implementing modern technology, we will help our students to succeed in the dynamic environment and have a significant impact on their current learning.