For today’s learners, critical thinking and expertise with technology will be far more important skills compared to memory and fact retention. For this reason, it is important to recognise how our lessons can help students become more confident with using technology, and how educational furniture in Australia can also change to meet this demand.
It is important that technology in the classroom is monitored for student safety and is done purposefully to teach students the necessary skills for engaging in the 21st Century. At Abax Kingfisher, we develop classroom furniture Sydney schools can use to implement technology more effectively in the classroom.
Here are our top suggestions for how technology can improve your lessons:
Power points and Interactivity
Power points are a great way to add some flair to a standard lecture. In the time of blended and online learning, Power Points can effectively summaries information for students, and they can scroll through at their own pace if they get confused. In a whole-class environment, interactive tools such as Kahoot, Google Forms and Poll Everywhere can help all students engage at once, and give immediate feedback to the teacher. This strongly democratizes the standard hands-up and class discussion approaches by allowing each student to participate discretely and at their own pace.
Online Homework Assignments
Student learning and homework can also be distributed in an online environment. This reduces the risk of students losing a worksheet, and it is much easier to provide immediate feedback. Platforms such as Blackboard, Canvas and Google Classroom all have this functionality.
Online Grading Systems
For subjects which still do require fact recollection, many platforms such as Canvas and Google Forms enable the creation of automated quizzes where students receive graded feedback immediately after submission. These are a great option for the simple facts and formulas which students need to know before moving onto the more complex concepts.
Classroom Tablets
For schools lucky enough to supply individual tablets for students, these can quickly become an invaluable tool to improve student outcomes. Tablets can be a great replacement for notebooks as all information is saved both on the tablet itself and on the cloud, so students can access it whenever they like. These are great for creative subjects that require nonlinear planning, such as design, music or language arts.
In our modern day society, technological literacy is more important than ever. By understanding how technology can make the lives of teachers and students that little bit easier, your classroom will also become one which prepares students for the reality of work and study in contemporary times.
