Remember the days when you would sit in a classroom
listening to the monotone voice of a teacher buzzing in the air and fight a
bout of sleepiness? How many times did
you have to mentally shake yourself awake or wish that bell would ring?
Today, however, teachers can engage their students in a
variety of ways using technology. Many
teachers have found that the implement of educational technology in their
learning environment encourages students to learn. If you are looking for ideas to attract your
students’ attention, here are some things to consider.
Learning Management
Systems
Learning management systems use a variety of technology
tools to keep students interested in the subject being taught. These systems may combine the use of online
videos, clickers, managing groups, and blackboards to encourage class
participation. Teachers can monitor
students’ responses and upload related material within seconds to every
student’s monitor or tablet.
One of the advantages of using learning management systems
is that you can learn more about your students’ individual learning
styles. As you know, some students learn
best through auditory methods while others learn better when they use hands-on
methods. These systems use a combination
of teaching methods which engage students, regardless of their learning
style. You can incorporate colorful
images, videos, and text that catch students’ attention and keep them
entertained as they are learning.
Students can also use their monitor to send feedback and questions to
you instead of raising their hand. This
facilitates more student participation since some students do not feel
comfortable drawing attention to themselves in the classroom, and builds upon
the teacher/student relationship.
Educational
Technology Instigates Learning
Using educational technology in your classroom will
instigate learning among your students, encouraging them
to explore the world around them and think about what they are seeing and
hearing. Ideas of how to engage students that partner excellently with LMS are
discussed thoroughly by Jeff
Dunn on edudemic.com in a recent and well utilized article. His approach to
learning is based around the ideas that though we have these tools to use,
there are still ways to keep students engaged instead of distracted.
Personal Response Systems
Personal response systems, also simply known as clickers,
are an effective tool in the classroom.
Similar to those used on game shows, you can show students a question on
the large screen and then ask them to click in their answer. The answers immediately alert you to concepts
that the students are struggling with, so that you can slow down the day’s lesson
to explain the concept in greater detail.
In this way, instruction becomes more customized and students will be
able to comprehend issues that in a traditional setting they would have
struggled with.
Desktop Sharing
Every teacher has at least one or two students (maybe more)
in their class who never speak up. For
some students, the idea of speaking out loud in a classroom is just too
stressful. For others, they may worry
that students will laugh at them, or they may struggle with putting their
thoughts into speech. Desktop sharing
can bridge those gaps, giving students another alternative to
speaking—writing. Writing gives
students time to think about what they want to say and then correct their
speech as they write down their opinion, strengthening their writing
skills.
Presentation
Technology
Technology can encourage the creative side of your
students. For example, you could form
groups and then assign them to come up with a presentation of a specific
concept, or topic, using technology.
This gives students the opportunity to apply what you have been teaching
them and then expand upon the information, conducting independent research and
putting that data into a visual presentation using a variety of programs. Students learn to work together, preparing
them for a work environment, and gives them experience with public speaking
while letting them put their own angle on the subject.
For instance, if you were teaching a history class and the
focus was on World War II, you could assign one group of students to put
together a presentation on German battle strategy, one group to focus on
American strategy, and one group to talk about British strategy.
Author Bio
Brian Jensen
works with Dell. In his spare time he enjoys
traveling, cooking and spending time with his family. He has a passion for
learning and writing about all things technology. He is currently researching
Learning Management Systems and would recommend visiting dell.com for more information.
Engaging lessons, keeping students active and part of the class, and using projects.
