Technology provides instant accessibility to information, which is why its presence in the classroom is so vital. Smart phones, computers, and tablets are already an omnipresent element of everyday life for our students and teachers alike. It’s only natural that the use of technological devices in the classroom is explored to create meaningful learning experiences for students of all ages.
Integration of technology in lessons helped the use of technology to enhance the student learning experience. Utilising different types of technology in the classroom, including a virtual classroom, creates learners who are actively engaged with learning objectives. The implementation of technology also creates pathways for differentiated instruction to meet the unique needs of students as individual learners within a broader classroom environment.
Teachers often find success when they present the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. There are various benefits and effects when technology is used for educational instruction, and some may argue that not all of the effects are positive. Having an infinite flow of information and entertainment available at any given time could be seen as a distraction, but if technology is integrated into the classroom with routines in place that are monitored or assessed, the pros of using technology in the classroom outweigh the cons.
Active engagement is a key part of any lesson plan. Whether students are working independently or collaboratively, technology engages students because it is interactive.
Not all students learn and retain information in the same way or at the same speed. Technology is an opportunity for teachers to differentiate instruction to modify information for the appropriate learning capabilities of their students. The use of technology can also allow students to work at their own paces.
Technology has become its own form of literacy because of how often it is used in everyday life. Many careers use at least one aspect of Microsoft Office or Google Drive on a daily basis: balancing budgets on spreadsheets, creating decks or slide shows to be presented, or attaching documents to emails to communicate important information. Allowing our students to learn and refine these skills prepares them for life beyond the classroom.
The use of technology is managed during whole-class instruction to foster student engagement for auditory and visual learners. Integrating simple technologies, such as, power points, game-based activities, internet homework assignments, or online grading systems can be difference makers in students’ growth in the classroom.
Powerpoint presentations are used to introduce a classroom concept while providing the opportunity for engagement. Educational apps in the classroom like Kahoot can be used to review information after a lesson or unit. Posting homework assignments online via communication platforms like Class Dojo (Year 5&6) and MS Teams is one way by which many teachers can integrate technology in the classroom. Assignments are easily accessible, which can increase student engagement and help students become more organised. FS till Year 4 use Seesaw as Home work and communications App. students have the opportunity to share, present and reflect on their work. Communication is a key element in education that helps teachers, administrators, parents, and students recognise a student’s strengths and areas for improvement. Online grading systems such as PowerSchool open and facilitate lines of communication where teachers can post grades, analyse student attendance patterns, and manage transcript data.Technology allows teachers to implement differentiation throughout instruction. If each student is provided with a device, they can work at their own pace during assignments and teachers have the opportunity for one-on-one instruction. Students can find QR codes of practice work or challenging topics as per the students needs.Software such as Seesaw allows parents to manage and organise their communication.Parents can receive updates from teachers about important announcements, newsletters, and discussions that keep frequent lines of communication open.
The benefits of technology can enhance any contemporary classroom. However, the way technology is implemented and used in classrooms of various grade levels and content areas will differ.
For younger students, technology is used to build fundamental skills to prepare them for future independent learning. Students use interactive games to reinforce Math, spelling, phonetic, and reading skills. Sites like Spelling City permit students or teachers to upload their own word lists to practice word pronunciation and create interactive games. Sites like readworks.org, readtheory.org, commonlit.org, edcite.org, nearpod, padlet, Renaissance Programme (myon), twinkl, google forms, spellingcity, vocabulary.com, collins connect , Assignments on Microsoft Teams and Seesaw (Year 3 and 4)
Parents use these sites to exercise fundamental skills beyond the walls of the classroom.Oxford Buddy helps children read age appropriate books and set targets to track progress in reading. Education City helps students practise Maths concepts in a fun way.Coding resources like Bee Bots,www.code.org encourage children to develop the skills to design, write and debug programs and also to use logical reasoning to explain how simple algorithms work.
As students begin to take steps to transform into independent thinkers, they use technology to develop basic life skills. Students at the middle school level gain independence by having different teachers for each subject. Using technology to acquire skills such as conducting research are applied to many content areas. Teachers and students using some websites like www.mathisfun.com , www.ixlmath.com , www.savemyexam.com etc. Beside these websites use of QR codes, powerpoint presentations, online math games, quizzes are frequently used for teaching and learning.Sites like readworks.org, readtheory.org, commonlit.org, edcite.org, nearpod, padlet, Renaissance Programme (myon), twinkl, google forms, spellingcity, vocabulary.com, collins connect , Assignments on Microsoft Teams and Seesaw.
Once students reach their secondary education, they can discover ways to use technology that can be beneficial for college and career development. Teachers often find success when they present the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. There are various benefits and effects when technology is used for educational instruction and some may argue that not all of the effects are positive. Active engagement is a key part of any lesson plan. Whether students are working independently or collaboratively, technology engages students because it is interactive. Not all students learn and retain information in the same way or at the same speed. Technology is an opportunity for teachers to differentiate instruction to modify information for the appropriate learning capabilities of their students. The use of technology can also allow students to work at their own paces.
The use of technology during whole-class instruction can foster student engagement for auditory and visual learners. Integrating technologies like multimedia PowerPoints, Games, Quizizz, Exit pass, imindmap(MindMiester), internet homework assignments (MS Teams, Zoom, Google classroom, NearPod), or online grading systems, Padlet, Google translate, classtools.net, QRcodes, MS Office, Google drive, twinkl, ChatGPT, Small blogs , Youtube(Teachertube), Mastery Science STEAM learning, BBC Bitesize, National geography for kids,Phet Simulation, Virtual labs, Capcut,Canva, emaze, powtoon,digitalaudioconnect,readworks.org,readtheory.org,commonlit.org,edcite.org,Renaissance Programme (myon),spellingcity, vocabulary.com, collins connect,Seesaw, ict lounge, python programiz, gcse bitEsize etc can be difference makers in students’ growth in the classroom.
Powerpoint presentations can be used to introduce a classroom concept while providing the opportunity for engagement. Educational apps in the classroom like Kahoot, Quizizz can be used to review information after a lesson or unit. Teachers can create and share Kahoots and Quizizz with one another while students can create anonymous user names to participate in the game. This allows for whole-class participation from students who may usually be reluctant to participate in class. Google forms offer a great tool for creating surveys, quizzes, and other forms quickly and easily. Posting homework assignments online (via learning platforms like MS Teams, Google classroom, NearPod and Moodle) is one way many teachers can begin to integrate technology in the classroom. Online grading systems such as MS Teams, Zoom , are open and facilitate lines of communication where teachers can post grades, analyze student attendance patterns, and manage transcript data.Padlet is just like a cork board that allows the students to share their ideas with each other. It will enable you to share your unique ideas in class or home group research sessions with your friends and class fellows. Google Translate is a helpful tool for students as it helps them to look up phrases and words and is also helpful for EAL learners.Classtools.net is a website with a collection of many free educational games, quizzes, activities and diagrams you can create in a very short time.QR codes can be used to share materials with students and to engage students in active learning activities. For classrooms that are fortunate enough to have tablets, ipad, laptops, smartphones for students, technology can allow teachers to implement differentiation throughout instruction. Students can work at their own pace during assignments and teachers have the opportunity for one-on-one instruction.A digital take on brainstorming, there are websites you can use to create clear and detailed mind maps faster than written ones. For example, many teachers use MindMeister, as its features are designed for students and educators. In a few minutes, you can create forms and polls using applications such as Socrative,Google Forms, SurveyMonkey and Poll Everywhere.Saving ten minutes at the end of class for exit tickets opens the door for easy technology use. Exit tickets can take the form of Online Journal Entries ,Slideshow Comments , Tweets Exit tickets are not only quick from a student perspective, but you should find them easy to introduce and oversee. Blogging can be a creative outlet for students, lending itself especially well to language arts classes and other writing-heavy subjects. There are free templates and comprehensive privacy settings on platforms such as WordPress, which you can use to host each student’s blog for poems, short essays and diary entries.When it comes time to start a new project, give students a list of options to choose from. The projects can involve Designing web content,Putting together ebooks,Creating original artwork,Composing musical tunes andCrafting multimedia products.OpenAI’s blog post identifies four ways real teachers are using ChatGPT, including role-playing conversations, building classroom materials, providing English language assistance for non-English speakers, and teaching students about critical thinking. Use Chat GPT to generate feedback that is tailored to each student’s needs and goals. Many careers use at least one aspect of Microsoft Office or Google Drive on a daily basis: balancing budgets on spreadsheets, creating decks or slide shows to be presented, or attaching documents to emails to communicate important information. Allowing students to learn and refine these skills prepares them for life beyond the classroom.You can bolster your lesson plans by using videos as stand-alone overviews for some topics.TeacherTube is an example of an education-only version of YouTube, covering core school subjects. It is designed to allow those in the educational industry, particularly teachers, to share educational resources such as video, audio, documents, photos, groups and blogs.
The evidence in this paper shows that technology has a positive effect on student learning expectations and outcomes. The technology has a positive effect on student learning expectations and outcomes. Technology integration is shown to be effective in all age groups and is also shown to be helpful for students with special learning needs. To reiterate, technology integration has the following benefits: 1) increased student motivation; 2) increased student engagement; 3) increased student collaboration; 4, increased hands-on learning opportunities; 5) allows for learning at all levels; 6) increased confidence in students, and 6) increased technology skills.