Unfortunately, what technology has conquered in the last few decades wasn’t as closely followed by the educational systems as it should. Aside from a few bright stars, public schools are still largely dependent on methods and procedures that should have lost their validity two decades ago. There are examples of resourceful teachers who are applying all the benefits of digitalized world in their classrooms, but for the most of them it is constant struggle to fit between what they know and what new skills thy should acquire.
Freedom of Learning
One of recurring problems that many teachers struggle with is inability to realize how much the world has changed in so little time. It is not uncommon to meet even younger teachers who are using all sorts of mobile devices to find it difficult to introduce new technology in their lecturing style. The old, and what has been learned and established means safety and the new means uncertainty. But if you feel threatened by technologically-adept kids, why not exploit that dimension and let them learn in the best possible way they know – using technology. Learning something via a smartphone app or interactive presentation is more effective than a textbook.
Learning through Play
Those who are skeptical about technology often say that children spend too much time in front of their screens, playing computer games that serve nothing. While moderation is necessary in all aspects of childhood, one can get equally sick if one trained sports for eight hours a day, as one would playing games. There is a number of useful sites where children can learn different subject through playing, which can improve their general knowledge and even prepare them for exams. Showing your students that you are willing to adopt technologies they use, you are showing that you understand them and are willing to help them.
Technology didn’t only made teachers’ job easier, but it is making progress towards becoming an essential part of their work. Using the younger generations’ dependency on digital technologies, teachers are finding new ways to implement them in their classrooms in order to achieve the best results possible, like using NAPLAN resources for improving students’ problem solving capacity. There are even sites that provide free lesson plans that help making more creative and interesting lessons. In addition, a number of sites offer online tutelage not only for kids, but also for primary school teachers who are working towards getting better in what they do.
There is virtually not limit when it comes to online research and information gathering. Among the most famous sites like Wikipedia, Wikibooks and Wikiversity, there are some more infamous like Gradesaver and Sparknotes which have been the last ditch for students who missed to get their grasp on novels for their literature classes. The infamy however comes from misuse and abrupt copying the content, as it would be with every online source. If it is free, is should be checked and double checked, because such freedom and accessibility inevitably means a lot of rewritten and repacked content.
The future is already here, as many universities and educational institutions offer full online courses for those incapacitated, proving that online learning is possible for everyone.