Educational Technology - Module #2 (BED): Classroom Technology Tools & Trends

Module #2 (BED): Classroom Technology Tools & Trends

Classroom technology tools and trends are important as it can improves engagement, improves knowledge retention, encourages individual learning, encourages collaboration, students can learn useful life skills through technology, and also give benefits for teachers. It is important to acknowledge that students are already interested and engaged in using technology. This creates many amazing opportunities for schools and teachers to benefit from integrating some forms of technology in the classroom and to make teaching and learning more effective and interesting. Today, more than ever, the role of educational technology in teaching is of great importance because of the use of information and communication technologies. With the help of various applications for distance education, the Internet, teachers, and students themselves, they see the advantage of educational technology.

An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a large interactive display in the form factor of a whiteboard. It is one of the 21st century tool. It also can either be a standalone touchscreen computer used independently to perform tasks and operations, or a connectable apparatus used as a touch-pad to control computers from a projector. There are many benefits of using interactive whiteboards in the classroom. It can affect both the students and teachers positively if used correctly. The first benefit from using interactive whiteboard is it makes it easier for the teacher to structure lesson. The second benefit would be by using interactive whiteboard, it makes the learning process more fun if compared to the usual way. There are some creative ways to use the interactive whiteboard which is we can use Google Earth. Once installed, it can be helpful not only during geography lessons, but in almost every class. Explore the world, find rare plants and animals, discuss different cultures.  It can also be use to collaborate. IWBs allow students to interact with each other and with the teacher. For example, work on a project together, with different aspects done by different students, in front of a class. Not only will this engage the group, but also provide them with the visible fruits of their labors.

According to Wikipedia, Virtual Reality (VR) is an interactive computer-generated experience taking place within a simulated environment. It incorporates mainly auditory and visual feedback, but may also allow other types of sensory feedback like haptic. This immersive environment can be similar to the real world or it can be fantastical. It can actually be divided into two,  which is the simulation of a real environment for training and also education and the development of an imagined environment for a game or interactive story.

 

Bring your own device (BYOD) is one of the digital strategies. Bring your own device (BYOD)—also called bring your own technology (BYOT), bring your own phone (BYOP), and bring your own personal computer (BYOPC)—refers to the policy of permitting employees to bring personally owned devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their workplace, and to use those devices to access privileged company information and applications. Mobile apps allow for simple and better-to-manage solutions in many instances for school matter. Through BYOD, students can learn beyond the classroom walls. As students spend countless hours outside the classroom on their mobile devices, make it an advantages and  let them use these devices as engaging learning tools in the classroom.

Cloud computing according to Wikipedia is shared pools of configurable computer system resources and higher-level services that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort, often over the Internet. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar to a public utility. Cloud computing can increase speed and agility in an organization, stop spending money on running and maintaining data centers and go global in minutes. Cloud computing can increase accessibility especially in education.

Open educational resources are freely accessible, openly licensed text, media, and other digital assets that are useful for teaching, learning, and assessing as well as for research purposes. There is no universal usage of open file formats in OER. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.

  

From this module, I had learnt the classroom technology tools and trends. There are many benefits of the classroom technology tools and trends. Instructors can personalize the education experience. Next, it can also become an instant access to knowledge.