Online learning during the pandemic became a default in many areas of the world but many educators didn’t have the background or the knowledge to take full advantage of EdTech tools and techniques. Too often, teaching online followed the traditional frontal teaching formula – with the only difference being that the teacher was in front of the classroom digitally instead of in a real classroom. Using EdTech, however, can be as easy as accessing the FairGo casino login to play online games.
The educational system has come to the realization that it needs to adapt to meet the new technology, not just for pandemic learning but in order to create learning experiences that appeal and engage 21st century students. Educational programs are scrambling to teach both current teachers and students in schools of education how to use the new technologies to increase learning and retention among students of all ages.
Advantages of EdTech learning
The Australian Office of Educational Technology is committed to “change teaching and learning to provide more equitable access and opportunities for every learner.” They believe that EdTech can
- Provide a better interactive experience during the teaching and the learning process
- Provide students with access to an unlimited amount of data and information from many different sources
- Give students an entryway into digital literacy
- Reduce educational costs
- Provide better evaluative tools to gain more insight into student performance
- Allow each student to learn at his/her own pace
Many companies are actively working to create more and better EdTech tools that will make learning easier and more engaging for students of all ages. Some of the best EdTech tools of the 21st century include:
Google Drive and Google Classroom LMS
Google Drive and the Google Classroom Learning Management System offers educators an entire array of interactive and interconnected digital tools that give students the ability to create textual and visual presentations, share their work, solicit peer feedback and keep everything organized in one easy-to-manage digital location. For teachers, the advantages of using Google mean that the teacher can easily manage materials and resources in one location while tracking assignments and sending feedback.
Google Classroom interfaces with apps so it’s easy to give assignments that ask students to create visual or textual materials on either other Google apps or outside apps (complete a Quizlet quiz, create a Canva poster, etc).
The Google apps themselves provide teachers and students with easy opportunities to create and archive information. Some of these tools include:
Google docs
Google Docs includes documents, forms, presentations and spreadsheets that give students an easy way to create, archive and share information. Each Google user has an account which s/he can use to store documents in Cloud so that the work can be accessed by anyone who the creator shares it with. Users can insert text, links, videos and images into any of these documents to illustrate the material being studied.
Google voice
The Google Voice recording tool gives users the opportunity to record themselves to create audio presentations, record a song or poem, practice reading or foreign language skills, etc.
Blogger
The Google Blogger offers students an easy online “space” where they can collect and archive their material to be retrieved at a later date. Every entry is dated so the student, the teacher or classmates can scroll through the blogger, watch the progressions of the submissions
Google draw
A great and fun tool for users of any age to use to illustrate ideas, stories, concepts and other material. The online drawing tools are easy to use and the finished product can then be embedded into a Google Doc/presentation or in a blogger page to add some pizzaz to the written material.
YouTube
Anyone with a mobile phone can make a YouTube video which can then be shared with the world. The basic video upload is free and once the video is uploaded, it generates a URL that can be shared or inserted into a document/blogger page. It’s also possible to create a video by saving a PowerPoint presentation as a WMV (Windows Media Video) file and then uploading it to YouTube as a video.
Google maps
Geography, history, and social studies have never been as fun, exciting, and interactive as they are now thanks to the Google Maps tool. Using Google Maps the class can explore any area of the world with close-up photos and up to date information about the site’s location, distance from other sites, other places of interest in the vicinity, etc.
There’s also a Google Tour Creator that gives students the chance to experience sites and locations in 3D. Users create their tours using images from Google Street View or their own 360 photos. The photos are uploaded into the Google library and the student can then use them to create a tour with a route or focusing on one particular site. If you don’t have VR tech, Google Cardboard can be used to make a VR headset to move the tour forward.
In addition to Google Classroom and Google Drive tools, some other interactive EdTech tools that can be used in a classroom for students of any age include:
Canva
Canva is a simple graphics tool that students can use to create an image that illustrates a concept or subject. The basic Canva tool is free and allows anyone to use a saved image or upload their own and add text and other visual enhancements. Students can create logos, resumes, business cards, flyers, certificates, wallpaper, infographics and other images. Text can be added to an image so that students can describe what they’ve learned for a more creative design.
Many educators encourage students to use Canva to make material come to life through exploration, innovation, and engagement in new ways of displaying what they’ve learned.
Quizlet
Teachers have always tried to create games to enhance learning and now, there’s an online tool that makes it even easier to learn and retain information through an engaging game-like learning atmosphere.
Quizlet is an online quiz but it’s set up in such a way that teachers can use it to help students review material in an engaging and interactive manner. The teacher can create his/her own quiz about any type of material for learners of any age or can choose from any of the thousands of archived quizzes that other educators have created in the past. Students complete the quiz, competing against themselves or against their peers. Students who are learning from home can participate as well – the quizzes can be completed with students working in pairs, in groups or, if they wish, independently.
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