It is an accepted fact that technology can no longer stay outside the classroom. However, the more important issue that modern schools must now address is how to use its vast potential effectively to actually benefit the students. Sure, technology can become distracting at times where students may indulge in entertainment videos rather than the educational ones on YouTube but the solution is never to block the website on the school’s network and hand over documentary DVDs. That method is obsolete. Instead, YouTube must stay open but students must receive adequate guidance to direct their focus in the right areas.
Here are 6 ways in which the top boarding school in Sonepat infuses technology into its classrooms. The goal is certainly to raise the educational benchmark but improve the engagement factor as well.
- Give students free rein with technology
Autonomy is a powerful motivator. If students get their free rein to decide the topic they want to learn from the internet, education will no longer be monotonous. Schools can keep a specific time of the week to allow their students to research on their own free will and come up with reports on whatever they learned. This method cultivates curiosity and then feeds it and students learn to use technology for its intended purpose without any considerable direction or supervision.
- Let them decide the technology they want
Do the students want to learn from eBooks? Or do they want to watch an animated video? Is the preference towards accompanying audio or does the class learn better in the IT lab? Instead of deciding for the students as to which classroom technology is suitable for them, schools should keep the options open and allow their students to decide. When the class wants to watch a video, the smartboard can come into play. But if they want first-hand experience, the laboratory should be open as well.
- Programming cannot simply be on paper
Visualization is one aspect that technology has really enforced in education. The top 10 school in Sonepat that knows how to effectively implement technology into their classrooms will thus teach programming with the help of robotics where the students can see their codes come to life. The complicated programs can still stay on paper, but schools must also devote considerable resources to teach students through robotics and data analytics where they will have the scope to solve real-life problems with coding.
- Turn lessons into games
Today, there are online Sudoku applications that can teach mathematics, crosswords that can aid English education, websites that challenge students with customized economics problems, and puzzles that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving. With the help of technology, teachers can, at times, turn their lessons into games. Students can engage in healthy competition with each other within the class hours to pick up the intended knowledge in a different and fun way.
- Make learning collaborative
Email and chatting platforms have really made communication instantaneous. Most brilliant ideas today take shape and are discussed online without the involved people actually meeting. Under controlled supervision, such interactive applications can become modes of collaborative learning where students and teachers can share information and ideas with a large group without much hassle. The link to a good documentary can easily be circulated over an email newsletter. Students can also learn from one another through their online study groups.
- Project-based learning should lead the way
Setting students projects that are partly related to their school syllabus and allowing them to research using the vast resources available on the internet is indeed the best way to integrate technology into education. Any good school in the Sonepat school list will lead their EdTech strategy with this learning technique. With projects, teachers can again handover the freedom of education to the students and allow them to use technology to present their ideas. PowerPoint presentations or enacted videos, anything can be allowed in the classrooms.
Swarnprastha Public School is a leading name in the Sonepat area that has mastered the art of effectively infusing technology into its educational curriculum. The school is part of NITI AAYOG’s Atal Tinkering Lab which looks to build robotics, 3D printing, and IoT skills in students. Swarnprastha has also joined hands with Microsoft Imagine Academy to teach its students futuristic IT skills like app development, data science, cloud technology, and much more. These resources enter the SPS classrooms in the ways mentioned above and pave the way for students to draw the full essence of educational technology. So, select that school for your child where technology does not end with a mere smartboard. Today’s students require much more exposure than that.
