How to Implement Teaching Technologies in Universities
Those who teach primary education have already noticed that increasingly, little ones grow up immersed in a digital culture. But this close contact with technology is not exclusive to children. Most young people today have grown up connected to the internet; however, they have faced a lot of resistance from teachers to adopt teaching technologies in the classroom. Now, they are at university and often find it difficult to concentrate on classes.
However, there is a way to implement teaching technologies at universities. It is possible to detect problems when the college does not follow the modern form of learning and refuses to adopt new resources to grab the attention of students. The problem in these cases is that the dynamics inside and outside the classroom don’t interact with each other.
While daily students are used to getting all kinds of content formats and researching their doubts, the room is in a cast and continues to follow the traditional format. At the same time, today, it is possible to learn languages in apps, for example.
In other words, it is almost impossible for the student to be interested in the contents since the way of teaching is so different from what they are used to. Therefore, in today’s article, we will show how to implement teaching technologies at the university and attract more students’ attention.
Introducing Use of Technology in Education
First of all, it is important to say that many teachers are already taking advantage of technology in school. This happens a lot in basic education and has helped to make children and teenagers more aware of the possibilities and limitations of the internet and other tools.
The use of applications to gamify classes, for example, has become increasingly common. As well as the use of audiovisual resources in the classroom, WhatsApp groups of the class and personalized exercises according to the student’s learning. On platforms such as Google Classroom and Digital School, teachers can train themselves to use these tools and find tools to improve classes and learning.
Likewise, higher education has tried to adapt to new developments in the area of education. Despite some resistance, especially among more traditional teachers, innovative initiatives are already beginning to transform university education around the world.
Below we have listed out the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies for teaching. But before that, let us take a look at the importance of adapting technology to teaching.
Importance of Technology for Teaching
First of all, it is worth talking about some experiences that are already being applied in many universities across the country and around the world. And nowadays, it is practically impossible to talk about teaching technologies without mentioning distance education. Considered one of the main innovations in the area, it has helped to democratize access to higher education, offering a graduation opportunity for those who live far from urban centers or do not have time to attend a traditional college.
Also, techniques such as hybrid teaching contribute to more dynamic and flexible classes and are opportunities to merge classroom teaching with distance learning.
Finally, other interesting practices have been incorporated into the classroom routine. For example:
- platforms with extra exercises and material for consultation;
- delivery of works over the internet;
- classroom support applications, to be accessed by cell phone;
- social networks as a space for debate about content;
- eBooks and newsletters.
In addition to several other tools that are still not so common but have the potential to contribute a lot to college training, such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
The first contributes to the students being able to see things up close that they would not be able to witness personally in a traditional college setting. The second, on the other hand, helps in the correction of exercises, can answer questions at home and also help in complex research.
Benefits of technology in teaching
All of this has numerous advantages. After all, incorporating teaching technologies into the daily life of the university can have a transforming impact on the routine of teachers and students.
For students, it is easier to recover the content of classes missed, to do extra activities in case of greater difficulty in a certain subject, in addition to the facility to fill out complementary credits with distance learning disciplines.
It also improves the dynamics of the classes and the attention to what is going on, as this modernization can be an ally to break with the dull routine of some traditional classes.
Among teachers, technology can speed up the correction of tests (when they are applied online, for example), in addition to contributing to a more engaged and interested group.
Implementation challenges
The implementation of teaching technologies, however, can be an obstacle for many universities. We must not forget that teachers need training and the platforms used depend on infrastructure.
Also, all students must have access to computer labs to access digital content. After all, we still live in a world of immense inequality, and many people do not have access to computers with internet at home. Likewise, the virtual learning environment needs to be available 24 hours a day, with a friendly design and good usability, to be easy to navigate.
Teachers, in turn, need to have mastery of the tools and an easy-to-use platform to exploit the full capabilities of this instrument. Since many are still prejudiced against the use of technology in the classroom or are from a previous generation, who did not use the internet so much in their training. In these cases, it is up to the institution to provide training to teachers, in addition to providing a virtual library, with audiovisual resources, articles and other resources that are relevant to the areas taught.
It is also important to conduct periodic surveys on the use of available technologies, to receive feedback from employees and students on the performance of the available platforms. Only with this technique can teaching technologies be used to stimulate innovation in the classroom. And if you liked to know more about the topic, share this text on social networks. It can inspire teachers and educational institutions to apply the advantages of this tool to their everyday selves!
7 Tips on How to Use Technology in The Classroom and Motivate Students
As we have established so far, one of the constant concerns of teachers and school managers is to achieve effective and quality learning for their students. With the technological devices disseminated in most everyday situations, educational institutions can incorporate technology in the classroom and improve the teaching methodology, without spending much.
Also, teachers need to work with certain levels of modernization to retain the attention of students who are already born in this world, using cellphones, tablets, and even social networks from an early age.
Due to this far and widespread application, technologies aimed at learning allow to guarantee the diversity of information and multiply the possibilities and ways of providing knowledge. The great challenge is that, due to the countless facilities generated by technological devices and how they can fascinate young people, their handling needs to be effective, without scaring them away.
Mastering these technologies and their capabilities can be the key to achieving a successful level of education. Check out seven important tips to use these mechanisms in the classroom and motivate your students with innovative teaching.
Understand the Specific Challenges
Technologies can be great friends in teaching, but they must be used wisely by teachers. Countless challenges within a college can be overcome with these devices, but it is important to identify them before applying.
Correcting assessments can be challenging for teachers. But today, there are already online platforms where student supervision worksheets can be created. The data can be shared, making accessible a complete analysis of the student’s development in different disciplines and being followed by parents.
Another challenge may be, for example, the lack of space for a computer room. The situation can be solved by installing projectors and computers in the classrooms, making the spaces interactive. If the problem is students’ lack of attention, technologies should attractively convey the content.
Value the “Hypertext” Technique
Little perceived, but widely used, hypertext on the internet consists of linking different platforms that address the same content, enriching the subject. This technique has been easily assimilated by the generation of digital natives; people born in this culture. A good alternative to stimulate learning and make it attractive is to apply hypertext to the teaching methodology.
When approaching a certain subject, the teacher can offer complementary texts, photos, sounds, and videos to illustrate the content and answer questions. This possibility can be explored by the teacher using a projector or even in computer rooms. Each student accesses the same link for monitoring and can interact with the content.
Enable New Forms of Assessment
Often, written tests may not be ideal for a particular subject, such as language or science learning, which requires illustrative images and sounds. In this case, the ideal is to use mechanisms that allow a practical evaluation and stimulate creativity through videos, music, podcasts, blogs, and even encourage the students’ production.
Providing different ways to express what they have learned is an effective way of valuing personal characteristics and skills. This is also a way of stimulating creativity and valuing the conscious and beneficial use of available technologies.
Make Good Use of The Internet
The internet provides a world of possibilities for students. As with other content, its use must be taught by teachers. In all stages of learning, teachers must encourage reliable sites, the comparison of information, and the provision of research sources.
Another way to enhance the internet is to use educational sites to bring different activities aimed at assimilating content. In addition to teaching about cultural issues, they can contribute to vocabulary acquisition, the expansion of the worldview, and the fixation of different contents. The internet can also be a means of communication with students from other schools and countries, making a productive exchange of knowledge possible.
Use Social Networks
Those who believe that social networks only harm students’ performance at school are wrong. Creating a specific virtual space for the exchange of ideas and solving small doubts can be an efficient form of communication and exchange of experiences.
These media also serve as a channel to provide extra content, which goes beyond the materials given in the classroom and encourages the student to know more about a certain subject. It is also a way to provide support materials to help with homework and accompany those students who have more difficulties.
Encourage Publication of Works
Another way to use technologies in the classroom is to encourage the publication of materials produced by students. Many disciplines or areas of study require, for example, that texts, abstracts, or even presentation slides be written. After being corrected, a positive attitude of the teacher is to encourage the publication of these materials.
The school can provide blogs or channels to disseminate material, making an archive of what has already been produced. For example, for videos, a tip for motivating students is the organization of events where these materials will be reproduced for other students and/or parents. The best productions can also be sent to national and international student competitions.
Try to Combine Fun with Learning
A technology that draws students’ attention and makes them learn without realizing it is that of games. Video games (or online games) can improve students’ logical thinking and concentration, making them look for different strategies to solve the problems posed and memorize what was taught.
This method can be applied at the end of a class or of certain content, allowing the assimilation of terms, facts, rules, or even to relieve the tensions of the themes worked due to the games’ informality.
Final Thoughts
Do you understand why the use of teaching technologies is so important in the classroom? Even more when we are talking about universities? Some large educational institutions, for example, are already aware of this change in the profile of students and how to arouse interest in the content taught. At the same time, to keep up with this change, teachers also need to be prepared, seeking constant training.
If you like this article, see others like it: