Long gone are the days when cell phones were banned in all classrooms. Now students in some schools are encouraged to learn on their mobile devices through educational programs that integrate the very tech that used to be so taboo in schools. If students are going to be working in an increasingly technologically advanced world, then it only makes sense to give them as much knowledge and experience with these tools as possible as early on as we can.
Portable Computers
Recent research has found that when schools provided student PC equipment for home and in the classroom, there was an improvement in English, science, and math, as well as several other subjects. The study concluded that students received feedback and revisions on their work more frequently and having access to a wider range of resources allowed them to write more broadly. Work was also shared and collaborated on more often than with a traditional textbook approach. Laptops also provide a faster way to take and collate notes, and notes can be shared and improved upon in group settings far easier than handwritten notes. The biggest advantage to having a laptop for school must be the access to information that an internet-connected device provides students, providing almost infinite access to notes, information, and educational tools.
Smart Pens
The smart pen is an impressive tool that takes note keeping to the next level. While functioning as a traditional pen, it also loads your notes onto a linked digital device. It achieves this by connecting itself to smart software that records the notes as you take them and converts them to digital text that is displayed on the linked device, which can be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer. Once you have finished recording your notes, you can use the provided software to upload your notes to a word processor and edit them digitally. This allows almost instant collaboration between partners, or even when submitting work for proofreading or editing. Teachers can instantly mark submissions and provide notes with feedback on the same document.
Digital Books
As devices like e-readers and tablets become more widely adopted, the access to and convenience of digital textbooks is pronounced. The digital versions of books are often cheaper, streamlined, lighter, and easier to carry around. Your e-book reader will never get heavier, even when its memory is filled with thousands of books. For money-conscious students, there are many online resources that facilitate more cost-effective ways of accessing digital books, lessons, and exercises, and there are even opportunities for internships. Some schools and universities have even adopted fully digital courses, where all the materials have been digitized and made available to students electronically.
We owe it to tomorrow’s generation to equip them to use tomorrow’s technologies. Careful consideration has to go into deciding how to best prepare them for that world, and that begins today. Enrichment and familiarity with the latest tools in education will go a long way in that preparation and teaming up with a school that shares your forward-thinking vision and adoption of tech will provide the best foundation for the students of tomorrow.