How can technology improve elementary education

With the help of digital simulations and models, teachers are not only able to prepare lessons in an efficient manner, but also know the progress of their students.

There is software available with which teachers can give or receive assessments of their students in real-time. Such software is made to help teachers stay updated with all records, for instance, the number of learning assignments given, how much time students need to solve a problem, etc. It is a way of helping teachers know how much time a particular question requires from some students, and if they're getting better; if not, what further efforts should be made for their improvement.

Needless to say, self-paced learning is another big advantage that students enjoy with the emergence of technology in the education industry. When they opt to learn a specific concept and confronting any difficulty, there is no need to just skip it off.

Although there are some quick learners who are capable of adapting quickly, there are some others who take considerable time to absorb an idea. Such students are blessed with the idea of technology being part of their learning; now they can easily pace up with their peers with the complete understanding of developed lessons and online curriculum that is exclusively designed for them. It is a fact that a student learns more when he practices.

The use of technology has made things a lot more fun than ever. Students are getting engaged in so many learning tasks that improve their retention of new concepts. Since the introduction of computers, tablets, and mobile phones, there has been a great scope of education applications that allow learners to learn various concepts in a playful manner. Moreover, they can access to live streaming videos online to better understand an idea, subject, or concept.

The idea of group study has been improvised in the cyber world. There, not only students can discuss and chat, but also share documents and notes. This practice turns out to be a great option if you are assigned a group project. In this technologically revolutionized world, there are numerous free options available from different prestigious universities.

No matter where you are, you can simply access the internet through your device and look for your options. As far as we know, technology is here to stay and develop. There are more revolutions that are expected in the industry, so you need to be ready for every new update. We use cookies in order to personalize your experience, display relevant advertising, offer social media sharing capabilities and analyze our website's performance. Blended learning: Blended learning opportunities incorporate both face-to-face and online learning opportunities.

The degree to which online learning takes place, and the way it is integrated into the curriculum, can vary across schools. Online learning has the potential to improve educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning, taking advantage of learning time outside of school hours, reducing the cost of instructional materials, and better utilizing teacher time.

These strategies can be particularly useful in rural areas where blended or online learning can help teachers and students in remote areas overcome distance. Open educational resources: Open educational resources are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain and are freely available to anyone over the Web. They are an important element of an infrastructure for learning and range from podcasts to digital libraries to textbooks and games.

It is critical to ensure that open educational resources meet standards of quality, integrity, and accuracy—as with any other educational resource—and that they are accessible to students with disabilities. Use digital resources well: Schools can use digital resources in a variety of ways to support teaching and learning. Electronic grade books, digital portfolios, learning games, and real-time feedback on teacher and student performance, are a few ways that technology can be utilized to power learning.

Toggle navigation U. Department of Education. Student Loans Grants Laws Data. Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning. State operated The Florida Virtual School — An online school that provides full-time learning opportunities to students in grades K Districts can also work with Florida Virtual School to provide blended learning opportunities to students by enabling them to access online courses from school sites. Additional link here. Utah Electronic High School — An year-old online high school providing a range of courses to students year round.

The school can award diplomas to students who are home-schooled, have dropped out, or are ineligible to graduate from a traditional high school for specific reasons. North Carolina Virtual Public School — An online high school offering courses to students both during and after the school day. The courses offered include Advanced Placement and honors courses, world languages, electives, credit recovery, and online college courses. The school also provides test preparation and career planning services to students.

District operated Karval Online Education — A public K online school for Colorado residents that provides a free computer for the family to use while the student is enrolled and provides reimbursement opportunities to offset Internet and other educational expenses. Dual credit courses are available to juniors and seniors. Families of enrolled students are loaned a computer and receive subsidized Internet access, as well as materials including CDs, videos, instructional materials, and hands-on tools and resources to complement the interactive online elements of the program.

Tuition is only required for students enrolled in summer school courses. Some great tools for this are Screencast-O-Matic and Jing.

In addition, Evernote is a powerful note-taking tool that can be accessed through any Internet-enabled device through a web browser or the mobile app. It allows users to record audio notes, and it can be a great way to provide personalized feedback to students.

Teachers can share these recordings, which are embedded in notes created through the app or website, with students through email.

This can be a great way to keep students updated on their progress or to provide feedback on a particular assignment asynchronously. Because the feedback is recorded, students can also rewind and relisten for better comprehension or to refer back to if they like. Please note, all of these kinds of tools require that students have access to Internet-enabled devices on a regular basis and that they hand in their work digitally.

For more on using technology to provide feedback to students, you can read this blog post: " Using Tech Tools to Provide Timely Feedback. Our students are constantly immersed in technology, yet that does not mean that they know how to use it for learning. We also cannot assume that they know how to use it responsibly either.

Just as we teach our children how to handle bullies on the playground, or as we admonish a student for copying someone's work and handing it in as his or her own, we must take the time to explicitly teach about cyberbullying, copyright, plagiarism, digital footprint, and proper conduct online.

Of course, what we teach and how we teach it depend on grade level. We probably wouldn't teach first graders about the nitty-gritty details of copyright law, but we might teach them what kinds of information are safe or unsafe to share online. Likewise, while we may quickly review safe and unsafe information with high school students, we are more likely to focus on digital footprint and plagiarism.

It is worth your time to spend some time early in the year setting expectations for online conduct, use of information found online, and staying safe when using digital tools. Since it's clear that tech integration is here to stay, it is not a question of whether teachers integrate technology into their classrooms, but rather how to do it best.

By taking small steps, teachers can begin to reap the benefits that technology can bring to their teaching and to student learning. This process does not have to be painful, and no one will become a tech-integration whiz overnight. However, even with limited access, with careful planning, some risk taking, and an open mind, teachers can successfully use technology to enhance their teaching and bring learning to life for their students. Continue to the next section of the guide, Workshop Activities.

Handhelds Go to Class: Teacher Josh Barron and one of his students go through the strange-looking rite of "beaming" information to each other. Getting Started The first step in successful tech integration is recognizing the change that may need to happen inside of yourself and in your approach to teaching. Rural Washington Students Connect with the World: Pupils in Kristi Rennebohm Franz's classes have used the Internet for a variety of international exchanges and collaborative projects.

If your class has an interactive whiteboard and projector: Try interactive websites such as BrainPOP. Dig in to Scholastic's whiteboard activities page. Show online videos related to the lessons. Explore virtual math manipulatives. Check out the native software that came with the board.

Use the videoconferencing tool Skype to connect beyond the classroom. If there is only one computer in your room: All of the above, plus… Assign one student to be the class scribe and take notes. Start a collaborative class blog. Check out the Skype an Author Network website. Try Voicethread , a collaborative multimedia conversation tool. Let students access review or intervention materials on a rotating schedule.

Curate resources for students via a Livebinder. Build a Google Site to house class content. Encourage skills practice, research, or the creation of collaborative stories using Google Docs. Record Screencasts for providing onscreen instruction. Find more free resources and ideas from this Eduptopia blog post.

If you have a pod of three to five computers in the classroom or access to a library with a pod of computers: All of the above, plus… Encourage individual student blogging using Kidblog. Have students create digital stories using Voicethread. Use Edmodo , Schoology , or Moodle to manage course content, assignments, and assessments. Get the students to create cartoons using ToonDoo. Have students make videos using Windows Movie Maker or Animoto. Build websites with students using Weebly or Wikispaces.