Classroom Technologies are exponentially growing & so the classroom environment & learning techniques are changing at a very fast pace. In modern education era, every student & parents want schools & classrooms should be enabled with modern educational technologies & should provide best in the class learning environment. Modern Classroom Technology makes lots of good changes in a classroom if used in a good manner. Technology will make the classroom more interesting, easy learning & will help students to develop more interest in learning. Today there are lots of classroom technologies are available in the market which a school can choose as per their need & students interest. Here are Top 10 Classroom Technologies which every School should adopt for better Teaching & Learning practices. Classroom Websites & Social Networking: The modern classroom which has personalized website & social networking helps teachers, students and parents to interact with each other & make communication easy. Classroom website offers a single place to communicate with each other & can be used for new announcements, exam dates, events, assignments, syllabus and for other different tasks. On these web application students, parents, teachers can share their views, ideas, suggestions and also can use these platform for discussion. This applications also can be used for quiz, poll and for other activities. Round the clock access to the website makes it the best medium to communicate. Interactive Whiteboards: Interactive whiteboards are used in many schools today & have replaced traditional Blackboards, Whiteboard & other media systems. Interactive Whiteboard is connected to computers & have a touch screen which makes them a smart device for presentation & teaching. Some models of these boards can translate handwriting into text. These smart boards make teaching more interactive & interesting. Students give more focus on learning through these boards. 3D Printing: 3D Printing is the latest technology used to teach students. This printing technique develops the 3D model of anything. Learning becomes more interesting by 3D models. By 3D models, students have a deeper level of understating when they view any object in 3D that makes them understand every part of the model which is not possible when learning through textbooks. This printing technique also helps students to develop their own design & can do experiments without any limitations. Student Response System (SRS): Teachers can get instant feedback from the student through this response system. Today there are lots of response systems are available. One of them is Google Forms which makes teacher’s job easy by helping them to get a response after every class 7 helps them to make better strategies for the next class if needed. Response systems also help teachers to understand the student’s level of understanding. With the help of these systems, teachers can organize quizzes or polls which help them in decision making & understanding the response of students on some particular topic or event. Tablets: Tablets are the most popular gadget used in a classroom due to their portability, internet connectivity, camera, loaded with a digital book, touch screen, less price & other endless feature. With its wide range of features students & teachers love this device. Tablets have changed the complete scenario of a classroom & learning process. With the help of students can perform their endless task with ease & can save Time, Paper & Energy. Following tasks can be performed easily by a tablet like Research, Listing & Reading Books, Projects & Presentations, Note taking, Classroom Management, Watch educational Videos, Learn from educational Apps, Quiz & online participation in different competitions & many more other tasks can be easily performed by good use of Tablets. Document Cameras: The Document Cameras have replaced old projectors to display the learning content to the class full of students. With the help of advanced document camera teacher can display real-time videos, text, books, math problems, science experiment, images & diagrams, students work & much more. The possibilities of uses are endless. The advanced models provide the feature to capture movies with audio in addition to images. This latest technology makes teaching more convenient with endless possibilities. Augmented Reality (AR): Augmented means made greater or larger. Augmented Reality (AR) is the technology which makes our physical world greater with the addition of digital information like Audio, Video and Graphics onto it. In the classroom when a teacher displaying something to students, this can be advanced by using AR. This makes learning more fun & improves interaction & engagement of students in the classroom. AR has endless possibilities which help students to think differently & also helps students to perform better. Virtual Field Trips: Virtual Field Trips is a digital way to visit a place you can’t visit in reality. This technology is a guided exploration through world wide web which integrates a collection of images. Due to the time limitation for students to go out & explore new places this technology made it possible to visit every place virtually. This is the best tool for teachers to teach, it can be customized also according to the subject. This technology helps students to explore different places & learn smartly. It not only saves time & efforts but also students can get depth knowledge about that place. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial Intelligence is also called Machine Intelligence & it means the utilization of computer intelligence over human intelligence. Artificial Intelligence has changed the traditional classroom in a smart way of learning & teaching. The traditional classroom has many limitations like single teaching techniques, the difference between student’s pace of learning & much more. AI has sorted all classroom issues in a smart way. Students can learn at their pace, can understand with different techniques which sits them better, can learn at their preferred time & benefits of AI are endless. There are lots of Education Apps are available for better learning which are using AI & students love to learn from these apps. Biometrics: Biometrics Technology is not only helpful in security but it is…
Virtual Classrooms or commonly said online learning, for every student it seems interesting and fun. Online Learning is a new aspect of learning which is growing rapidly and getting common among students worldwide. Perhaps, main source of online learning is internet. Worldwide people have started opting for it as it gives benefits in aspect of time, convenience of location etc but still many does not find it preferable as every new thing has both some pros and some cons. Let us discuss about a few:- PROS & CONS of VIRTUAL CLASS_ROOMS:- PROS: CONVENIENCE- Virtual classrooms are proven a convenient way of learning for those who peruse education while being tied up with an organization as employees as it provides an ease of attending the lectures anywhere, anytime with just one click as the only thing which needed is a well established internet connection. In the same way it gives benefit to those also who have to look after their family and learn as well. REGULARLY UPDATED LEARNING MATERIAL- In online learning it is an advantage for the client as it is very easy to get updated with new concepts ,get review of new courses or what’s new in the curriculum of any subject but in the case of classrooms in educational institutes it can take months or years for them to adapt any change exactly. VARIETY IN LEARNING- Another benefit which virtual learning offers us is that, there are no bondage in learning as a user can get lectures on any topic about what he wants as to learn this form of learning will never limit him up with the courses he has decided. PACING- All students establish different working criteria about learning and assignments as per the time, everyone work at different pace so online education allows them to work according to their pace. And it enables them to give time for their other hobbies too. CONS:- LACK OF TIME MANAGEMENT- Time management is an important part of online learning as lack of that can result in many undesired results in prospects of education; there should be a balance between studies and other scheduled activities. NO DISCUSSIONS- Students who have a habit of learning through the discussions and keeping focus in lectures by establishing eye contact with the teacher which take place in manual classrooms only can face problems in attending online lectures and he cannot discuss anything on the spot. NO HUMAN INTERACTIONS- In regular classrooms a student does not only learn the bookish knowledge but does also develop an interacting attitude by making friends, interacting with teachers, he also learns to compete and develops new skills. NOT DEVELOPED COMPUTER SKILLS- Since ,in the process of online learning the interaction between the student and the tutor does only takes place through the internet, hence it is important for both to have a well developed computer or internet using skills. Therefore, those who are not so friendly with soft-wares either have to invest their time in learning computers or they do not find it good source of learning. According to different users there are different means of online learning, some find it valuable while some find it not so attractive. So now, one has to select which kind of learning suits him the best by going through all the pros and cons deeply.
Science and technology has changed the outlook of the society and has shown its positive impacts in every sphere. The use of technology and modern equipments has been whole heartedly adopted by schools and has helped teachers to expand beyond linear, text-based learning and monotonous lectures. Its role in schools has evolved with time, and has expanded the horizons of learning by matching international standards. Advantages of Technology Integration in Education: Technology integrated in education sphere, facilitates the student`s learning and boosts their capacity, productivity, and performance. It brings about positive changes in teaching methods which is at par with international standards. 1. Technology makes teaching easy: Boring long lectures and theoretical explanations often deteriorates the attention span of students and sucks the interest out of them. Audio-visual presentations, enable students to understand exactly how the knowledge is applied in practice and give makes the concept easier to understand. Projectors and computer presentations can be used to deliver any type of lesson or instruction and improve the level of comprehension within the class. 2. Technology helps in tracking a student`s progress: Some innovative software and applications like MyStudentsProgress and theTeacherCloud Progress Tracker are great online tools that enable schools and parents to determine the progress of the students. Instead of using old traditional techniques and manipulative methods, teachers rely on this new technology to have an update about every student. 3. Educational technology is good to the environment: It would be an eco friendly option to stop the use of papers and use digital textbooks in classrooms. Ebooks ad Ereaders are prevalent in today`s time, and it would be really convenient for a student to take exams online, and study via ebooks, instead of using pens and paper. This would reduce environmental pollution, as more trees could be saved. 4. Technology makes learning fun: Students are addicted to social media and internet from a very early age, which might turn out to be a harmful distraction. But teachers and parents can mold their inclination to spend time online for good purposes like making presentations, watching educational animated videos, writing and reading blogs, following TED talks, etc. Such activities can motivate a student to be innovative and inspire them to be constructive dreamers. 5. Technology makes distance learning more accessible: Distance learning or Distance education is one of the most trending learning methods. Virtual lessons are attaining greater importance than before and it is highly convenient for students. In case a student cannot afford to travel a long distance, or rather move out to another city, then they can easily enroll for courses on-line and gain the knowledge they are interested in. Working professionals can also opt for distance learning, to expand their knowledge without leaving their jobs. Online services are highly sought after, and the high quality video lectures and trained professionals available virtually, are at par with classroom education. 6. Students and teachers can easily access information at any time: Students can easily access newspapers, scientific articles, studies, and any other type of content online. They can write better, deeper academic papers because they can support and modify their arguments with references and ideas from all over the world. Students get instant information once they type the keywords online, irrespective of what time it is. Whereas, in old schools, students have to spend hours in the library to look for a single piece of information. Thus, technology saves a lot of time in this busy world, and makes the job much easier for students and teachers. 7. Technology makes collaboration easy: Online tools and apps offer a unique setting for students to engage in a group projects and participate in discussions with their teachers. They work from home, as the team is connected through the Internet and everyone is inspired by the focused environment. In case of any query, they can ask the teachers directly and gather instant help. Online collaboration gives every student an equal chance to participate, unlike traditional classroom settings, where only good students monopolize the discussion. Conclusion: The future of the educational system is practically determined by the development of technology and only proper technology can guide students towards greater understanding of all concepts covered in class. Thus, there should to be no second thoughts in accepting this positive change and digitalize education for the convenience of both teachers as well as students.