Students use technology in their daily lives, so why not at school? The Office of Educational Technology has nationwide plans to have children learning with technology. They are working on a National Education Technology Plan to keep up with the ever-changing technology that students may use every day.
The Office of Educational Technology wants to show the importance of media literacy and active learning online. They have found that simply watching videos or completing worksheets online is not enough for students to learn effectively, so they want to promote the use of coding, interacting with professionals, media production and design, peer collaboration, and a global scale to increase learning.
Not only does working online promote learning, using technology can allow students to access programs online that their schools may not have, like computer science classes. Accessing educational technology lets creative writing, music and media students share their work to a global audience. Educational tech can create more personalized learning experiences so that each student can reach their goals.
Virtual and augmented reality and even artificial intelligence (AI) can be implemented in classrooms to help students with tutoring and tailoring each learning experience to the individual. Many classrooms are working with programs like Zearn and DreamBox, programs that adapt as they are used. Quizlet is commonly used for memorization and flashcards from students in grade school all the way into higher education. These types of programs allow students to take more responsibility for their learning.
Resources for students, families, and educators can be found at tech.ed.gov.
Maria Lubanovic is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
