In one of his case studies, he let students attend lectures and then gave them a pop quiz right at the start of the next class. The performance was abysmal. A few weeks later, the results were deteriorating further, which indicated that the students were only retaining a minimal amount of what was taught during the lectures.

The solution to this problem meant a radical change to the traditional methods of teaching, but something that was very much possible. Here is a glimpse into some of the essentials that you need to consider for your classroom next semester.

Active learning methods to replace long lectures

Active learning is a new teaching approach that progresses with a student-centric mindset. In this approach, the teacher wants the students to take back something and probe into it. One of the most effective active learning methods is to divide a problem into subproblems and assign it to several small groups within a class. Occasionally, the teacher should group them back together and also guide them in the right direction.

Another active learning method is One Minute Paper or The Muddiest Point Paper in which the students are given the opportunity to write down the most important points from the day’s session or the least clear point (muddy). The responses can be later addressed in the next class or through online groups.

A popular active learning method is brainstorming where students are encouraged to generate ideas on a certain topic or a particular category. The ideas they pitch are written on a blackboard and all of the ideas, however improbable they may seem, must be noted.

Active learning is not just about handing over responsibilities to the student, it involves a great deal of effort from the teacher’s side as well. The teacher must not only know the content but should also know how to create interactive experiments and challenging scenarios.

Laptops are not the biggest source of distraction in a class, it is boredom and irrelevance. Students tend to stay attentive to topics that grab their attention and has an impact beyond the classroom itself. Teachers should look into changing the way they construct their lectures and incorporate new teaching methodologies to enhance student throughput.

Building a dynamic study environment through tech

The smartphone penetration in Europe was 84% of the total population at the beginning of 2017 and over 23% of the total population is under the age of 24. This opens up a huge potential for bringing flexible and innovative learning methods through technology to a large population of students.

Most of the existing classrooms have a specific set of hardware that the students and teachers are expected to comply with. This creates a lot of cable clutter, confusion, and difficulty for maintenance. But incorporating a device like Airtame into the classroom removes the necessity for cables when it comes to presentations and seminars and eases the maintenance overhead on the IT admins.

It also opens up the entire classrooms to learn collaboratively by allowing every student and teacher to mirror the contents from their device to the monitor independently.

Students nowadays don’t just want to learn about something, but they want to feel the context. This is where some of the most popular gadgets and technologies come into play. Virtual reality headsets can prove to be a boon for teachers as it allows students to virtually experience what is being taught.

Whether it is learning about the solar system, different parts of a car or historical monuments these headsets can elevate the learning experience to a whole new level.

Hands-on learning is crucial

Knowing concepts but failing to understand where to use them renders the knowledge useless. This is a very relevant statement in today’s world wherein students are only taught the high-level outline of concepts but are not encouraged to move deeper into the subject.

Hands-on learning through Arduino kits, 3D printers and more are proven to be better for the students in terms of retention capacity, problem-solving capability and better engagement.

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Technology is evolving exponentially and it is opening up several avenues for the education sector that will allow students as well as teachers to eg. Take the example of BYJU’S, an online tutoring company that shot to worldwide attention after being funded by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Tencent and others for over $240 million.

Airtame, with over 80,000 devices sold worldwide, has made wireless screen mirroring accessible to students and teachers alike, reducing the need for multiple cables in the classroom and office.

Moving Towards a Digital Classroom

According to Angel.co, there are nearly a thousand edtech startups in the United States with an average valuation of $3.4 million. We can say without a doubt that the education sector is taking giant strides through the incorporation of technology. New teaching methods include the use of devices and apps that give more importance to the student’s input rather than the teacher’s.

A simple, yet effective device like Airtame can make a huge difference when it comes to seminars or presentations conducted from the student’s laptops. There may be a lot of conflicting hardware among students’ laptops and other devices, which makes it difficult for a smooth studying experience. Not to mention the plethora of different cables like VGA, HDMI and other connectors and adapters that are needed to ensure uniformity between devices.

With Airtame, all they have to do is install the app on their laptops and get ready to press the mirroring button to start wireless screen sharing. They can then quickly stop sharing, and pass on the responsibility to the next student or teacher.

Creating a Flexible and Collaborative Learning Space

Pedagogy is slowly changing with institutes like Hult International Business School, Parkland School District and Lake Superior College making use of devices like Airtame for an extremely flexible and collaborative learning space.

Let’s take a look at how Lake Superior College is using Airtame to introduce new teaching pedagogy. Before the introduction of Airtame, it was tough for them to find a universal mirroring solution that works with all devices, independent of the operating system. It was also difficult for IT admins to cater to all the support tickets that came their way due to technical difficulties during presentations.

With Airtame, they have been able to reduce the support requests and the downtime between various presentations are minimal due to the ease with which Airtame can juggle between users.

Business schools and colleges have lots of presentations to be done, both by students as well as teachers, which makes Airtame very relevant for such a use case. Since most of the classrooms are still analog, a complete wireless solution that is both cost-effective and platform agnostic makes for a considerable upgrade.

From Passive to Active

The biggest advantage of using technology in the classroom is making students active instead of being passive like in the traditional classroom. Students are participating more in the learning process which is centered around them, rather than “the big lecture”.

Incorporating digital devices like Airtame has not only allowed teachers to include more students into the learning space, it has also become a boon to the IT admins at schools and colleges due to the lack of cables as well as the universal cloud management tool that allows them to configure it remotely right from their desk.

The introduction of technology into classrooms will take its time and the process has already begun. There will come a time when textbooks will no longer be in use and the whole classroom will be digital.

Looking for more education inspiration? See our prediction on what classrooms will look like in the future.

This post was originally featured on teacherswithapps.com

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As education strives to become less teacher-centered, classroom teachers are ditching traditional teaching practices and classroom set-ups for more student-centered approaches. The trend of flexible seating is becoming increasingly popular in which students can choose where to sit and have more opportunity for movement throughout the day. I recently created a video, Classroom Cribs, in which a second-grade teacher took me on a tour of several different classrooms in her school. Click HERE to see how today’s classrooms are being set up.

Flexible seating

Gone are the days in which the teacher stands in front of the room lecturing and having students absorb information from a textbook. Chalkboard and marker boards have been replaced with interactive boards, document cameras or projectors. All of these changes help promote personalized learning experiences and engage students in a more collaborative learning environment as they work together to explore academic concepts.

Shy and reserved students now are capable of participating in classroom activities thanks to a variety digital tools and apps that allow for anonymous interaction, typed responses as well as recorded videos that can be created in a private atmosphere. Students with attention issues are having their needs met by having interactive, personalized lessons delivered straight to their working area, available within an arm’s reach, thanks to digital devices.

Educational technology has made its way into classrooms and is providing rich learning experiences and opportunities when used effectively. What was once a problem of not having enough access to technology in schools is morphing into not having enough professional development for teachers to keep up with the latest technological advances that are needed to equip children for their future.

There has been a shift in more digitized lessons which provide more opportunities for differentiation. However, I am a huge advocate of what is known as “blending learning” in which educators incorporate traditional teaching practices with web-based learning. As children are growing up with technology both at home and at schools it has been reported that a deterioration of their motor skills has resulted due to too much touch-screen time and very little time spent learning how to hold a writing utensil. Moderation and variety are key for classrooms of all ages and abilities.

Practically every study circulating around the internet reports that future employers will be looking for certain skills that pertain to what educators know as “The Four C’s”: communication, collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving. Therefore, we have seen coding and programming make its way into the classroom, even in the primary grades, to help facilitate critical thinking and problem-solving.

Augmented reality and virtual reality are appearing in more and more classrooms to bring real-life learning experiences to students that they would never grasp just by reading a textbook. 3D printing in the classroom has exploded as students are learning how to design and print models that can help solve problems or simply bring concepts to life in the palm of their hand. Students are being exposed and expected to use collaborative workspaces like Google Drive, OneDrive and other digital tools to work together in a digital environment. STEM/STEAM and project-based learning are becoming increasingly popular as well to help our students understand what it means to be an engineer.

Today’s children are beginning to create an online presence at a very early age. Therefore it is crucial that educators and parents reinforce the importance of what it means to be a responsible digital citizen. Curriculum for digital citizenship is making its way into the educational setting and continues to expand. Cyberbullying, online safety, digital privacy, digital security, digital reputation as well as self-image & identity are among the many topics that are being addressed in today’s classrooms.

With all of these advances happening in education it is vital that educators embrace these changes to prepare their students for what lies ahead. Aside from academic concepts, students need to learn, practice and master skills that will mold them into successful communicators, collaborators, critical thinkers, problem solvers and creators.  After all, educators and parents have the important job of preparing students for their future jobs–jobs that haven’t yet even been invented.

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