Far from an example of smart tech for the sake of smart tech, the Elmo Board can actually help better engage students — and, in the process, help improve learning outcomes. Here are five ways it can turbocharge teaching – or, at least, make it a whole lot easier.
#1. Enhanced visual learning
Concepts that can be demonstrated visually are more likely to be retained. Students, for example, are far more likely to understand a discussion of a particular chemical reaction if they can see it play out before their very eyes – rather than simply reading about it in a book or having it described by a teacher.
The Elmo Board is a large, standalone touch-sensitive display that can be used with a connected camera called the Visualizer, boasting some impressive zoom capabilities. Using this setup, teachers can demonstrate live experiments at the front of the classroom, adding a much-needed visual component to their teaching. The Elmo Board also features its own apps and other valuable abilities, such as the possibility of using it to play video. With the aid of such a versatile multimedia tool, teachers have a new way to rethink lesson plans to embrace the power of visual learning.
#2. Enhance interaction with the class
With a traditional blackboard or whiteboard, teachers may spend much of each lesson with their backs to the students, writing down notes. Not only is this less engaging to students, but it can also make it difficult to monitor the behavior of students in the classroom. Using a smart display, teachers can spend more of the lesson addressing students directly, rather than reproducing notes they already had written down ahead of the lesson.
This is both a more efficient use of time in the classroom, and can also have considerable positive impacts when it comes to making lessons more lively and interactive, as well as improving behavior.
#3. Build on the mantra of digital-first learning
Many schools today embrace the digital revolution, opting to give students tablets and computers as part of their learning experience. A smart display at the front of the class means that teachers can more easily demonstrate how to use a particular app or provide other help.
They can also adapt lessons to be more interactive, utilizing the same hyperlinks and multimedia that increasingly represent the way that students learn. A blackboard or whiteboard can’t provide teachers with a way to readily access the internet, the world’s largest information resource. A smart display can. In doing so, it brings teachers into line with the tools available to students.
#4. They’re low maintenance
How many cumulative hours do teachers spend wiping blackboards and whiteboards during and after classes? This might seem a minor point, but the ability to ditch the messy chalk or pen required for traditional classroom writing surfaces is a game-changer. That aspect of smart displays is something that should not be overlooked. Their low maintenance requirements make them a crucial classroom innovation.
#5. They are environmentally friendly
Plenty has been written about the paperless office, but how about the paperless classroom? Teachers still frequently make use of photocopiers to hand out notes for the classroom. Using a smart display, teachers can show that same information to the class without having to waste the copious amounts of paper and ink that they currently do when it comes to prepping for a particular lesson. Not only does this save the environment – it also saves a whole lot of time, too.
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