Innovation matters – and in the classroom maybe even more than most other places. Far from just referring to shallow novelty or tech gadgets for the sake of technology, true innovation through cutting edge tech is a core value that needs to be deeply embedded within the education system as we know it.
Looking for proof? Here are four reasons why technical innovation should be a part of every classroom in the world – and the tools like touchscreen smart boards that can help it be exactly that.
#1. It adds to the immediacy of learning
Copying down notes about a chemical reaction can seem a little dry and abstract. But what if you, the teacher, carried out that exact experiment on your desk, right in front of the students? Suddenly an experience that might have sounded like an irrelevant piece of information dragged out of a dusty old textbook becomes an experience students are unlikely to forget.
One great tool when it comes to helping with this is the Elmo Board and Visualizer. A large, standalone touch-sensitive display which functions as its own computer (and not a second screen for another device), the Elmo Board is like an enormous tablet for the classroom – boasting not just its own apps, but also its own impressive camera, which can be used for immediately broadcasting footage to the classroom.
Using the Elmo Board, teachers can do everything from filming experiments and showing them in real-time to carrying out live annotation of documents. It’s a great way of bringing more immediacy into the classroom.
#2. It cultivates the right attitude in learners
Today’s learners are going to be tomorrow’s leaders. Adopting innovation in the classroom and challenging the way that things are done instills the attitude that it’s important to be lifelong learners willing to bring about change. Like anyone, teachers can get stuck in a mindset that, if something isn’t broken, it doesn’t need fixing. While there’s an element of truth to that, it’s also true that innovation can shake up our preconceived notions and make us explore fresh angles. Innovation in the classroom shows how valuable this mentality is. What better lesson to instil in your students?
#3. It finds new ways to reach students
It can be easy to dismiss the use of some technologies as gimmicks. If they’re not deployed in a thoughtful, considered manner, that’s a justifiable criticism. But when they’re used in the right context, the results can be like magic. Suddenly students who may have been difficult to get excited about a certain topic find their enthusiasm and understanding of it taking a major leap forward. Other students may find that the use of these tools enables them to explore a different side of a subject they thought they understood, and maybe even to learn a bit more about the optimal ways that they absorb information. Whether it’s virtual reality, augmented reality, robots, 3D printers, or whatever other emerging technology, the results can be game-changing for learning outcomes.
#4. It helps prepare students for the future
Today’s students are going to grow up in a very different world, technologically, from the one their parents inhabited. If you think that changes like social media and smartphones have been big (and they very much have been!), they risk fading into oblivion when it comes to massive advances in AI, neural implants, driverless cars, robots in the workplace, and the myriad innovations expected to arrive in the coming decades.
Educators aren’t just trying to win over a tech-savvy audience of students by making use of the latest innovations in the classroom; it’s also their duty to prepare students for a future that is going to require them to get to grips with groundbreaking tech. What better way to do this than to normalise its use in the classroom? It’s like presenting a roadmap to the future
Join ELMO in their special presentation on 7th December 2021 – register here