12 Advanced Gadgets And Technical Tools That Aid Contemporary Education
The
ongoing technological revolution has influenced practically all walks
of life. Modern-day education, unsurprisingly, has also immensely
benefited from the increasing use of technical gadgets, devices and
tools. They have made the process of knowledge transfer from teachers to
students more seamless than ever before, while the degree of
interactivity between the two groups has also received a boost. In this
post, I will discuss 12 examples of technology tools that are aiding
modern education.
- Desktop/Laptop computers
- Over the last few years, ‘Googling’ something has become a valid
colloquial verb among tutors and students. To look up information about
literally anything under the sun, all that one requires is an
internet-enabled PC or laptop. Punching in a query leads to results
being displayed within a fraction of a second (those long hours of
scouring books at libraries are no longer required!) And many
educational organizations now provide laptops to their students.
- Smartphones
- Accessing the web on the go is becoming increasingly popular and
necessary for students - and this, in turn, brings to light the role of
smartphones. A recent survey revealed that well over 50% of college
students had their own smartphone, while a slightly lower percentage
carried high-end feature phones. For toddlers and preschoolers too,
there have been a spike in the number of Android and iPhone apps for kids.
- Cameras
- If a student is interested in photography, nothing gets him/her more
excited than having a good-quality digital camera in his/her hand.
However, the value of cameras in education goes way beyond this apparent
benefit. Teachers from all over are using digital, handheld cameras to
monitor and record the activities of students in class, as well as on
outdoor trips. Electronic portfolios are also being created to help
organize and store these images and recordings.
- Projectors
- The days when a teacher went on a lengthy dictation from a text, with
students desperately trying to note down every word, have been
relegated to the pages of history. Document projectors help in
displaying high-clarity images of text pages, graphs, figures, and other
educational material on a large screen/board, where it can be viewed by
even large groups of students with ease.
- Interactive whiteboards
- Browsing the internet in the classroom need not necessarily require a
computer or a smartphone. Interactive whiteboards are finding increased
acceptance at academic institutes all across the globe. These
touch-based boards can be used to visit websites, view informative image
galleries, or even to make drawings. Plus, all files on the interactive
whiteboard can be easily saved.
- Response pads - There are several mobile applications created by mobile app development companies in India
and abroad for fostering interaction between teachers and students.
However, a response pad facilitates such interactions on a real-time
basis. For instance, during a classroom quiz, students can use the
response pad as buzzers. During a multiple-choice test, these pads can
be used by students to submit their answers as well.
- Videoconferencing systems -
Education is steadily getting decentralized, with most well-known
universities having branches in multiple cities. This is where the
significance of videoconferencing tools comes into the picture. With the
help of remote audiovisual conferences (usually hosted on a computer),
instructors from any location can address students from multiple
classrooms simultaneously. Videoconferencing is also used by teachers to
collaborate with each other.
- Podcasts -
Missed an important lecture of your favorite teacher? If the class had
been recorded in a podcast, you have no reason to worry. In-depth web
podcasts of distinguished professors and professionals also serve as
important supplemental material for a student’s education. In fact,
students can even create podcasts of their own! Many sophisticated
mobile apps for kids have podcast features too.
- Wireless presentation tools
- Education technology has gone beyond the concept of making simple
Powerpoint presentations for students. Teachers no longer need to
monitor/change the slides themselves, thanks to the advent of wireless
presenters, which operate on remote laser technology. There are no
restrictions on the presentation file formats that can be displayed
through these wireless tools either.
- GPS Receivers
- Field trips are vital to add a practical dimension to classroom
teaching, particularly for students of geology, geography, and other
related subjects. While on a trip to an unfamiliar place, a properly
functioning GPS receiver comes in extremely handy. Apart from ensuring
that a touring group of teachers and students are never lost, the
receiver also serves as a weather forecasting tool. GPS receivers are
generally designed to withstand relatively rough usage.
- Ebook readers
- Nearly 18 million people use Kindle to download and read ebooks - and
a significant percentage of that figure are students. From valuable and
rare textbooks, to engaging storybooks - literary material of all types
can be perused on a good ebook reader (which generally has
multi-language support as well). Preschoolers can start off with mobile
reading apps for kids, before graduating to an ebook reader.
- Online grading tools - These have made the regular tasks of professional teachers a whole lot easier. Right from attendance reports and seating arrangements in class, to marksheets and overall progress reports of students - all of them can be prepared via these tools (there are designated online grading websites as well). The online reports can be directly sent to parents/guardians too.
No comments:
Post a Comment