Whatever way you approach it, there are certain skills today’s children will need to develop in order to succeed in the future. The best way to teach these kids these important skills differs among those in the education community, but to best prepare students for a world of hands-on, tech-filled work, they should be doing hands-on, tech-filled work from the time they begin going to school.
The Skills Students Need and How they Get Them
In today’s world of education, there are certain skills that students must learn and certain ways of learning that many educators feel are necessary to accomplish those goals. Though it has been thought of as a spectator sport for much of, well…forever, learning is not something that is best carried out from the sidelines. Hands-on learning, project-based curricula and educational technology open doors into a world of 21st century learning, teaching skills that students will need for 21st century success. When using their hands, students gain the chance to learn in a way that goes far beyond a textbook. Once they pass by the traditional, they become better prepared for a future that will undoubtedly be untraditional.
There are certain skills, often referred to as “STEM skills,” that students will need to be fluent in in order to succeed as the workforce of the future. Project-based learning provides kids with the opportunity to gain crucial skills while they learn necessary concepts all throughout their K-12 careers. The real world is all about finding, in one way or another, an innovative solution to a pressing problem. By defining the problem, discovering knowledge and designing a cutting-edge project, students are able to become solution experts—honing skills they need to succeed. By asking creative questions, acquiring only relevant information, analyzing it efficiently and applying it to the real world, students attain information fluency. Of course, they can also add their own personal touch to the project to help shape their creative fluency or regularly work in groups to broaden their collaboration fluency—both of which will go a long way in preparing them for the 21st century world.
So, how do teachers create projects that incorporate one or more of these areas of fluency and get their students ready for life after 12th grade? The secret lies in careful preparation and begins early on when planning innovative projects. The PBL should be real-world oriented, meaning that the problem posed and the research conducted must have a connection to the real world. It also must be relevant to the students, themselves. Kids are generally much more engaged when projects have personal meaning to them and are more driven when their work reflects their interests. In addition to that, to maximize the effectiveness of PBL, it should involve a high degree of collaboration—group projects that are both structured and communal. This teaches students the importance of responsibility and accountability while they build key communication skills using technology. Finally, among other traits, good PBL includes knowledge quests, media-driven assignments and plenty of opportunities for students to show off their creativity in order to become fluent in the skills they will need.
Coding: Teach the Gateway to the Future Now
Two years ago, there was a number floating around that some 90 percent of U.S. schools were not and had no plans to teach computer science to their students. Why, we ask, would that be the case, when so many of today’s jobs—not to mention the ones that will appear in the future—require employees to have high technical skills—specifically coding? The go-to defense from school systems for why they were not using technology to prepare kids for the future was a lack of funds to implement any kind of coding programs. In doing this, they have successfully denied their students the chance to learn skills they will need. It is estimated that 1.4 million new jobs will be created in the next 10 years and the skills needed to land and excel at one will center around coding.
Teachers should be pushing for the right to bring basic doing into their classrooms and one place they should find support is from parents. Students will need these skills before beginning their careers and the sooner everyone recognizes that and gets on the same page, the better. There are many resources, from apps to games and even DIY technologies that are used to engage students and help them build a foundation of coding skills. These resources are commonly broken up into age categories, offering custom, age-appropriate activities to students in all grades. For younger students (ages 5-8), there are Web-based programs that are easy to follow, which teachers have found useful and simple enough to help get them started. For a hands-on approach, there’s nothing better than the Ozobot, which makes learning to color code tremendously fun!
Once students reach eight and above, there are more complex options that will help accelerate their readiness. Man educational apps and computer programs, like Scratch combined with the Makey Makey, are available and other educational technologies can provide a fresh approach to hands-on learning. Want to have them build their own computer, for example? The Kano Computer Kit is a DIY computer that kids build and code themselves! For older students (junior high and high school), there are so many projects that can be done to introduce students to coding by combining multiple tools. For example, the inexpensive Raspberry Pi can be used by individuals or in groups to make anything—big or small! Introducing coding into classrooms now will have a profoundly positive effect on kids and their future.
Modern Learning in and Outside the Classroom
Learning is evolving at a rate that seems like something new and useful is being introduced to classrooms across the country every day. With the world changing and so many technologies becoming available to help kids achieve deeper learning experiences, it’s hard to tell where the innovations will lead. Ultimately, the goal is to provide children with meaningful learning through the use of modern-day tech tools to help them gain relevant skills to succeed in a hands-on world. Today’s workforce is more virtual, mobile and global than it has ever been before. Right now, we can only speculate on what tomorrow’s workforce will bring.
The goal of today’s educators is (or, at least it should be) to focus on adapting their teaching to better align with the world today and, oftentimes, that means incorporating technology to encourage hands-on learning and creativity. Now more than ever, teachers are tasked with connecting their in-class work and activities to the real world. Establishing this connection to the real world not only prepares children more effectively, it also makes the projects they are engaging in much more meaningful. When students attend the same class every day, sit through mundane slides and tediously take notes, most of them leave the room having forgotten what was just discussed.
Research, however, has shown that when kids are expected to flip through slides and listen to their teacher talk, their brains tire and do not retain information well. The solution to this is simple: minimize teacher talking time and make learning practical. One area that has already undergone an evolution is homework. Homework, traditionally, is expected in every grade at every school. Parents expect it. Students expect it and teachers expect to give it. Nobody likes homework—not even the most gifted students. It’s arguably not even an effective form of assessment anymore. Instead, what we can do, is refer to “homework” as an extension of the lesson or an activity, making everything equal and reinforcing the importance of the content rather than the importance of getting the assignment done. Just by shifting the language, kids will likely be more receptive to completing their assignments and getting hands-on in the process will help them retain the most important concepts better than if they were to rush through it in an effort to just get it done.
Honing Creativity Skills Through PBL
Coding, project-based learning, STEM…All of these terms are important in determining the success of today’s students in the 21st century world they will soon face. How, we ask, can educators combine the three of them to get students on the path to creatively solving real-life problems and building crucial STEM skills? In a world that is filled with complex technologies, most students who are in elementary school today will need to know coding in order to pursue their desired careers despite probably having no clue yet what their desired careers actually are. Thankfully, since the current generation of students has been around technology essentially from the time they were born, they are naturally adept when it comes to learning to use new technologies, which gives them a very beneficial head start.
If you’re not convinced, we’ll try to break it down for you as simply as possible: Knowing how to code will be necessary. Okay, now that we’ve all accepted this as true, let’s talk about some of the ways in which STEM teachers can introduce coding to young students and make it fun in the process. Certain in-class projects are an effective way to get kids coding and there are tons more that are bound to bring out their creativity and help them build coding skills with practice! There are so many coding apps that any teacher with an iPad can easily deploy and let kids’ creativity take over. They think they’re playing a fun game, but they’re actually learning where and how to place the building blocks that will help them one day create one.
They can even make their own music and sounds by coding with the Web-based program, Scratch or Scratch Jr. All they need is a laptop and groups of four or five students can take turns tinkering with the software to collaboratively create an original sound. Pairing Scratch with the Makey Makey will bring the coding fun to new levels. As students get older, there are more complex tools, such as the Kano, that they can use and if they want to start writing their own code, there are tools for that as well! The Hour of Code happens just once a year, but, if the future workforce has anything to say about it, we think it should be happening at least once a day. Coding skills could potentially make or break today’s students—make sure they set them up for success.
It’s Getting Harder for Teachers to Ban Devices in Class
Teachers should always, and correct me if I’m wrong here, enable and allow their students to use every available tool to enhance their learning. Right? So, in this age of omnipresent technology in the school, home and world, how come some teachers are making it a point to keep electronic devices out of their classrooms? Sure, tools like smartphones and tablets could pose potential distractions if students let them, but the advantages of mobile devices far outweigh the one drawback. This technology is important in helping build and maintain a modern classroom that centers on collaboration, communication and technology.
According to a recent story, nearly a quarter of US classroom teachers have completely banned mobile phones and laptops from their classrooms despite the fact that they have been proven to yield positive results for students. Of these teachers, most of them cite distractions as the main reason they don’t want their students using their personal tech products in school. The problem with this is that almost 75 percent of teachers state that technology makes their job easier. So, if it makes teachers’ lives easier and helps 21st century students learn on deeper levels and it’s not being allowed in the classroom, somewhere this is a problem. Teachers and students need to find a mutually beneficial way to effectively integrate technology in education.
Technology has played a significant part in making education more efficient and better preparing kids for the future. Not only does it have an impact on the lives and development of today’s students, it also has the power to save teachers a ton of time every week. It’s the same teachers, however, who are banning tech tools in class that have recognized that technology actually helps engage their students and leads to better learning. All it takes is a carefully thought-out plan and the discipline to stick to it and teaching with mobile technology can be carried out in an effective and beneficial way. For those who think there isn’t enough EdTech use in school, this sure is one great way to start.
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