Opportunities for innovation are everywhere and plenty of people will tell you it’s the secret to getting ahead. How do you do it in education? Well, you’re about to find out.
How To REALLY Be Innovative At School
Innovation, especially in today’s world of striving to find new ways to learn through expressing creativity, is something that is continually preached among educators and sought by employers. By definition, being innovative combines core skills and a way of thinking that enables somebody to create a new, improved and more efficient solution to a specific everyday challenge. Innovation is often born out of creativity. And creativity, more so than ever, is the driving force that opens the door for innovation. Someone who is innovative uses all available tools, specifically the latest technologies, to bring about some kind of improvement. In education, that innovation has been cemented as using technology as a tool to enhance learning outcomes and increase engagement.
In education as much as any place, innovation continues to be more about how we use the tools we have access to rather than just simply procuring them. Since the real world is constantly changing, it is imperative that educators take every opportunity to prepare their students and teach them (preferably by applying technology) how to seek out innovative solutions. Innovation isn’t something they should wait for to happen. They need to learn the skills necessary to make innovation come natural to them and regularly learning with cutting-edge technology is perhaps the best way to make that happen. While, ultimately, a lot rests on the student’s abilities and desire to be innovative, teachers and administrators can play a role in shaping their minds. By committing to fostering a culture that is not restrictive but rather encourages collaboration, trial and error and the creative use of technology, they are providing a real chance for kids to develop life-changing skills.
There are some specific skills that true 21st century students need to bring out and polish and educators can provide learning scenarios for this to happen. Not only should students actively strive to be problem solvers, they should regularly seek to be problem finders. They should show initiative and use the tools that the modern world has provided to them, including the Internet, social media and Web-based catalogs. Most of all, they should be observant—always looking for new solutions, risk takers, who are not afraid to learn by failing and adaptive so that they can keep up with trends and the technologies that make them possible. Any innovation—no matter how seemingly eccentric or irrelevant—could wind up being the next breakthrough.
Technology In Education: Get The Facts
There are certainly many rewards to using technology tools to enhance learning and collaboration in today’s schools, but it seems that for every bit of positive feedback, there are some educators who refuse to employ innovative teaching methods. Knowing the facts, however, might change their minds. Why is it that we educate students? Why do we aim to challenge them to their intellectual limits? And why is it worth introducing something new? The answer to that, believe it or not, is quite simple: to benefit them. When we give students choices in how they learn, allow for endless inquiry and provide the time, space and tools to foster creativity, then we are able to see them grow aided by the power of education technology.
Besides enhancing learning, technology has the ability to bring parents and educators closer. For parents who want their children to attain the best education possible and rely on teachers to provide that, keeping them in the loop can be very beneficial. Technology is able to easily bring parents and teachers closer together with tools for communication and real-time collaboration. Back in the classroom, EdTech has also transformed storytelling and sharing. Tech tools are able to expand the depth of classroom stories as well as help students share them on a much wider scale. By transforming the way that stories are passed on and subsequently spread, we are able, almost instantly, to transform the way that students learn due to the technology that is available.
Teachers have the job of preparing students for anything—since we just don’t know what exactly the future will hold. They need to be guides and technology empowers them to be that resource they can share with students to help them learn just about anything. One of the most important things about technology is the environment that it fosters. You may think that “unlearning” something is bad. But, why? If it’s no longer relevant, you don’t need to know it. Through technology, students are able to learn things, unlearn the irrelevant parts and relearn the meaningful concepts and skills in a meaningful way. They can get new information quickly, analyze it in real time and apply it to create or evaluate. And some still say that technology has no impact on education…
What Makes A Good MakerEd Project?
Much has been made about the importance of hands-on learning through the creation of tech projects and other service-learning initiatives. While it definitely is true that students learn more when engaged in a fun and innovative project, it doesn’t have to be overly complicated to do the trick. There are a multitude of ways to guide children towards their learning goals and keep those elements of learning, fun and a surprise. Here are some things to keep in mind to provide students with more in-depth, memorable and useful MakerEd projects.
First, keep in mind that if the project does not have purpose and relevance in the real world, then it is probably not the best project. When maker projects have personal meaning to kids, they are much more likely to engage fully and truly have interest in the outcome. Length, also, is important; students need enough time to be able to fully plan, execute, alter and expand their projects (this is where the trial and error component of STEM learning comes in to play). Projects should also be have some elements of complexity and intensity to truly challenge students and help them make intellectual gains. For example, some of the best subjects combine multiple subject areas or tap an area that is of extreme interest to them while incorporating cool tech tools.
Among other traits, projects should also provide a connection. To what, you ask? To many things—each other, experts, multiple subject areas, innovative ideas, the world. That connection, in turn, provides students with anytime-anywhere access to constantly changing digital and media materials. Personal laptops are a good place to turn, but educators should also make sure other tech products, tools, hardware and software are kept up to date. This waterfalls into another key characteristic of MakerEd projects—shareability. This is one of the main goals of project-based learning— to be able to share the phenomenal final products! Since they know other people, often strangers, will view their work, this provides that extra bit of motivation for students to create something novel, innovative and thought provoking. And you thought you were a PBL expert.
Bringing EdTech To Life
If you’re using some of the latest and most innovativ EdTech products to supplement curriculum, chances are the class is pretty alive already. When employing digital curriculum on a regular basis, however, it’s important to remember not to let it resemble the traditional classes kids are used to. Kids respond to new and exciting things and while learning with technology is both new and exciting, a bit of responsibility rests on digital teachers to make sure it stays fresh all year long. There are a lot of ways you can do just that and a bunch of resources just waiting to be used.
Chances are, much of what we consider to be teaching materials will be largely digitized in just the next few years. And just a couple of years after that, those technology tools will probably be replaced with newer, more efficient ones. One thing not likely to change, however, is the need for and demand for teaching with EdTech. Teachers need to create curricula with products that enhance learning and that starts with creating timeless (or as close to timeless as possible) content. Make sure it’s good because this content will be the test for whether students become and remain engaged. Technology will multiply engagement, but it starts with the teacher-created content.
Engagement in learning is critical and oftentimes, children learn best from the experiences they have. When they can personally identify with a concept or purpose, it’s likely they will become more engaged. Technology has the power to do just that for each individual child without resulting in a loss of focus on the overall goals. By personalizing EdTech experiences and offering customized programs with the tech you have, each student will be able to learn in a way that is conducive to them and, as a result, learn better. If you take these factors into account, foster a collaborative environment and constantly update teaching tools while engaging students with technologies they can relate to, EdTech will bring their learning to life.
Classroom Design, Tech Factors In Enhancing Learning
Organization of commonly used physical environments and the objects found within them tends to affect the attitudes, actions and emotions of us all and students are no exception. What you may not realize, however, is that the specific way offices or, in this case, classrooms are arranged can have a positive effect on productivity. Taking after some of the most successful modern companies, schools can use what they find to redesign classrooms in a way that best caters to learning. Even though some practices seem like they may not apply directly to education or require the addition of some educational technologies, they can be tweaked if needed and, by keeping an innovative and open mind, you may be able to tweak them to fit in.
Teachers, for starters, are very useful when it comes to classroom design. They see the actions and progress that students make just by being around them each and every day. Using the scientific method, teachers can track the progress made by one group of students versus a control group who was arranged in a different seating pattern in a different part of the classroom or using different technologies and so on. Student reactions, happiness levels, participation likeliness and engagement are all things teachers can and should be monitoring to provide for the best learning environment possible. You can also create unique learning experiences by pairing current students with kids in older grades for fresh perspectives or blend learning by mixing a current topic in math or science with something going on in current events. A popular example of blended learning is mixing art and chemistry classes to have students create aesthetic masterpieces with a science component as well!
Not all of the ideal classroom experience needs to focus on design, however, but should include considerations for how students spend their time. For example, building in time for a snack break is a quick way to take a break, let students clear their minds and give them a chance to get refueled for the rest of the day. Of course, this is a subtle way to also teach kids about nutrition and the value of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Classrooms can also include areas for students to get up and stretch briefly or even a comfy place to let them grab a quick nap to recapture productivity. If you like teaching with technology (and we hope you do!), a mini makerspace could be a great way to have them engage in fun, hands-on learning! There are plenty of ways to create conducive learning environments without compromising on productivity!
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