4 Tips to Truly Engage Students with Technology Tools

​We read an interesting article the other day, “New study: Students use technology everywhere but school” that makes the point that today’s students are so connected in every aspect of their day, except when they are in the classroom. In the classroom, many educators roll back the clocks and try to maintain a technology free space.
 
For so many students, technology is a natural extension of who they are and how they learn. Maybe, instead of expecting students to learn without technology, we should develop thoughtful ways of integrating technology into our student’s day. We’ve brainstormed a few ideas for educators grappling with this issue.

• Develop Real Time Assessment – what if teachers could accurately measure a student’s understanding on the spot? MimioVote is simple to use, and educators can instantly adjust their lecture to suit the students, knowing instantly which students could use more subject-matter help. It also helps track understanding over time.
• Record Lecture Notes – Have a teacher that likes to lecture using a white board? MimioCapture allows users to record classroom notes from the white board, converting handwriting to text. This allows students to participate rather than worry about having to capture every word on the board. Classes instantly become more interactive, and discussions more thoughtful.
• Incorporate 1:1 Technology – Has your school gone 1:1? With the MimioMobile, teachers can show any combination of the students’ work on the front-of-the-class display, creating greater collaborative learning and providing more in-depth understanding of the students’ comprehension.
• Create Mobile Science Lab – with a complete palm-sized STEM lab, LabDisc allows educators to focus on lab content, rather than set up and tear down of each experiment. LabDisc has the capability to house 14 wireless sensors built into a single compact device, which has the ability to save educators up to 90 minutes each day of set up and tear down time. Additionally, it allows science learning to happen virtually anywhere – class is no longer tethered to a single room.

 
Each of these technology tools has the power to enhance learning while seamlessly integrating cost-effective technology. We’d love to hear from you –would these tools make a difference in your classroom? How do you incorporate Ed Tech tools? Share in the comments section below!

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