Unpacking The Rise In Technology Enhanced Learning

The Covid-19 pandemic has completely, and some say irrevocably, reshaped education. More than shift students from classrooms to online education, it tested the basic ideas that we’ve held about instruction, testing, attendance, funding, the role of technology, and the human connections that hold the education sector together.

In short, there has been a learning revolution, giving rise to online learning, or to give it the more official term, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). 

As a result, increasingly more schools and other educational centres are taking the opportunity to reimagine what schools can be and have embarked on their own TEL journeys.

Here is a closer look at the opportunities, the TEL options, and the support required to drive digital learning in your educational facility.

The Importance Of TEL

There’s no denying the fact that today’s students today are tech-savvy individuals. As a result of the technological boom, children are becoming computer experts from a very early age, spending parts of their day interacting with some form of technology or the other. Now, in a world dominated by ever-developing smartphones, tablets, computers, etc. children have made huge strides as they grow in being prepared for school, future careers, innovation, and more.

Essentially, we have generations of tech-ready students capable of using other forms of education and different means of learning, thus allowing technology to improve interaction, engagement, and understanding within their classrooms and lecture theatres. 

The Opportunities

TEL has changed the landscape of education, making it possible to use other forms of education and different means of learning to reach future generations.

These are the numerous opportunities that we believe TEL can unlock in schooling:

• Increased teacher communication
• Teachers can grade faster.
• Personalised learning 
• The rise of remote and hybrid learning
• Kids can learn at their own pace.
• Reduced costs
• Greater recognition for the education sector
• More availability of educational technological resources
• Technology keeps kids engaged.
• Technology is necessary to succeed in the real world.

The Options

Through advancements made in education technologies we now have more tools at our disposal to teach and engage students. That said, you still need to know how to use them most effectively by reviewing the needs of your students, your facilities, and objectives of your class.

Here’s a list of education tech to help you navigate the various methods and techniques that are right for you and your students.

Virtual Field Trips – Simulate a virtual trip by buying a Google Cardboard and explore natural phenomena and famous buildings, like the Great Barrier Reef and the Empire State Building.

Videos for Mini-Lessons – Bolster lessons by adding videos and animated clips to provide introductions, overviews, and conclusions, which can be found on sites like YouTube and TeacherTube.

Multimedia Elements – Liven up presentations’ images, graphs, pictographs, podcast clips, sound effects, etc. 

Adaptive Content – Kids are on their phones, so take advantage of this by delivering content through their phones in the form of adaptive learning programmes.

Virtual Manipulatives – Reinforce challenging concepts using manipulatives that appeal to hands-on learners.

Learning Stations – With a device at each station (or at a group station), you can provide videos, podcasts, slideshows, and other digital media.

Twitter Hashtags – Using class-exclusive hashtags you can take questions, run competitions, and encourage teamwork.

Online Mind Maps – This is a brilliant digital take on brainstorming that’s faster and enables clearer, more detailed information processing.

Play Simulations – Use simulations to add context and real-world applicability to your lessons, such as economics.

WebQuests – By playing detective, students are encouraged to find and process information in engaging contexts, adding an interesting spin to the research process. 

The Challenge

Despite the fact that many technology-based teaching strategies and resources successfully engage students and develop their skills, many teachers have trouble integrating technology into the classroom.

It could be that introducing a particular platform is too challenging, or perhaps you don’t have the necessary devices to utilise the technology that you have in mind. But perhaps the biggest challenge is connectivity. 

From the issue with a lack of connectivity infrastructure and frequent loadshedding to system crashes and the fact that disasters happen when you least expect, it can be difficult to facilitate online learning in South Africa. 

This is exactly what Huge Connect does. We provide bespoke connectivity solutions that give you fast, reliable always-on Internet access, as well as full, cost-effective backup solutions. For instance, our Fixed LTE-A Backup so that if your connection fails, we can have you back up and teaching in no time at all. 

The Huge Difference

If you’re interested in taking advantage of what educational technology has to offer your students and want to explore how our connectivity and backup solutions could help you, connect with us. 

Connect with us and let us help you today.