EDUCATION COLLABORATION
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of video since the turn of the decade has enabled these intra-school classes. “Before the pandemic, teachers wouldn’t consider putting a camera in a classroom; the fear of filling in forms would be enough of a deterrent,” said Southern. “But today the ability to say ‘let’s call our other school and bring some of the kids in from that class’ is seen as a positive by lots of teachers. “Lots of schools and units within the schools are paired with schools in different countries now, so they have the ability to bring in another school in Africa, for example, and share the lesson with kids from a different continent.” Innovative Teaching Although kids have always been more technologically savvy than teachers, that exposure to technology from a young age has meant that keeping the kids engaged can become a task. That challenge of engagement is something Southern says is getting better as younger teachers, who are open to using technology in different ways, join the workforce. “Teachers have finally started to understand that, if you want to collaborate with the students in the room, better experiences get better responses and higher retention levels. “We’ve also got to remember that these children have an iPhone, iPad, PS5 at home, and even the telly downstairs is a smart TV. Their world revolves around collaborative information around video, voice and imagery, so if you sit them down in a room, talk at them, and put a book in front of them, you’re going to have limited success because they’ve got the retention of a goldfish!” As we all learn in different ways, making lessons engaging and, on occasion,
entertaining can often make subjects easier for students to grapple with. McDermott added that those teachers who have adapted their approach are able to deliver much more engaging lessons. “Generally you get a couple of different teacher types, young teachers that are really engaging with technology, and the mature teachers that would be frightened of engaging in new technologies because they don’t know what to do if it goes wrong. “Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality platforms and tools need to be easy to use and work well the first time, because the content there is strong and engaging for the classroom. But if the person at the front of the class doesn’t feel comfortable using it, it’s useless. “If you’ve got a young, engaging person that’s not frightened of technology, they will look at new technologies, test out the experience, and want to work with it to see how it can improve their lessons. Mature teachers were reluctant to accept change but have started to adopt and accept that that change is here to stay now.” Surrounded by Tech As teachers continue to realise the engaging ways lessons can be taught throughout the curriculum, we may be tempted to credit this trend to the events of 2020. However Southern warned against this, adding that the new wave of teachers coming in who understand technology, and are using IT to create more engaging lessons, is the driving factor. “I used to spend hours of my time training teachers and I’d go back three months later and train the same people again on the same stuff, because they just weren’t going to use it.
Martin McDermott Business Development Manager
www.tp-link.com
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality platforms and tools need to be easy to use and work well the first time, because the content there is strong and engaging for the classroom
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