How Technology is Modernizing Schools

Please welcome Bernadine Racoma to the 21st Century Tech Blog. Bernadine is the Content Manager of WorkSmartr.com. Her long experience in an international development institution and extensive travels provide her with a wealth of knowledge and insight into cultural diversity. She writes to inform, engage, and share the idea of the Internet being a useful platform for communicating, knowledge sharing, educating, and entertaining. In this her first contribution she describes how interactive, multi-sensory learning is changing how teachers engage students in the classroom environment.

Over the last thirty years, technology has been an important cog in ever-evolving formal learning environments. Continuous technology innovation is changing the way we learn, teach, and interact, reshaping classrooms into dynamic, adaptable environments that support a wide range of learning styles and needs.

From the early introduction of computers to today’s artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, technology is making a difference in schools and bolstering the learning experience.

Multi-Sensory Learning

One way technology is modernizing the learning environment is through the introduction of multi-sensory technology. Several studies have shown how multi-sensory learning, referring to the engagement of a student’s sight, sound, and touch, can enhance attention, focus, and memory retention. Using interactive projectors, teachers provide dynamic visuals and interactive content that gets projected onto surfaces.

For example, the Obie projector has become a popular option for small classrooms where physical activity is space-restricted. The projector provides a bright high-definition display with over 350 premium games. It is easy to install in small spaces and can project content to any surface. For children aged 5 to 9, it is potentially the best interactive projector today to make learning more fun and physically interactive.

Personalized Learning

AI is being used in classrooms to enhance the personal learning experience. AI-driven learning platforms can assess each student’s progress and learning style and provide tailored lessons and feedback. This customization allows students to learn at their own pace, giving them a unique and effective educational experience.

Relatively new, educational AI’s potential benefits still represent unknowns, but there is little doubt that AI will prove to be a significant disruptor in the advancement of learning in schools across the globe.

Data-Driven Learning

Perhaps one of the most significant ways technology is modernizing schools is by giving
teachers a chance to understand their students better. Analytic tools, for instance, have been enabling educators to gather and analyze data from multiple sources, including assessments, quizzes, and attendance records. This allows teachers to attain a broader view of a student’s performance over time, identifying patterns in student scores for different subjects and pinpointing strengths and weaknesses.

The same tools can facilitate formative assessments, ongoing evaluations that provide feedback in real-time rather than at the end of a term or school year. From this, educators can curate a personalized learning plan, to help address both individual needs as well as promote student agency. Teachers can become more aware of how a student participates in the classroom, and reach out to them using what the collected individual data tells them.

Students can use the shared data to take ownership of their education and work on subject areas where it clearly shows they are challenged.

Technology is Changing the Face of Schools

In a decade you may not recognize the school learning environment. With virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), automatic grading and reporting, and interactive personalized learning, classrooms will be environments that cater to students with diverse learning styles and needs. Industrialized, assembly-line-style learning, a product of the 19th century will finally be thrown into the dustbin of history.

This is a future of promise for students who will emerge not just with knowledge, but also with stronger critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills, essential for navigating the increasingly complex 21st-century world.