How is Technology Helping in Online Education?

The use of new technologies in the classroom is no longer an expectation of researchers, teachers and students and has become a reality present in most schools. The data on schools' internet presence is encouraging. Besides there are many online e-Education platforms which are helping students and teachers to get their preferred lessons. What we do not know is whether the internet is in fact used as a tool combined with teaching and, if so, how it is being used.

The scenario of technological trends in education is positive, with the inclusion of innovative tools that can bring novelty to classrooms. But a question remains to be answered: how do these new technologies favor learning?

How Technology Helps in Learning?

When we talk about “new technologies” we have to keep in mind that each resource is different from the other and, therefore, has a different effect on student learning. The ultimate goal, of course, is to allow students to learn better, but until they reach that level, each type of tool has a specificity. Discover 6 of these tools and what they can do for students in your class.

Gamification 

It is an expression designed to talk about the use of games applied to teaching. Many of them are developed specifically for teaching a particular subject, such as mathematics, physics or geography. They use elements of the games, such as interaction, ranking and bonuses to keep students motivated to complete all stages.

Video Lessons

Whether to complement content in the classroom, present new information, or a summary of the material for the quarter, video lessons are a way to keep classes out of the classroom. It is increasingly common for teachers to create channels on tools such as YouTube to give their learning tips about a certain content. The main advantage of video classes is to expand the offer of quality content for students, expanding the information to which they have access.

MOOCs: 

This type of open and online course allows thousands of people to learn a new topic at a distance. Large universities have adhered to this type of format, which allows training a large number of people through a course of recognized quality. It helps a student to deepen a certain topic that he has more difficulty or interest in. MOOC combines video classes with teaching materials and other information formats, such as infographics, maps, audios, images, historical documents, etc.

Collaborative Environments

Social networks can be a big waste of time or an excellent way to learn, depending on the use we make of it. Groups that bring together students and teachers can be a good alternative for exchanging information that did not fit during the 50 minutes of weekly classes. The teacher can suggest readings, share films and answer questions outside the classroom, keeping the student's interest high.

Mobile Devices 

The popularization of these devices is a full plate for the use of various teaching tools in the palm of your hand. With this, they gain content applications that can add value to what is being taught in the classroom and those for exchanging messages and sharing information, by bringing students and teachers together.

Even today, many teachers have seen new technologies as a kind of threat to their work. In the past, the imaginary that was created with the introduction of computers and the Internet in schools was that robots would replace teachers and that they were enough to pass the content in class. Obviously, this catastrophic prediction does not make any sense, but it is necessary to pay attention to a new fact, which not all teachers have yet understood.