Week, 23 million devices were purchased in
2013 and 2014 alone. More recently, tablets
are taking over as an affordable option for
bringing technology to each individual
student. One-to-one computing hopes to
provide teachers with the time to give each
student more personalized attention and
time to work at his/her own pace.
New Learning Spaces
Gone are the days of sitting head-behindhead, avoiding eye contact with your
teacher, hoping she won’t call on you for the
answer to her question. Student-centered
environments in colleges and schools
breed creativity and innovation through
small-group learning and instruction. “In a
personalized learning classroom, technology
frees up time for teachers to do what they
do best: teach students in small groups
and customize instruction,” Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg says. Zuckerberg
along with the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and many others are seeing the
positive outcomes of personalized learning.
Reinventing learning spaces is a subtle
approach that will make sure the student
population is served adequately, allowing
teachers to spend more personalized time
with each student in a group. Through
technology, students are provided access to
24/7 learning, allowing them to take learning
outside of their typical classroom setting
and work on their own time. This means a
cultural shift in the use of mobile technology
in the classroom.
STEM Integration
The United States is pushing for young
people to become scientists, engineers,
and innovators to shape tomorrow and to
continue to be global leaders. As a common
buzzword in recent years, STEM – science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics
– continues to play a crucial role in early
learning. In a report by U.S. News, early
development of STEM skills supports
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reading, language, and STEM skills later
in life. Typically, STEM learning is a focus
of high school-level students. Inadequate
attention is being paid to STEM in early
childhood education since other key
competencies, such as basic skills in literacy
and numeracy, are topics of focus. Educators
are working toward proper preparation for
teaching early childhood STEM classes
to create an even more valuable learning
experience for elementary students.
Professional Development for Educators
The ever-changing landscape of education
is hard to stay privy to as an educator. Putting
hundreds of hours into lesson plans each
school year makes the thought of adopting
changes a daunting one. Personalized
professional development is changing the
way teachers are learning to teach their
students. Administration-required seminars
are being replaced with real-time alternative
credentialing. Teachers are learning new
ways for classroom learning, combining
online learning, service-based learning, and
hands-on learning to provide students with a
valuable educational experience.
As technology continues to change
and education tirelessly tries to keep up,
students and teachers can look forward
to the exciting opportunities in learning.
School districts will continue to work to
make thoughtful technology purchases
that develop a vision for the future of
education. Once technology is purchased,
schools must remember a crucial step in
rollout: educating faculty and staff on how
to successfully utilize the technology in the
classroom. The right technology, with the
right professional development, can lead to
a valuable education. From online learning,
to utilizing wearables for interactive teaching
purposes, education trends are going to
continue to morph to ensure that students
graduate knowing they are ready to take on
the world. n
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creativity
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