Despite the overwhelming consequences of the lockdown that started in 2020, the global crisis has remained an extraordinary time for learning. The crisis has shown us how resilient and adaptable that teachers, students, policymakers, and education systems can be. That’s all thanks to the advancements in technology, which is also slowly changing the role of teachers amid these unprecedented times.
This article looks at how technology is helping teachers to enhance instruction and boost the learning system. These technological systems like Preply allow teachers to find online tutor jobs and assist teachers in finding more time and enhancing the instructions for the students from anywhere.
More Time Means Better Quality Instruction
Educators and institutions are always looking for ways to improve the students’ achievements by increasing instructional time. Fortunately, digital gadgets like apps, tablets, and computers can help the students and teachers, giving the teachers more time to make the most from content interactions. For instance, students can use internet-based apps to checkout class notes, saving the teacher the time to explain the hard concepts that the students may be struggling with.
The technological benefits in the classroom are noticed when the educators intervene at the most impactful moment. When teachers offer more one-on-one interactions with the students, they can seamlessly use the digital services to assess and manage every student’s individual progress. They can also get immediate feedback instead of waiting to go through the student’s homework through the traditional means.
Changing the Educator’s Role
When used well, technology will give the teachers more time by helping them to give differentiated instructions to their students. The teachers can also choose to reduce their lecture time and increase the time they spend coaching their students through the tough concepts. That can be done as a group or individually while also teaching them how to make the discoveries on their own using technological devices.
When students have the chance to explore and make their own discoveries in the digital space, learning starts being student-centric. That means teachers can make their class time more engaging and interactive for students by mixing traditional learning formats with student-led discoveries.
How Teachers are Adapting
Over the last 18 months, teachers have needed to adapt to new forms of delivering lessons at record speed. That has involved combining remote classes with some face-to-face lessons. According to Chartered College of Teaching CEO Dame Allison, the need to combine a few live sessions with remote classes has had to find ways of pacing input instead of independent work.
The new era of learning has been quite exciting to both teachers and learners despite the challenges that have been present, as learners can learn new things at any time. Teachers can also get access to a host of extra resources in the new era of this digital pedagogy. That includes virtual lessons, which have facilitated exciting lesson planning opportunities and gave teachers access to otherwise inaccessible experts through zoom.
Digital resources have also given teachers access to real-time student data and insights, which have been valuable tools in measuring their progress and identifying knowledge gaps. However, the move to this digital pedagogy has posed several challenges.
The teachers can identify whether the students are disengaged in a classroom, but that can be hard to achieve in an online class. Online classes can also miss the human aspect, which is a necessary feature in teaching and learning.
New Learning Models for Students and Teachers
Teachers will inevitably continue using blended learning models and intelligently using technology to take care of different aspects of teaching. That will allow them to free up more time for focusing on other areas. Unfortunately, having full-time digital lessons every day may not be sustainable in most countries due to technological constraints.
While technology is a valuable tool in teaching, it can’t replace teachers. However, it can support the teachers and support them alongside their support staff. It also allows teachers to concentrate on addressing the students’ more diverse needs.
According to Empathy Week founder Ed Kirwan, digital technology is moving fast, and teachers need the tools to deliver education to learners in time. Fortunately, growing past the chalk and talk teaching style might see teachers taking the roles of facilitators by encouraging self-learning to students through peer-to-peer collaboration.
Teachers have also become accustomed to teaching online, and skill-sharing is now a significant part of education. That means there will be lots of professional development happening to teachers, with peer-to-peer resource sharing.
Bottom Line
At best, the successful implementation of digital resources offers opportunities for more interactive teaching and learning. That poses a challenge for the professional development of teachers, although the development of a modern learning environment is essential to succeeding in using digital technologies like smartphones, tablets, and apps.
