Education standards in different schools will always differ. However, the need of moving towards the incorporation of digital teaching in classrooms holds a lot of merit, irrespective of which school you are in. While smart boards for classrooms are the basic first step of a technologically advanced classroom, there are quite a number of factors that one needs to take into account. That being said, here are 7 ways of creating the classrooms of the future:
To encourage the incorporation of technology in regular teaching, the first step is to create a technology friendly space. Apart from arranging for smart boards for classrooms, schools also need to create an environment that allows ease in using learning devices for the students.
Teachers too need to realize that their role as an educator is changing with time and they too have to embrace the concept of blended learning. While the teachers are still vital aspects of the classrooms of the future, they need to incorporate technology and digital learning as well into their curricula.
Simply taking the same reading material and presenting it in the digital form is not enough. Today, teaching needs to able to access the unlimited trove of information that the internet has to offer in order to facilitate better learning. From new and supporting material to the various teaching apps available, the curriculum needs to be flexible enough to allow for these changes.
As movement and flexibility become even more important in the classrooms of the future, it is seen that present setups no longer meet the needs. Study pods, charging points throughout the classroom, and standing desks are some of the innovations that schools can look into in order to increase the efficiency of the present infrastructure. This also includes allowing the students access to better and faster Wi-Fi.
Whether it is the teachers and the students, or even the parents, with increased connectivity, the classroom has become more transparent. Through social media, networking, and dedicated mailrooms, the classroom is a more ‘open’ space, where even the parents can ‘see’ what is happening each day. And, with the availability of options to share reminders, disciplinary emails, and homework assignments, the classrooms of the future are all set to be more visible to everyone involved.
While smart boards for classrooms have already made their niche in education, virtual reality too has proved to be a very major development in technology and classrooms to need to be prepared for the inculcation of the same into teaching. With numerous VR start-ups working on innovations, it won’t be long before the technology makes its ways into more and more classrooms.
The classroom of the future will definitely have many innovations in place, including smart boards for classrooms. However, it would be impractical to expect each and every teacher to be on top of every new innovation in technology. Therefore, schools also need to be prepared with strategies for regular and proper teacher training.
The best way to move towards creating the classroom of the future begins with the present, by making small changes today. The whole process might take time, but that just means that you begin right now!