Kirsty Kelly, Programme Coordinator for the Primary Years at the Canadian International School in Singapore, said that technology is a driving force that opens many doors and prepares students for what lies ahead. She also stated that it provides an opportunity for greater differentiation, individualised learning, real-world integration and multiple assessments. With the rapid development of technology, schools also need to change and incorporate digital advances into the classroom. This is the reason why education needs to utilise the updated technologies and tools that are available.
As the students of today are the digital natives of the 21st-century world, Jim Tracy, the headmaster of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachussets, told the US News and World Report that the students feel disconnected because the teacher still puts them in the situation of a 19th century classroom. It needs to change to meet the needs of digital native students.
The official Global Citizen website described how educational institutions from kindergarten to higher education are beginning to incorporate new technologies at a rapid pace. They explained about the incorporation of technology in today’s classrooms such as
Creative spaces
Danish Kurani and Zoe Balaconis designed a new classroom environment where students can connect with the real world. The pilot programme uses technology and new teaching techniques to make education more personalised, adaptive and relevant to the real world. It also includes small discussion areas, a learning zone, student-directed and large learning galleries that can be updated to suit the topic.
Projectors
It will be the popular tools since decades. Usually it is only used to show the lecture notes or presentation. However, it can also display any interactive images so that students and teachers can engage with it.
Smartboards
It has the similar function with whiteboards but in a digital form. The digital marker is used to write on it. What makes it surpass the old whiteboards is that it can record whatever is written on it or turn the digital marker line into a tangible visual element. Smartboards also allow students to manipulate images, lead an online exploration or control a camera in the Arctic Circle.
Smart tables
Similar to smartboards, but displayed on a table. Smart tables take the information off the wall and display it on the tables. Some products can even handle 40 unique touches at once, making them perfect for a room full of young students.
Digital textbooks
They are very popular these days. The digital textbooks are becoming more crucial for some schools that cut the physical textbooks due to the expensive price. It is actually the digital forms of the old textbooks which makes it look more like online databases or programs.
