It is especially important to maximize student engagement in the classroom to ensure students are understanding and retaining the material being covered. One way to do this is through the productive use of educational technology to enhance the way students learn the curriculum.
Technology is often used in the classroom to simplify students’ workload and boost their efficiency, but technology also has the ability to boost student engagement and increase student participation and attention in the classroom. While there are many ways to utilize edtech to help students learn, here are some ways you can use technology to boost student engagement in the classroom:
Offer Multiple Formats for Assignment Submission
Technology gives you the ability to allow students to submit assignments in many different formats: essays, videos, audio/podcasts, blogs, and more. Encourage students to create assignment submissions in a variety of mediums to promote their natural creativity and challenge different skills between assignments. If you find students repeatedly using the same format to complete every assignment, set a limit on how many times they can use a specific format or create a minimum requirement for using each format throughout the year.
Try Game-Based Learning
Another way to boost student engagement is through the use of video games and game-like education apps. Some games are designed to teach students a specific lesson or topic––such as many of the games available on Kahoot!––while other games can be customized to fit the content you want students to learn. An example of this is Quizlet, which also offers students the ability to create their own game-based learning opportunities.
Engage Older Students With Social Platforms
Although an unconventional use of technology in the classroom, using social platforms can be a successful way to boost student engagement with the curriculum. Whether asking students to actively seek out news articles and social posts related to the curriculum or enabling students to communicate with you and their classmates through a group discussion board, social platforms offer a place for older students to share their voice when they engage with the curriculum.
Share Resources in Multiple Mediums
Give students a wide variety of resources to enhance their learning, such as photos, videos, articles, infographics, and more. This allows students to dive deeper into the topics they’re learning, increasing student engagement. Plus, having the ability to explore the curriculum in several different mediums offers options for students of every learning type.
Experiment with Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been trending edtech solutions at recent education trade shows because of the unique learning experience they can offer. These edtech solutions offer students the ability to live an experience, explore a place, or discover a new item that they could not have access to in the real world. This improves student engagement in subjects like history and science, where seeing the curriculum helps create deeper understanding.
