Often teachers may find themselves in one of two particular camps. One one side, there are the digital and tech enthusiasts - sometimes fully paperless educators. And on the other side there are teachers who are all about hands-on learning.
There are undeniable benefits on both sides, but I have a question for teachers out there: why not put one foot in each camp?
We haven’t seen anyone outright deny that technology is an important aspect of education for students, in its many different forms. Why? Graduates are increasingly expected to be familiar with various types of tech in their new workplaces. And as more and more countries are adding coding to their curriculum, the building blocks behind the tech is also playing an increased role in school and with employers.
Hands-on activities build motor skills from a young age and work a different part of the brain. Not to mention it’s so much fun to build and create things for yourself, creating a great sense of accomplishment while helping students observe and understand new things.
So what are some common benefits?
When used well in classrooms, both technology and hands-on can encourage independence and exploration. They can both encourage critical thinking skills, too.
The new school year is already well under way and we hope all the teachers and students out there are learning a lot and having a good time! We'd like to give you an update on several new things here at Mozaik Education in recent months.
First of all, our new blog has a fresh design to match our updated website, mozaweb.com. We also have a few new contributors who will be bringing you exciting new content throughout the year. We will focus on tips and tricks for using technology in the classroom, including lesson planning hints and resources, as well as edtech news, and information about products and features that our team is working on.
Our blog isn’t the only thing that’s gotten a makeover - mozaBook 4.5 released a new update back in September. There are a lot of new features that come with the update, including new tools and content available in more languages, but we would like to highlight a few key improvements that we’ve made in order to really streamline teachers’ digital work and interaction with students: classroom management, homework and sharing.
Looking for ways to use today's great technology to make a greater impact on your students? We have four hints for using technology successfully in your classroom - no matter which subject you teach.
1. Vary your videos
Think back...way back... to when you were a student. Ah, those were the days! Although as I recall, many of my teachers chose one particular series of videos to show every week. Spanish class, biology, physics: VHS was a popular way to teach. A series can be great in terms of structure, but we humans like variety. If kids are rolling their eyes every time your favorite scientist comes onto the screen, why not mix it up and show some supplementary videos from a new source?
Mix animation and live action videos. Try videos from light-hearted amateur chemists online combined with the more serious, professionally filmed experiments. Better yet, combine videos with an entirely different type of digital resource.