Technology In The Classroom

Technology advancements in the classroom have changed the way most teachers teach and do things inside the classroom. Not only it became really helpful but it has now become a necessity for a lot of things.

And this 2018, new technologies starts to show off their capabilities of how they can be useful in the classroom. Here are some of the must-have technologies in the classroom:

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is taking shape after a few years of formation. Although Augmented Reality tech is famously known to be used to heighten gaming experience, it can also be really helpful for classroom use.

While AR technology for educational purpose is still limited to smartphone apps, we can expect a great technology with the use of Google Glass and other wearable devices for AR that can help students explore the virtual world without holding any devices that can distract them from their experience.

AR also makes Virtual field trips possible. A teacher can go somewhere educational and use live streaming for the students to see. The teacher sees his students and his students see him like they are in the same place.

Paper-Thin Smartphones

In the near future, trees will no longer be killed in order to produce papers. These plastic e-papers, not like your regular papers are not only unbreakable or durable but it also offers interactivity. With taps and swipes and even pinching, these paper-thin displays are very flexible, they can take over the paper manufacturing industry.

Sony designed an A4-sized, paper-thin digital paper prototype that is only 63g. Even laptops and lightweight smartphones are not a match for this kind of portability.

3D Printing

What makes a biology class harder is describing different body parts or organs word by word. How about a 3D printer in the classroom? Instead of understanding word by word descriptions in the textbooks and imagining the right shapes and colors, a 3D printer can provide a 3D model of a heart for example. This can help students have a hands-on and a face-to-face look at the given subject and aid them in better understanding.

Teachers and students of engineering field, however, will benefit the most in this particular technology. Just imagine the prototypes and mini-models they can create in order to test some principles in engineering. 

3D printing, together with Computer Aided designs or CAD can help students to experiment with a design freely without considerable time and costs.

Eye-Tracking Biometrics

Biometrics have been gaining popularity in the last few years. Originally, biometrics is used in security industries since it uses unique characteristics of each individual to authenticate identities such as voice, facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris pattern. In school, most schools make uses of fingerprint technology for borrowing books and attendance policy for teachers.

Eye-tracking, however, is much different. Because of its ability to provide invaluable feedback on how student understands or absorb the learning content, teachers will have a better idea on how to modify his or her learning style. 

In fact, eye-tracking technology is now used by several advertising companies in order to see or evaluate how their clients and customer responds to their ads and helps them determine what part of their ad capture their interests and attention.

Interactive Whiteboards

Over the past few years, we have seen changes of writing platforms inside the classroom: From blackboard to the whiteboard, from overhead projectors to video projectors. So, no one would be surprised if the next board will from the family of smartphones and tablets. Specifically, a large giant touch LCD screens board that can provide a greater amount of interactivity.

It is a large screen that is attached to a computer that can generate infinite combinations of videos, sounds, and images just like smartphones. However, the big difference is that this particular “board screen” will have the ability to detect multiple touch inputs simultaneously and can be great for primary school teaching. I wonder if schools and that of higher education institutes like Embury institute for higher education would use an interactive whiteboard.

In the very near future, instead of a large traditional board in front, the classroom will probably have a giant tablet lying flat at the top of a table, just like the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface. Sitting around the table, students can swipe, drag, draw, and type on its touchscreen capabilities.