Technology

Technology as the motivation tool in the classroom

Inevitable fact

Students today grow up surrounded by various types of technology in every aspect of their life. Vivid images, multimedia and outnumbering information are just popping around them and the idea of having a technology combined with a teacher in a classroom is a great idea which can result best possible if used in proper manner. motivation using technology is a strategy that simply makes sense today in order to reach the best among our students in order to create top experts in any business aspect. Especially when today there is a growing range of high power digital devices which connects the classroom to the internet in no time making a constant connectivity of new student generations a norm.

Video streaming

Almost 70 percent of the population are visual learners which makes logic solution of using some of the YouTube clips, short videos or cartoons in order to make a clearer picture for your students. Some complex examples, explaining or description often make more confusion then it should while reaching your students with some raw footage or short clip will not only result with educated class but also entertained one.

Global learning

Before it was necessary to travel if you wanted to learn something about other cultures, learn other language or make friends from a country far away. Video conferencing as in private life also in the classroom has become one of the educational advantages for learning other language or listening to another research method from other ends of the world.

Breaking the reading monotony

In no way we are saying that reading should be replaced, it just happens to be a good idea to mix things up and engage some technology in your classroom with using podcasts. For example, there are really very complex and serious literature in all the high schools all over the world that result with even more mind-numbing around the students so it is recommended to break this monotony with some of the podcasts which will break this numb phase and make your students interested to join the discussion.

Social Media factor

No matter how hard we all try to ignore the impact of the Twitter, Facebook or Instagram on the whole population it will only be wasting of our time. Embracing it and creating for example debate about some topic using Social Media usually results with all students participating in comparing to regular few that always participate ordinary one.

For sure teachers today have a huge challenge while protecting their role as a source of knowledge and holding control of the students while technology emergence is creating this power struggle in the classroom.

Is Internet Making Us Smarter Or Dumber?

Mollie Layton ACTA, Internet, School, Technology Internet

There are many ways in which technology has already made a long-lasting impact on our lives, but one question keeps creeping up, and that is the effect that technology has had on our intelligence. While some people think the internet is making us smarter, others believe that the internet is making us a lot lazier and in fact dumber. To show that sometimes the internet can have both positive and negative effects on our intelligence, we have decided to explore this topic in more details.

Is Internet Knowledge Real?

Some people believe knowledge is paralyzing, but it can be even more so with internet facts. While you can find a lot of useful information online, you can also be sure that internet knowledge can be misleading as well. Learning how to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information that you can find online is also really important for any project or research. If you want to get to the verified facts, you need to know where to look for them. It is not enough that you use a simple internet browser and find the first article or video, you need to learn how to find the sources from where these facts come, in order to make sure that the knowledge that you are acquiring is actually a verified fact or figure.

How the Internet Makes Us Smarter?

There are many ways in which the internet is making us smarter. It is allowing us to research, find facts and learn something new. Even if you are watching videos you can learn a lot from YouTube. The freedom of researching whatever topic interests you in a matter of seconds, make the facts a lot easier to check and access them. In that respect, you can frequently check your facts, even if you forget something. So, your knowledge is always expanding with each search for a certain fact. If you are one of those people who really like to be certain of what they are about to talk about, then checking your facts on the internet can be a great way to check up on your knowledge. As you know we all forget facts as time goes by, so learning continually whole your life and using the internet to do so, is not such a bad idea after all.

How Is Internet Making Us Dumber?

net In the same way almost, the internet is also making us dumber. The Internet is making us lazier to learn, simply because we know that we do not have to know everything, because we have the internet. Having said that, how many times have you read something online that was absolutely false? What happens when hackers change some of the facts that you are absolutely certain of and that appear even on the most trusted websites? Should you really rely on the internet alone, to provide you with information that is trustworthy? In fact, no. This is the time when you have to think with your own head and really find reliable and trustworthy information in this sea of information that is called the Internet.

Should You Read Books Then?

One might argue that even historical books and research of any kind can be just as manipulated as the online knowledge. In fact, it is said that history is written by the victors, as Winston Churchill had put it. In other words, even historical books and resources that you are supposed to believe provide you with undeniable facts, might be wrong, commissioned or dated. This is why even the knowledge from books is rather arguable. On the other hand, internet knowledge base is always updated, it changes, evolves and continually grows. If you want to get to the truth, all you need to know is where to look for it. Furthermore, even scientific research is arguable in that sense that you do not know who did the research, with what sample and where in the world. If you start thinking that way, then no knowledge is real knowledge, internet or otherwise.

How You Can Use Technology To Motivate Your Students

Mollie Layton ACTA, School, Technology Motivation, Students, Technology

There are many ways to boost motivation using technology, especially when you are a teacher. But if you are willing to learn some of the most effective ways in which you can motivate your students with the use of technology, this is a great place to start expanding your thoughts on teaching and learn something new.

Motivate Students With Videos

We all know that students can learn a lot more from the visual material, so it is a great way to start changing your teaching approach with some educational videos. There are many ways in which you can boost not just their motivation for learning through visual and video materials, but also your own motivation for teaching. If you feel that your lessons have become stuck in a rut, and that your teaching could use a new approach, then this is a great way to start using technology and introducing some changes. There are so many educational videos that you can find, the resources are absolutely limitless, but you can also make your own.

Make sure that you are creative as a teacher, if you want your students to be creative as well, and more importantly to learn something more about your subject. Also, if you have not used technology before, this is a great way to start, as it is something even those who are not technologically apt use really effectively. If you want to be regarded as a cool teacher, who can really interest students in their subject and boost their motivation for learning, then you should consider implementing some video materials in your lectures.

Use Technology In And Out Of Classroom For Teaching

Another perk of using technology in your classroom, is that you can also use it in and out of the classroom. This is a great way to help your students do some learning when they are not in your class and make them learn even more. Especially considering that we are always using some technological devices, it will also mean that your subject will be more close to your students at all times. You can also consider using technology for the evaluation process, and ease a lot of your teaching tasks.

Motivate Students With Independent Research

tech Make sure that you as a teacher use technology to motivate students to do some independent research in their free time as well. Motivating students to do independent research on whatever topic can be a lot easier with the use of technology, because it will also be a lot more interesting to them to do the research if they are using technology. This is the approach in teaching that definitely deserves a lot more attention from many teachers, and if you are using it at the moment, make sure that you continue using it for research.

Motivate Students With Different Apps

Exploring apps that you could use for teaching your subject, will make it a lot easier to transfer your knowledge to your students. Also, motivating them to follow your subjects will be a lot easier if you were to find a cool app that could help you’re and get them interested in your subject. Motivating students with various apps will make your subject more interesting and them more interested, it is an approach that is definitely worth exploring.

Boost Motivation With Various Technological Devices

For best results, you should definitely think of alternative ways to use technology, but also try to use various technological devices. It is the variety in the use of technological devices that will help you boost their motivation and keep them interested. If you continually use one and the same approach, your lessons and lectures will soon grow boring, even if it is with the use of technology. Break up the routine with the use of various technological devices and you will see the difference in your own results as a teacher and students result in passing your subject.

Use Existing Technological Devices In Classroom

If your students have smartphones as they probably do, make the most of it. Do not forbid technology in your lectures, instead use it to your advantage. There are many ways in which you can achieve this, you just have to use some of your creativity that you surely have.

How Could Technology Be Integrated Into The Teaching Of Social Studies

Mollie Layton ACTA, School, Technology Social Studies, Teaching, Technology

There are many ways in which technology could be integrated into the teaching process, but more importantly today we will be talking about how technology can be integrated into teaching of social studies. So if you are preparing to try something new in your teaching methodology and start teaching social studies with technology, this is the right place to start.

Start Teaching With Technology

This is the right time to start teaching with technology, since technology has been around for a while, it is surprising you have not started teaching social studies this way earlier. Teaching with technology is making your life as a teacher so much easier, that once you try teaching this way you will definitely not regret it. If you are one of those teachers who are still oppressing to using new technologies in teaching, this is perhaps the time to start changing your methods of teaching.

How To Teach Social Studies

There are many ways in which you can teach social studies. That being said, social studies are also diverse, so depending on the social studies and the subjects that you are teaching, your task might me a lot easier with the help of technology. The traditional way to teach social studies is becoming dated and teaching ex catedra is definitely becoming the thing of the past. Teaching social studies with technology will not just make your subject a lot more appealing to students, it will also help them understand the matter that you are teaching in a way which is close to them and which is easier for them to understand. This is precisely why as teachers we always need to keep up with the times and learn what is most appealing to students. If you believe that students are beginning to lose the interest for your subject, and you are willing to try teaching social studies in a completely new way, this is a great place to start and a great way to also work on yourself. Just like students should be apt to learn during their lifetime, that is how we, as teachers, should commit to learning new technologies, implementing them in our process of teaching and creating such an environment that will help students to learn.

Which Aspects Of Social Studies Could Be Taught With Technology

Many subjects could be taught with the use of technology, and especially social subjects are a lot easier to teach and to study with the use of technology. There also are some aspects of social studies that are easier to teach with some use of technological devices. For example, if you are a history teacher, you can use technology to help your students become more aware of the historical eras through an interesting app, than you will be able to get them interested in boring historical topics. If you were just to talk to them, you will probably be one of those boring history teachers. In this way you are making it able for them to become interested in a topic even though they are not interested in a particular topic on their own. Even the boring aspects of each social studies subject can be made a lot interesting in this way.

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Technological Advancements And Teaching Of Social Studies

It is great that we live in the day and age in which we can use all the perks of technological advancements in order to be able to teach social studies. You can use technology in different ways, you just have to show some creativity and initiative to start using technological advancements in your classroom. Also, if you decide that some areas of social studies are easier to teach the old-fashioned way, you can switch between your old teaching habits and new technologies. That is to say, you do not have to completely change the way you teach – you just have to be willing to start using technology in your teaching process. Not only that it will make your life as a teacher as lot easier, but it will also attract more students to your subject and help them better grasp the subject that you are teaching.

What Social Studies Have To Do With Social Networks

comp Social studies are also a great way to start exploring social networks and teaching up to date history, from the aspect that is close to your students. You can teach sociology, history, philosophy and many other social studies, in a lot more efficient way, with the help of technology. You can also implement new teaching strategies and help shape the way students explore these subjects and investigate more about them through the medium which is currently the closest to their interests – and that is of course technology. Also your teaching process will be facilitated with the help of technology and you will also benefit from this approach. So for the sake of your students and yourself as a teacher, if you want to upgrade your teaching and transfer the knowledge to your students, this is a great way to start doing just that.

How To Investigate Social Changes With Technology

There are many ways in which technological devices could facilitate the research process for yourself and your students. It is also a great way to start motivating your students to explore new aspects of current trends in social studies, and help them become more independent in their research. Investigating synchronic or diachronic social studies with the use of technology can be a lot more interesting as well, and give better results. In addition to that, it will also help prepare your students for further studies and their own independent research.

What are your thoughts and beliefs on this topic? If you are currently teaching social studies with or without technology we invite you to share your thoughts on this topic as well as your experiences in teaching social studies in general. Make sure that you share your experiences with other teachers, as they might benefit from it as well.