Technology is disruptive. Education technology is in a whole new league. Breaking down the traditional barriers of the school system, it has led to revolutionary changes in the education sector. Where once the golden rule of the classroom was “no talking”, we now have teachers encouraging open collaboration. Where once we had students falling behind without being noticed, we now have systems pinpointing a student’s weaknesses and providing instant help. Where once all communication between student and teacher was lost once outside the classroom, we now have social media to connect at all times. It’s simply indisputable that technology is impacting education for the better, and while some remain sceptical, the proof is in the pudding.
1. It’s Making Learning Personal
One of the biggest benefits of education technology is its ability to facilitate one-to-one instruction. Long considered the most effective form of teaching, it has been deemed an impossibility given the ratio of teachers to students in our system. Technology makes it possible to reach every single student on a personal level, delivering personalized resources and a personalized learning experience to every single student. Fishtree does this by assessing students’ Learning DNA, generating resources specific to their needs, and tracking student progress on a continuous basis, with instant help at hand.
2. It’s Making Learning Adaptive
In much the same way as personalization, adaptive learning keeps the focus on the students, moving with their rhythm, adapting to their every need. Technology has allowed us to keep students learning at their own pace, in their own way, tailoring the learning experience as it continues. Fishtree’s adaptive platform identifies a student’s learning path, provides tailored resources, tracks a student’s learning, and ensures every specified target is reached in an adaptive way.
3. It’s Making Learning Mobile
Technology has finally given learning the legs it needed to ensure the process never comes to a halt. Through the use of mobile technology like Fishtree, educators can keep students learning long after leaving the school gates. Through the use of personalized resources and lessons, students are encouraged to indulge in independent learning and self-assessment, fueling their creativity and critical thinking skills.
4. It’s Making Learning Social
In a world increasingly dominated by social media, integrating social networking in education and encouraging positive collaboration is more important than ever. Technology has given us the key to bringing the social aspect into learning, along with the added bonus of keeping educators, students, and peers connected. Fishtree gives educators and students a safe, monitored, social media-based feature that encourages open, respectful collaboration at all times, further promoting the importance of digital citizenship and online safety.
5. It’s Making Learning Transparent
While technology certainly makes it easier to facilitate better learning, it goes a step further, giving educators complete transparency into the learning process. With the help of technology, we can now see exactly how each student is learning, using what resources, and at what pace. Fishtree provides key insights into student learning, identifying the specific path taken by each, and translating the personalization process step-by-step, keeping the teacher involved at all times.
6. It’s Making Teaching Easier
There’s nothing easy about teaching. Simultaneously acting as counsellor, mediator, parent, supervisor, educator and nurturer is never going to be easy. Yet the administrative duties of teachers have piled high in recent years in response to state demands. Technology can take the pressure off by tracking student progress and performance for you, building an organized system of student portfolios. What’s more, a platform like Fishtree offers a lesson planner with millions of standard-aligned resources at the ready, saving a lot of precious time. While it could never replace the key instructor in the classroom, technology really does make the process a whole lot easier.
About the author:
Lorna Keane is a teacher of French, English and ESL. She specializes in language teaching and has taught in second and third-level institutions in several countries. She holds a B.A in languages and cultural studies and an M.A in French literature, theory and visual culture. Subscribe to her blog or follow her on Twitter.
Image credits: Brad Flickinger / CC BY 2.0
