Preparing our students for 21st Century Skills
requires digital learning. There are
several ways to use digital learning to prepare our students. With digital learning students now have the
opportunity to learn at different times or places during the day, they are no
longer confined to the four walls of the classroom. Students can learn at their own pace or their
own path, digital learning is allowing students to make learning personal and
engaging, getting real-time results as they move along at their speed.
Digital Learning is more than just providing our students
with a Chromebook or an iPad, those are just the tools that the content is
delivered. Teachers are still responsible for the learning that happens in the
classroom. Students still need to be
taught the foundations of each new concept they learn. Technology is allowing for students to
practice what they have learned a much faster pace and more engaging. I have had several opportunities to witness
our students using these tools to expand their learning.
Many of our classes use interactive software that allows for
personalized learning, and from that I mean our students are working on math or
reading skills at their pace and at their learning levels. The software is designed to be flexible, so
when the student is answering the question correctly, the problems become a
little more challenging and when the student misses the question the problems
become less challenging. The teacher can
then look at reports from the students work to determine what level each
student has maxed out their learning so they can determine what skills the
student needs more help in.
Coding is another exciting new tool that has been around for
several decades, but is being introduced at the elementary grade level with all
of our students. Nationwide last year
there was the “Hour of Code”, to where all students participated in learning
how to code. Coding is just another name
for programming. Students learn how
software is designed by getting the opportunity to create their own. Coding allows for our students to think
critically, problem solve, learn to take criticism, perseverance, and work with
others. Each one these skills will help
our students become successful students and adults.
Many of our tools that we use at our grade school can be
accessed from your home and many are designed to have the ‘game-like’ feel, so
when our students are having fun they are also learning. These are just a couple of ways that
technology is allowing our students at the grade school to use 21st
Century Learning Skills.
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