Monday, December 12, 2016

"What we learn with pleasure we never forget." Alfred Mercier

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. 

No comments:

Post a Comment