Technology advances almost faster than we can keep up with it, and there is always something new and exciting on the market. For education, it’s important to use the e-learning tools which can give the best results in classrooms, enhancing learning rather than distracting from it. Here are some of the most effective examples of e-learning tools being implemented in educational settings.

Interactive Whiteboards

First there was the chalkboard, then the whiteboard. Both of them offer certain drawbacks, chief of which is that after a few years of use, a build-up of residue makes it hard to continue using them. The chalkboard ends up more grey than black, and coloured smudges appear on the whiteboard which can never be rubbed away. The interactive whiteboard is another step up entirely. Here, notes and diagrams can be swept away with the tap of a button, and erased for all time. Screens can also be saved – nothing needs to be temporary. It’s a huge change which makes note-taking in the classroom so much easier, for both the teacher and the student, as well as removing cleaning time.

Virtual Classrooms

For students who live far from a real school, or are unable to leave their home, learning can be a lonely experience. However, with virtual classrooms, that is changing. These classrooms can give a live window into a real lesson, lecture, or seminar, from anywhere around the world. A student can become a real member of a class, talking to their professor in real time and being recognised by other pupils around them. All of this is done without having to ever set foot in as much as the same country as the room it is broadcast from. Lectures can also be saved and rebroadcast in the future as part of a wholly online course. This is a massive game-changer for home-schooling and for disabled or seriously ill children.

Screencasting

When showing videos and images in class, there used to be a few clunky and difficult options. You could load a videotape or DVD into a player and hope that they would work after you had fast-forwarded to the right spot, wheeling in an ancient television set to display them on. You could use a projector with slides, which were often subject to jams or to being placed in the wrong way around, and which took a long time to set up. These days, screencasting makes it all easy. Hook up your laptop to a digital projector, or just allow students to watch on their own screens. This is also an essential teaching tool for software programs, in which the student needs to see exactly what is happening on the screen.

Sophia Mest is a Content Manager at BizDb, where she aspires to put her writing passion into practice and spread her words across the world. She spends her free time travelling and exploring the wonders of nature. 

Today, there are many current events evolving all around the world. While many of these events and issues are undoubtedly important and serious, it can be difficult to keep up and understand the many constantly evolving situations. These same events and issues are likely to come up within the classroom. Questions about Ebola, ISIS, or Donald Trump can, and likely will, pop up at any moment, a complicated issue which demands explanation.

Public radio can provide such an explanation, in a concise but effective manner, making it a perfect medium to utilise within the classroom. The BBC iPlayer is a perfect resource, an internet streaming service containing catch-up television, but also BBC radio programs. Fortunately, for those of you outside the UK, thinking you can’t access this, here are best VPNs for BBC iPlayer.

Here’s 5 reasons to use public radio in the classroom:

Compelling Writing

Without images or video to portray the subject matter, radio reporters rely on language and carefully chosen words and sentences to get the story across. Through their words, presenters can create strong imagery in a professional, academic way. This can help students think about the words they are using within their own work.

Length

Most radio stories and news pieces don’t go much longer than 5 minutes, unless of course they are a special feature. In a busy classroom with lots of students and even more work, this is perfect for quickly getting across background information as well as raising further points of discussion.

Emotion

Unlike print media, emotion in interview responses can be heard. Hearing how people feel about the story creates a connection and further context for students. This can lead to further discussion and thought, for example, “Why are people angry about this political leader’s decision?”

Pacing

Pacing is important for radio presenters. They must keep the listeners listening while also presenting it in a way that is easy for listeners to digest. Presenters slow down and speed up in certain parts of their story, creating a sense of drama, anticipation, excitement and so on.

A Sense of Place

Background noises and ambient sound through a radio story can be important and is often used to help set the scene. This is an engaging and creative way to tell stories and keep listeners and students alike interested in the material being presented.