Features of EdTech That Teachers Love
The start of a new school year will be here soon. With technology becoming ever more prominent in today’s learning environments, the technical tools that will be used throughout the year are an important aspect all teachers must consider. As educators are ramping up their classrooms and curriculum, they are sure to include opportunities to leverage digital through their integration of educational technology (EdTech).
It’s a fact that EdTech is changing the landscape of the modern classroom and the ways that teachers teach and students learn. While instruction is ever-evolving, integration of EdTech into learning environments is a necessary and important shift that is beneficial to both teachers and their students. Teachers benefit from data collection opportunities, streamlined communication, and tailored learning tasks to meet the needs and interests of individual students. Students benefit from accessible resources and tools, increased opportunities for digital literacy, and engaging, interactive, and personalized academic content.
Even though EdTech is a must for the classroom overall, just like any other resource, not all EdTech is equally valuable. Therefore, teachers should look for EdTech that includes features that make the platform a worthwhile learning tool. When vetting EdTech options, these key features make a platform a “must-have” for the classroom.
Glose for Education is a next-generation digital reading platform for the classroom, library, and home. Glose’s interactive platform transforms reading into a social, fun, and engaging experience! Along with the “must-haves” is how Glose for Education’s e-reading platform fits the bill.
The Top Three Features of EdTech That Teachers Love
3-Tier Accessibility
With accessibility at the top of the list, it’s a feature that is threefold with consideration of connectivity, interfaces, and resources. Connectivity means that there is ease of access to the platform. Interfaces should be considerate of users’ needs and preferences (and how that might vary from one user to the next, so there should be options for customization). Resources should be abundant so that there’s something for everyone–whether it’s tying to an interest or inspiring users to explore.
CONNECTIVITY: Many schools supply electronic devices such as tablets and laptops to students to utilize for in-school and at-home learning. When using EdTech in the classroom, at home, or even on the go, connectivity is key. Thankfully, Glose for Education’s digital platform ensures that students have instant access to popular classics on all devices: desktops, laptops, tablets, and cell phones.
INTERFACE: EdTech interface that ranks at the top allows for the users to select the design that best fits their needs at the time. The platform’s home page should be straightforward and navigable to make getting started a breeze. Opportunities to personalize the interface design should celebrate users’ unique style with options for individualization that support users as they are able to view the content in the way that best suits their needs.
With a customizable reading interface, Glose’s users can select their preferred font size, color, and type, which is especially helpful for those who have dyslexia. Glose for Education’s platform supports learners through its customization features, so students are able to view the content in the way that best suits them. These integrative tools are considerate of individual needs to make the content more accessible. With the options to read and/or listen to the texts, Glose for Education’s resourceful digital platform is supportive of all types of learners. Inclusive tools such as a built-in dictionary and translation features offer a wealth of features to support all readers.
RESOURCES: While accessibility is considered in regards to the platform itself, it should also consider the resources that the platform provides. When it comes to reading options, Glose has got you covered. Thanks to Glose’s recent partnership with Penguin Random House Publishing, the platform now has over 1,000,000 books to choose from! The options include titles from some of the world’s largest publishers ranging from New York Times bestsellers to new releases, literary classics, educational textbooks and much more. Search for your next great read by author, title, or from one of Glose’s curated bookshelves.
Ease of Usability
Teachers value a platform that makes it easy to integrate their classes with a variety of account options. Whether it’s uploading class lists or connecting their digital roster, teachers truly appreciate not having to spend excessive time getting their classes set up to utilize the platform.
With Glose for Education, digital integration is a breeze thanks to partnerships with Google Classroom, Clever, Microsoft Teams, Canvas, and Moodle. Glose’s integrations simplify logins and setup so that teachers can spend more time teaching, learning, and reading great books and less time focused on systems and logistics. Teachers, access the guide that aligns integration with your school’s learning management system for seamless classroom setup.
Quick and easy guides are available for each of the partners here.
Interactivity
Through interactive EdTech, teachers can better engage their students. The use of gamification in EdTech incorporates fun and interactive features of games into learning design to positively motivate students with their academic tasks. Gamification helps to increase the user’s motivation to interact with the platform in a variety of ways through the use of game-like elements.
Gamification and interaction is built into Glose’s platform. The streak count helps users stay motivated to read every day by keeping track of how many days in a row you read. There are also reading rewards that encourage users to read and contribute regularly to take you to the next level and keep you focused.
In-text discussion allows for annotations in the margins of the text to share remarks and questions. In addition to traditional text, users can add weblinks, photos, and videos to make connections beyond the page. Glose users can interact with others through upvotes for insightful comments, relevant replies, and textmoji reactions expressed by other readers. The opportunities to engage with classmates in academic content is endless!
Find EdTech With These Favorite Features
Teachers, to ensure that the upcoming school year is set up with an abundance of meaningful learning opportunities, make sure that your classroom integrates EdTech that meets the standards of 3-tier accessibility, ease of usability, and interactivity. And know that Glose for Education’s e-reading platform meets the mark!
