Maximizing New Technology in Classrooms

“Class, open your iPad…”

Educators are taking advantage of the opportunity they have with the rise of one-to-one devices, aka iPads and Chromebooks, in classrooms. Since 2014, over 1/3rd of students in the United States have been given access to school-issued mobile devices. These devices offer a whole new way to engage with students and measure learning.

However, historically these pieces of hardware have entered schools with no real plan of implementation. Combine this with the fact that the majority of teachers have been told to fundamentally alter their lesson plans with technology of which they’ve had no prior training, and we get a whole bunch of schools finding themselves in a bit of a mess.

This has led to financial blunders, like what happened in Los Angeles County when they purchased $1.3 billion dollars of iPads and Pearson Software for all the schools under their umbrella. As it turned out, due to usability issues only 2 out of the 69 schools in the technology initiative ended up using the iPads and Pearson software, and the district was forced to fight for a paltry refund within two years.

Issues with the software and lack of planning led to this costly debacle. From our experience building applications with EdTech startups we have identified a few key ways to ensure you are getting the most out the technology that is brought into the classroom.

1) Collect Data

Make sure the software you are using in the classroom has robust data collection and reporting capabilities.

Data is the foundation of making intentional change, and technology can allow students and teachers to collect it at a level that has never been possible. Using internet connected devices lets teachers to bring virtually any activity into the classroom, gamify it, process results, and get real time feedback.

An example of how powerful this data can be lies with the chance to adjust a lesson as it is happening based on how students are reacting to the material. If a professor is teaching a lesson about world religions and asks then students to do multiple choice questions about Hinduism and Buddhism and finds that the students are struggling with Hinduism based on the answers, the teacher can look at the data to understand challenges they are having and adjust the lesson that day or the next to address them.

2) Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for All

Make sure that the education software separates data on a individual student level and can easily be sorted and prioritized.

While we just discussed the group benefit of technologically integrated classrooms. At an individual level the granularity of individualized data becomes more profound.

If dutifully collected from an early age, teachers will be able to look at years of performance metrics and analyze trends of student progress. This aggregation of data will also give teachers the chance to evaluate students on a case by case basis and create individualized education plans (IEPs) for each student focusing on maximizing academic strengths and shoreing up weaknesses.

3) Custom Lessons

Make sure the software is flexible and allows teachers to add content that is relevant to their unique class.

Technology by itself does nothing. It is the integration of technology into a lesson that makes it something special. Simply moving to a one-to-one environment or a “bring your own device” scenario does not insure that students will learn. It may even create more distractions that take away from the learning if not implemented with a defined purpose.

Technology can really only be used effectively when it’s role is placed within the context of how it supports the learning.

This is where feedback based customizable lessons come into play. Taking data driven IEPs and applying them on a macro level allows teachers to understand the true ability level of the students in the classroom. Which can help teachers prioritize which parts of a curriculum they need to focus on based on student need and relative importance.

Thoughtful analysis and integration of technology can add to the depth to students learning as long as it is used correctly, and it can make a huge difference.

4) Eliminate Hiding

Make sure the software gives teacher access to individual responses in real time, can be quickly viewed, and acted upon.

Another major value of technology in classrooms is the opportunity to individually engage every student. This is very apparent with software that provides results based feedback in real time. Submission of answers in the classroom to a teacher’s dashboard allows instructors to see exactly which students are submitting what, and not have to rely on arbitrary participation for class engagement. This allows teachers to analyze in-class student performance in an automated fashion upon which they will be able to derive real insights in the short and long term.

Teachers will be able to intimately understand what students are struggling with in real time. On a macro level they will be able to make in class adjustments to lessons as they are happening. On a micro level that can evaluate in individual student performance and create personal homework and reading recommendations to address weaknesses.

5) Involve 3rd Parties (Especially Parents!)

Make sure the data from the software is transferrable and easy to describe and understand.

Through better reporting and individualized education plan parents can be as much a part of the process as they need to be. The sharing of data and results over time will allow parents, teachers, and students to set goals collaboratively based on individual results. Also, like medical records if the student is transferred to a new school or is looking for outside assistance, in-class data can be easily sent to new instructors and implemented in their IEPs for new students. Teacher discretion or district policy can drive the the level of transparency and involvement.

We believe the opportunity to merge the interests and viewpoints of parents and teachers in the creation of individualized education plans will give more students the chance to flourish from a young age. And we hope to continue to see more innovation in the education space as technology becomes more integrated in our daily life.

Helm Experience & Design is a digital product and UX focused studio proudly located in Buffalo, NY.

You can check out our work here and if you’d like to talk more about design, technology, or business just send us an email at team@helmux.com.