Everything we mentioned in the previous articles has a single point as its outcome: connectivity between young people. Nowadays, it is strange that a child or a teenager does not have Internet at home, have a mobile phone of your own or a computer that you can access. Although there are exceptions, there is a clear majority of young people who live surrounded by technology on a daily basis and who use it.
If we focus on the population that is between 10-15 years old, according to the INE, 66.8% have their own mobile; 95.1% have used a computer in the last few months; and 97.5% have used the Internet. All these are data from the previous year on connectivity among young people and with the increase in ICT in the classroom we assume that these percentages are much higher.
How do young people understand technology?
However, as we discussed in the first article, the pandemic revealed a lack of implementation of ICT in classrooms to which students did not respond well when classes had to be online. Perhaps this is due to the fact that this absence made the young people understand that technology is entertainment and they could not conceive of it as a tool for learning.
So now there is a long way to go to transform that thought and that those resources that the youngest have in their hands can be used not only for their own entertainment, but also to learn. It will not be easy, however, we have already given some tips on how to work with the virtual classroom or introduce EdTech technology that, without a doubt, attracts the attention of children and adolescents.
Advantages of promoting technology in education
The insistence on adopting these connectivity tools among young people as part of education is due to one of its great advantages: motivation. There is something that attracts children and adolescents about technology and, therefore, innovation, the creation of interactive spaces, encouraging the use of forums in the virtual classroom, etc., can be fun and educational. But, there is much more.
Connectivity among young people eliminates the barriers between the classroom and learning. It will no longer be necessary to be in person in it, so at home you can watch videos on the explanation of a topic that the teacher has made or work with a resource that enhances the assimilation of knowledge. All of this is vital and, without a doubt, could improve educational performance.
Tools for teachers
To get into it mood That the young, teachers should begin to use the tools available to them to carry out certain tasks. Although there are quite a few, we have selected the following.
Edmodo to talk to families
Edmodo is a very interesting tool for fluid communication between families and teachers. What can parents do? View your children’s grades, track their school performancekeep track of the learning material and communicate with the teacher.
Celebrity Edu to put grades
Likewise, Celebrity Edu is also a helpful resource. Thanks to this application you can put grades in a very simple way to check the progress of any student, introduce auto-corrections of exercises and much more. In addition, fun games can be made using this connectivity between young people in favor.
Prezi to create attractive presentations
According to data from the platform itself, Prezi currently has more than 30 million users. Since it came out, it has superseded PowerPoint for being more visual and attractive. Without a doubt, a tool that should not be missing when we talk about connectivity among young people. Reviewing notes or subjects like this is easy.
Kahoot for playful quizzes
Another tool for teachers is Kahoot. It is normally used very sparingly by teachers so that students can review important syllabus issues in a fun way with their peers. They love know how many questions they got right each one and they must do it in a determined time.
Padlet to organize the agenda
Padlet has an interface that is somewhat reminiscent of Instagram because it is very visual. Is about walls in which teachers can organize the syllabus in a colorful and clear way. Without a doubt, students accustomed to Pinterest or Instagram will love this idea. I’m sure your grades will end up improving.
Google docs for collaborative work online
Finally, and using this connectivity among young people, it is convenient to promote the use of Google Docs. The fact that a work team can write on the same document from their respective computers is very interesting to enhance the collaborative work from technology.
The impact that connectivity has had among young people has changed the ways of relating, of seeking information and now also of learning. It is convenient that those resources previously oriented 100% to leisure are now seen as a possibility to enjoy internalizing concepts in a simple way. A mobile or a tablet does not only have to be used to have fun. They can be many more.
We have explained in this series of special articles the most important aspects of technology in education. We started our journey starting from the pandemic that gave EdTech technology and resources such as the virtual classroom the boost they had long needed. Now, it is convenient to take advantage of the connectivity between young people to take advantage of it. Technology in the classroom has just started its journey really.
