Enhancing the In-Classroom Experience with Online Tools

Get the right online tools in your classroom

Last year in 2020, K-12 school districts distributed and brought online more mobile devices than ever before, and as students have become more familiar with using these devices for learning, some districts may choose to adopt more of a 1:1 instructional model within the in-person classroom. A little planning using the right online tools in your classroom can enhance, even reimagine, the in-class experience.

Ease younger students back into the classroom

Encourage classroom instructors to be mindful of the phenomenon of learning loss. Students—especially younger ones—who have been subjected to months of relative isolation from teachers and peers may need to be eased back into the “classroom habit.” Here, technology can help. The routines and methods practiced over the months of remote classes should be imported and where appropriate, emulated or even continued in the live classroom. Repetition of these methods, enhanced by the presence of a live teacher, combined with the dynamism of online capability, can infuse the in-person learning experience with the best of both worlds.

Your learning model teachings with devices

The use of online learning devices and dynamic content, such as video, audio, and interactive learning programs can enhance live, in-person learning. The use of apps and devices shouldn’t be abandoned solely because students and teachers are back in school. And some of the pedagogical approaches developed out of remote learning necessity during the pandemic can be adapted to the in-person classroom. In fact, most of these suggestions are just plain solid elements of good teaching practice. These elements include:

• Modeling: Demonstrating techniques and desired outcomes.
• Segmenting: Focusing on smaller, more digestible pieces of content.
• Thinking aloud: Related to modeling, s technique guides students through mental process.
• Socratic discussion: Posing a problem and brainstorming solutions, sometimes through role-playing.
• Gradual release: the “show me, help me, now let me” approach to learning.

When combined with the dynamic assistance of online content and interactivity, in-person lessons can come alive.

But teachers and IT associates should be wary of scenarios where students hide behind the flipped-up laptop screens. When devices are utilized in the “traditional” classroom, teachers must be able to monitor the appropriateness of their use without such attentiveness interfering with instruction or disrupting lesson flow.

Reimagine the inspired classroom

Products that allow for real-time teacher line of sight into student online behavior and usage, such as Lightspeed Classroom Management™, enable teachers to keep students logged in, engaged, and actively participating regardless of whether they are in the classroom or learning remotely. Highly developed AI technology can give teachers direct visibility and control of their students’ user interface and digital workspaces. A teacher can infuse lessons with dynamic, interactive online content designed to ratchet up students’ love for learning. And to keep students focused and moving forward, they can message a distracted student without calling the student out, redirect the student’s browser, close distracting or off-task windows and tabs, and enable screen sharing to facilitate collaboration between students. Such classroom management software helps ensure that technology in the classroom truly serves an instructional purpose— including alerting teachers to students who may have fallen behind or who might be slow to re-engage when back in school.

If you found this information helpful, download our FREE e-book Returning to Normal: What “Back to School” Really Means for IT Teams” for more on returning back to campus and adjusting digital learning plans to an in-person environment in 2021.