Week #5: The Future Digital Classroom

What is a 'digital classroom'?

Basically, a digital classroom is a classroom in which technology is used to facilitate students' learning and support students' interactions with their teachers and students through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

So, if you are imagining a classroom where the students are using iPads to read model essays or watch videos about the life cycle of a butterfly, that is exactly what a 'digital classroom' is.

Already, now, there are some schools who are already integrating technology into classroom learning. When I was taking H2 Economics tuition lessons at TuitionGenius, we had to use iPads to read articles which were related to the topic that we were learning for that particular lesson. For example. an article of Greece's massive budget deficit was used as a case study for the topic of 'macroeconomic aims and policies'. My cousin who is a Secondary 2 student studies in Canberra Secondary School where the students there use Chromebooks for most of their subjects. Using Chromebooks, they are able to research information for their projects and also do quizzes.

A class of students using Chromebooks

Last year, in San Francisco, AltSchool tested how technology can help teachers maximize their students' learning. The students' attendance were automatically recorded when they arrived at school via an attendance app. Using iPads and Chromebooks, students studied independently from "playlists" of activities that their teachers have picked to match their personal progress. Data about each student's progress was then captured for teachers' later review. Not only that, classrooms were recorded and teachers could capture important moments by pressing a button just like how we all used to record our favourite television programmes using VCRs. The aim of this is so that all the data from this network of schools will be woven into a smart centralized operating system that teachers will be able to use to design effective and personalized instructions, and there is even a recommendation engine built in.

That's pretty cool right?

Imagine if we could take a step further...

Isn't this all amazing? Learning suddenly looks so futuristic and highly interactive. Everything seems so high-tech and flawless!

However, we have to keep in mind that what are shown in the video is an IDEALIZED visual of fruitful learning in a digital classroom. Technology can be used to maximize students' learning if the students themselves have a strong desire to learn. It would only serve to be counter-productive if the students engage with the technology present in the classroom to indulge in non-academic matters.

Even when studying in SIM, I could see people opening their laptops, using Facebook and reading fanfictions when lessons were being conducted. Furthermore, in some of these lessons, laptops were not even needed. 

For me, I am pretty open to this concept of a 'future digital classroom' as long as the classroom keeps learning personal with the intention to engage us and allow us to successfully grasp the lessons provided.

So....I hope you found my post helpful for Week 5's topic of 'e-learning'!  ^_^

Sayonara!