Technology is playing an increasingly important role in education. There are now dozens, if not hundreds, of useful apps for elementary school teachers and after school program directors.
Although a significant part of that increased role occurs with relation to high school and college students who use various apps, programs, and smart technologies in everyday schoolwork, technology has also become important for young students.
The trouble with these types of apps is figuring out how to integrate them into the education of younger students. With high school and college students, this is much easier. Many of them have laptops, tablets, and/or smartphones, and thus have access to modern educational tools and apps. With children, however, educators and parents must present these types of tools more often than not. So, here are a few tips on how to integrate modern tech tools in the education of young students in elementary school and after school programs:
Games Often Work Best
When it comes to children's educational apps, there are a number of options that can be used as presentations, teaching tools, storybooks, etc. While they can be useful, they're less exciting and engaging for the kids. Young students want to participate in the use of touchscreen apps rather than just learn from them, and for that reason games tend to be great teaching tools. Education.com listed a number of helpful apps for kids and included numerous games that teach math skills, share anti-bullying messages, and even provide basic tools for storytelling. With programs like these, the issue is often having enough devices to go around so that each child can participate. Some instructors may solve this problem by simply setting up a sort of "game station" with whichever devices are available, and then cycling the children through that and other activities. Additionally, once the kids have the hang of a given app, it can be recommended to parents as a home learning tool.
Involve The Parents
That last point brings us to this one, which is to use parents (and their phones and tablets!) to integrate modern apps and tools in teaching techniques. Asking parents to use actual teaching apps may be a bit presumptive in some circumstances. However, there are other types of educational tools that kids can use all by themselves, if only they have access to them away from school. Verizon Wireless did a write-up of education apps and included one perfect example of this sort of app in the form of the My Homework program. My Homework is basically a digital planner that manages to be thorough with the utmost simplicity. It's a wonderful tool for teaching young kids how to organize their schoolwork and other activities, and it's something a child can use all by his or herself if it's accessible in the home.
Improve Your Own Efficiency
Finally, don't discount the value of children's education tools that are designed for educators, rather than students. Many of these apps were listed on Scholastic's list of "50 Fab Apps For Teachers," in sections labeled "Classroom Management" and "Lesson Planning." Some of them are geared toward education for older students. However, programs like TeacherKit (which helps with attendance, entering grades, and other organizational tasks), or Too Noisy Pro (which sounds an alarm when a classroom gets too noisy) can be helpful for educators at any level.
The specific apps you use and the ways in which you use them will depend on circumstances. Resources, program sizes, parent involvement, etc. can all be significant factors in how an educator is able to integrate learning apps in the classroom or after school program. However, using these various ideas and practices, it's generally possible to expose even young students to the technological side of education, and to offer a better education through doing so.
