Enhancing Productivity and Teaching Methods through Classroom Technology
Posted 25 September 2024
UK schools embraced technology in education decades ago. Projector-driven, interactive whiteboards were deployed en masse in the 1990s, with names like Smart and Promethean becoming recognised education technology brands.
As manufacturing costs reduced, interactive LCDs became the standard type of classroom display, which they remain today.
As we enter the 2024/25 academic year, pressure on schools and teachers has never been greater.
Technology can reduce some of this pressure while enhancing student engagement. A growing number of schools now provide teachers with laptops and mobile devices to help meet their needs.
In this blog, we will explore how these devices combined with displays can enhance in-classroom experiences.
Mobile devices
As teachers juggle delivery of the curriculum with challenging behaviour and SEN demands, marking work and lesson planning have become common after-hours activities. We are seeing an increasing number of schools and colleges offering laptops to help facilitate this, providing consistency as teachers move from home to the classroom. Teaching workload is easier when they don’t have to switch between devices to deliver classes.
The additional benefit this brings is “putting intelligence in teachers’ hands”, meaning they don’t have to be at the interactive display to access software-based teaching aids.
Getting closer to students
There is strong evidence to show that getting closer to students working individually or in small groups can have several positive outcomes:
- On-task behaviour improves
- Retention increases
- Discipline issues reduce
- Teachers can focus on the quality of their instruction
If teachers can roam more freely around the classroom (also known as breaking the plane *) and engaging more directly with students, engagement is increased.
What happens to the classroom display?
Front of room displays are still pivotal in classroom-based teaching. Wireless technology allows teachers to connect their devices to the display, allowing them to take control of what the rest of the class sees. Also, even devices connected wirelessly can integrate with an interactive panel, when the teacher returns to the class-front, the display works as it always did.
This sounds expensive
This change in teaching technology and practices has not come as a surprise to interactive display manufacturers, and some of the protagonists have already launched simplified displays. Not only are these less expensive to deploy and replace, they are also easier to use, meaning more time teaching and less time with complex technology.
How can we help?
At Presentation Media, we implement tailored technology solutions that enhance the learning experience. With over 20 years' of experience in the education sector, we understand the diverse needs of educational institutions, ranging from primary schools to universities. Our catalogue includes interactive and non-interactive displays, simple-to-use wireless presentation solutions and other AV technologies.
Contact us to understand how we can support you in your classroom technology upgrade.
* Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov