Preparing students for a future that they haven’t imagined.
Where will your experience take you today?
Digital learning is teaching that uses technology to improve a student’s learning experience. The emphasis is on high-quality instruction and provides challenging content. The student is assessed constantly and unobtrusively and feedback through formative assessment is almost instant.
With modern Digital Learning learning is anytime and anywhere. Students can be taught individually to ensure they achieve full potential. Through such choices the student is led to discovering her / his own interest.
Digital learning is personal learning. It increases access to quality education. It provides learning that places the student at the centre. Through repetition it increases the students response time. The student is only challenged by her / himself. The criteria are only set against him /herself.
The student creates a time and the opportunity to learn. When and what they learn and nurtures a lifetime of education through a journey of self-discovery. It opens a world of education unrestricted by the four walls of a conventional classroom.
After All, Man will be judged by his character
Thus, the focus on the importance of the values, which include respect, kindness, courtesy, consideration, confidence, humility and learning to be givers, not takers, must not be lost.
Each day students come to school bringing dreams hope seeking inspiration
Ideally a 21st Century Education should provide every learner with:
A personalized, student-centered learning environment
Research-based digital learning strategies implemented by caring and qualified teachers
A learning experiences that prepare students for an increasingly technology-driven workforce and world
Learning that taps into passions and interests for deeper engagement and agency
A clear pathway to post secondary success through which every child achieves his or her potential
Digital learning is replacing traditional educational methods more and more each day. In the rapidly changing classrooms, it is best to forget past practices and start thinking about newer teaching and learning techniques. Techniques that are based on digital learning tools and technologies.
The inclusion of digital learning in the classrooms can vary from simply using tablets instead of paper or using elaborate software programs that measures a learners progress and maps a way forward for the learners development.
LMS – Learning Management System – Online Learning Platform
A learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. (Wikipedia)
Even social networks and communications platforms can be used to create and manage digital assignments and agendas.
Irrespective of how much technology is integrated into the classroom, digital learning has come to play a crucial role in education. It empowers students by getting them to be more interested in learning and expanding their horizons. Here is how digital learning is a step up from traditional education methods.
A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses. Learning management systems were designed to identify training and learning gaps, utilizing analytical data and reporting. LMS’s are focused on online learning (Wikipedia)
Students using digital learning tools and technology become more engaged in the process and more interested in growing their knowledge base. They may not even realize that they are actively learning since they are learning through engaging methods such as:
peer education,
teamwork,
problem-solving,
reverse teaching,
concept maps,
gamification,
staging,
role playing and
storytelling.
Reorienting Students for A World Where Technology Is Omnipresent
Digital learning is far more interactive and memorable than voluminous textbooks or one-sided lectures. They provide a greater viewpoints and more engaging activities. In this way students connect more actively with the learning material. Digital tools often offer a more interesting and involving way to digest information. This is reflected in retention rates and test scores. Further, by tracking their own scores and progress it can improve motivation and accountability.
Some benefits of digital learning
Learning tools and technologies like social learning platforms make it easy for teachers to create and manage groups.
The shift to digital learning can assess the benefits of tutoring while
The shift to digital learning can free up time for teachers to address individual and small group needs.
Learning now becomes customized for individual learners. The opportunity to customize learning for each student will make education more productive. Learners will progress at their own pace.
By closing the learning gaps in this way progress can accelerate. The chance for working together and peer-to-peer interaction increases, dynamic grouping, workshops, and project-based learning can add lots of collaborative learning to the already present education model.
For the Teacher
There are many online platforms like Panworld Education that provides lesson planning tools, worksheets, assessments etc. for educators. This makes their tasks easier. Educators can also join online professional learning communities to ask questions and share tips and stay connected with a global educators’ community. They can keep themselves updated with the most relevant content for their curriculum using such learning tools and technology.
These help teachers teach better and students learn better through engagement and enjoyment.
Parents can easily monitor their child’s progress which can serve as an extension to what they are learning in their classrooms. Digital learning tools and technology provide enjoyment for kids as well as numerous benefits in terms of developing a child’s well-being. Everyone benefits with the digitization of learning.
GAME BASED LEARNING
There is nothing as encouraging as instant gratification. A child’s interest in learning is enhanced since gamification makes the process much more enjoyable and interesting. This also provide instant results.
Digital Learning Tools and Technology Is Rapidly Increasing Information Sharing
Do not forget that this is not the first change in media. Six centuries ago, the printing press transformed formal education and increasing learning opportunities by providing books for all. The recent shift from print to digital has NOT only change the medium but has impacted how we learn. Digital learning allows students to access more and more information while ensuring that the information customizable and suited to their personal needs.
The opportunity to help every student learn at ‘the best pace and path’ is the most important benefit of digital learning.
Increasing Students’ Employability with Digital Learning Tools and Technology
Technology in the workplace.
Before technology reaches the classroom, they are first employed in commerce and the workplace. So, it is essential that learners are comfortable with this medium.
Entrepreneurship
With the ongoing employment crisis, it is crucial that if young people are unable to find jobs, they should have the ability to create their own and ideally even generate jobs for others. For this purpose, newer methods of learning and education need to be incorporated into the school curriculums, starting right from elementary school. Digital learning tools and technology in elementary, secondary, and high schools prepares students for higher education and modern careers by helping them acquire skills including problem-solving, familiarity with emerging technologies, and self-motivation.
Traditional Education Methods Have to be Replaced – Some things change while others remain the same
Traditional lectures may still exist along with the new-age learning tools and technology, but the lecture materials should be provided as a supplement to classroom activities and moved online for students to reference outside of the classroom. Classroom time is better used for discussing the curriculum, engaging in activities with teams and completing class projects. Students often have the option to pace their learning and even study ahead with a digital learning tool if they wish to do so. By helping children think outside their typical learning modes, digital learning inspires creativity and lets children feel a sense of accomplishment that encourages further learning.
Digital learning tools and technology fill the gaps where traditional classroom teaching falls behind. In fact, some of the efficiencies such tools bring are simply unmatchable by traditional learning techniques. From
Then there is the environmental impact recognized by the need for less paper for handouts and books to
saving time with quick access to information and the ease of research,
digital learning provides an effective way to cut costs, maximize resources
and heighten both reach and impact for students and educators alike.
Traditional lectures may still exist along with the new-age learning tools and technology, but the lecture materials should be provided as a supplement to classroom activities
A computer game is defined as such because the activity
has goals,
is interactive and
is
rewarding (gives feedback).
The gaming activities must offer the user the options to
choose or define and then observe the newly created sequence.
We describe computer games as being interactive based on a
set of agreed rules[i]
and constraints[ii]
and directed toward a clear goal that is often set by a challenge[iii].
In addition, games constantly provide feedback, either as a score or as changes
in the game world, to enable players to monitor their progress toward the goal[iv].
In speaking of a serious (computer) game, we mean that the objective of the
computer game is not to entertain the player, which would be an added value,
but to use the entertaining quality for training, education, health, public
policy, and strategic communication objectives[v].
Is Digital Game-Based Learning the Future of Learning?
Parents are confused when their child, who cannot multiply
improper fractions can explain how to defeat a video game Boss in one sitting.
The explanation here is very simple:
Digital game-based learning (DGBL), is a motivational,
challenging, and rewarding process that can be fun.
Next, we ask what is Game-Based Learning?
Game-based learning is an effective, interactive experience
that motivates active participate in the learning process.
How does it work?
Game-based learning involves the use of computer smart
device and video games to produce learning outcomes. It is designed to balance
subject matter and gameplay. It also assesses the learner. It checks the learner’s
ability to retain and apply acquired knowledge in a real-world scenarios.
An effective game-based learning environment helps learners
work toward a goal while choosing actions (pathways) and the learner experience
the consequences of those decisions first-hand.
Here is the interesting part: While players (learners) make
mistakes, the risk-free setting of a game environment allows failures to become
challenges, which then drives them to revise their actions until they arrive at
the correct way of doing things. There are hardly embarrassing moments in this
learning environment.
This makes the activity more engaging until the learning
objective is fulfilled.
Is Digital Game-Based Learning Effective?
Extensive research has been done on DGBL. Richard Van Eck of
the University of North Dakota said that several reviews of the literature on
gaming over the last 40 years find that digital game-based learning generally has positive effects.
Referring to the principle of situated cognition, Van Eck
states that games are effective partly because
the learning takes place within a meaningful
context.
The subject matter is directly related to the
environment in which learners/players learn.
As such, the knowledge gained is not only
relevant but applied and practiced within that context.
DGBL is a primary mechanism of learning and socialization through
play. This is common to all human cultures and starts informally from a very
young age. Hence humans as well as a number of animal groups learn in this
manner. A lion learns to hunt through modelling and play, not through direct
instruction, which is the same principle employed in a game-based instructional
strategy.
The following elements of digital game-based learning add to
its appeal as an effective educational tool:
Competition.
The competitive elements of a game are generally not found
in traditional learning methods or during classroom lectures or discussions.
Competition provides motivation to learners/players to engage and finish an
activity. It doesn’t need to be against another participant. It could be an
attempt to bag get the highest score possible or outdoing one’s self every
time.
Engagement.
Games that are fun to play significantly improve learning
performance. When learners have fun, the learning pressure dissipates, allowing
them to freely define and modify their strategies according to a specific goal.
Immediate Rewards.
Rewards aid in the learning process by keeping the
participant invested and coming back for more. This fosters a continuous
learning process for the learner/player, as each learning objective is tied to
a series of challenges. Goals and their corresponding rewards can be built in
stages and set according to difficulty.
Immediate Reinforcement and Feedback.
Research on learning and behaviour shows that learners learn
faster when there’s a shorter interval between behaviour and reinforcer.
It would be less discouraging for learners to learn their
mistakes right away than seeing a red mark on paper assessments a few days
later. Feedback in a game context is instantaneous and scoring can be
standardized to allow comparisons.
Criticisms of Digital Game-Based Learning
While positive claims have been made about using games as
educational tools, some question its viability as well. There are those who
argue that research has been slow to provide hard empirical evidence on its
effectiveness.
Among the negatives that are associated with games and
technology in general is that
it promotes isolation and anti-social behaviour, and
it results in short attention span.
However, the anti-social behaviour element might not, as
more and more games are developed for social play. While some games do not
allow face-to-face interactions, they mirror real-world communication that
could prove useful in personal and business transactions.
The cost
Others argue that implementing either a fully digital
game-based curriculum or even one that relies heavily on games requires
additional equipment, software, and training of teachers, thus increasing
costs.
Some believe that playing games distract learners from
attaining other valuable skills.
Is Digital Game-Based Learning Here to Stay?
There are debates on whether or not digital game-based
learning will prevail in the next 10 years or so, but it cannot be denied that
it is thriving. Based on the figures released by Ambient Insight, the game-based
global market reached $1.5 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to $2.3
billion in 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 8.3%.
Final Word
Educators can take advantage of the multiple learning
scenarios it presents to engage their audience.
“The digital shift where we’re seeing information in different forms”
When the teachers say:
“Write a research paper.”
Students hear: “Google
it.”
It’s no secret that
today’s students conduct their research mostly through search engines. When
you’ve got everything you could ever want to know right at your fingertips, why
bother combing through online databases or poring over reference books?
“Some teachers report that for some students, ‘doing research’ has shifted from a relatively slow process of intellectual curiosity and discovery to a fast-paced, short-term exercise aimed at locating just enough information to complete an assignment,” says Pew Research Center.
It is the same as reading a comic book of the 70’s. It was scorned by the teachers but now the comic is accepted as alternate reading material.
We have to take notice
of learners preferred choices and guide them to make the most out of it.
The world is evolving
very fast and the “traditional” approach will not be the same as the
“traditional” approach of the previous generation.
On the downside the big
problem is how to find credible resources.
Three in five teachers agree that although today’s technologies provide access to a much greater depth and breadth of information, they also make it harder for students to find credible sources of information. In fact, more than 40 percent of students say they have trouble evaluating sources when researching, and many are entering college without learning basic research skills like how to find and vet information from a wide variety of respected sources.
Here is an excellent example
how these modern challenges can be redirected.
To help college instructors bring their high school students up to speed, a librarian created a series of mini-podcasts on how to do research and made them available for instructors to assign as homework.
The podcasts, which range from 2 minute segments to 15 minute discussions in different formats, address topics such as how to use databases or what peer-reviewed research is. It
explains what research entails and why students should seek out scholarly
sources. It helps them be good Knowledge Constructors, a crucial element of the
standards that college and universities are looking for.
Podcasts are a great way to slip in extra instruction.
You can make a podcast, upload it to
the course page and students can listen at their own time and as often as
necessary.
