The Dutch EdTech market is currently in 7th place in terms of value when compared to other European countries. This means that there are significant benefits that are not going unnoticed by the industry leaders.
For instance, incorporating technological advancements into your classroom will bring about a noticeable boost in your students’ engagement. There are certain features that have been found to work for successful platforms in driving engagement, and in this article, we’ll detail those features and explain exactly how they can improve your pupils’ learning experience.
Why is Pupil Engagement So Important?
If you’ve spent at least a day in the role of an instructor, you already know how disinterested and apathetic students can have a negative impact on the overall learning environment. But you also know how challenging it can be to keep them engaged, especially if you’re dealing with a younger group.
The main reason why any teacher would want to boost their classroom engagement levels is because engagement increases the students’ attention and, by extension, moves them to think more critically. These are important aspects of approaching any task, no matter the age group or task difficulty.
Similarly, better focus leads to better retention. This means that students will take in most of their knowledge in class rather than having to rely on self-teaching via homework assignments or exhausting study sessions.
What we can conclude from these reasons is that an engaging classroom brings about a successful learning program and satisfied students. However, one instructor alone cannot be solely responsible for boosting engagement levels, especially with the dwindling attention spans of younger generations.
Thankfully, technology can step up to take some of that responsibility away from the teacher. In the next few sections, we’ll outline the 5 most prominent features that will be of the most help!
How Technology Helps Increase Engagement in Class
Technology has changed the way we approach all aspects of life – from shopping to education. So, if you want to adapt to this change, check out these 5 features that will be of the most importance to your students.
Gamification in Education
Gamification is a tech trend that refers to inserting elements of games into technology that are not primarily intended to be used for entertainment purposes. One of the most famous examples of this is Duolingo, the language-learning giant that utilises scoreboards to entice its learners to compete with each other by collecting points. Of course, to achieve a high score on the platform, the user has to complete lessons daily, meaning that the app gets used frequently and for prolonged periods of time.
Certain gamification elements, such as scoreboards, are universal and can be applied to any age range in some manner. However, when deciding on other elements for your specific platform, the primary aspect to take into account is the interests of your target user base. For example, younger students will respond better to role-playing games, while older pupils are most active when placed in a competition.
Interactive Videos
Videos have been one of the more essential parts of learning ever since they were made widely available. Sometimes, it is simply more captivating for the students to have a voice-over paired with dynamic visuals than to listen to a teacher who is more limited in terms of visual aids and special effects.
To take this to the next level, interactive videos can be incorporated both into in-person and online learning environments. Students will stay more alert and engaged more when they know that they will be required to answer questions during or after watching a video.
Online Quizzes
Testing has been known as one of the main stressors in education since the birth of formalised education. One way to relieve your students’ anxiety levels is to allow testing to take place online from the comfort of their own homes. This can be implemented with open-book tests or with anti-cheating measures in place (e.g., while students keep their cameras on). Either way, their stress will be significantly lessened.
On the other hand, online quizzes don’t have to be graded. They can simply serve as an indicator both to you and your students to show their current knowledge levels. The most engaging way to organise this type of activity is to show the quiz on the projector and allow students to discuss different answers aloud, leading them to come to their final answer together and simultaneously promoting engagement and collaboration.
Virtual Training Sessions
Virtual training sessions are typically held using AR/VR equipment. Offering this kind of educational exercise won’t only make your existing students more interested but also bring in new ones by increasing your institution’s attractiveness.
However, this isn’t applicable in all cases. The best areas for introducing AR/VR training sessions are those that require some sort of practical work or simulation of certain environments. For example, future doctors can go through an entire medical procedure or surgery without ever having contact with an actual patient.
Increased Accessibility
Finally, we have to mention the fact that technology allows access to education for students from different walks of life. Plug-ins can generate subtitles in real time, recorded lessons can be sent to students in different time zones, and students from underprivileged areas can gain access to world-class education without needing to invest all of their resources into moving halfway across the world.
Having a diverse student base means that there is a lot more room for them to learn from each other. Multi-cultural settings promote curiosity, which will, by extension, boost engagement. Of course, the role of the teacher is pivotal in achieving this outcome.
Summary
As you can see, advancements in EdTech have a lot of potential in terms of enabling students to focus better and be more engaged during lessons. The main motivator behind the development of this industry is the fact that engaged students are more likely to think critically and more effectively retain information. On top of that, having a technologically advanced educational institution also increases your attractiveness both as an employer and as an educator.
In this article, we discussed some of the most crucial technologies for achieving these goals: gamification, interactive videos, online quizzes, virtual training sessions, and tools that promote increased accessibility of learning.
Building an EdTech Platform
If you want to bring your EdTech platform to the next level and allow your students more room for engagement, collaboration, and growth, customising your platform is one of the best ways to do so.
Valcon SEE is a Dutch IT company that specialises in just that – creating tailor-made SaaS solutions for our clients while maintaining their ideas as our number one priority. With extensive experience in EdTech, our developers are not only well-versed in the technical skills needed for such a project but also knowledgeable about industry trends and forecasts.
If you’d like to utilise our expertise to create a specialised EdTech platform, feel free to book a no-obligation meeting and see what we can do for you!