It’s widely accepted that digital technologies improve aspects of our learning, lives and work. Learning technology focuses specifically on supporting and enhancing learning, teaching and assessment processes and tasks. Learning technologies such as Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), devices (interactive whiteboards, tablets, mobiles, laptops/desktop PCs), applications and an array of online tools are plentiful. However, like other sectors, these are only as good as the understanding and skills of the teachers who use them.
It’s all good putting new digital technology in the classroom, but if teachers don’t know how to use it effectively and are not supported, it will fall flat. Learning technology can often be frontloaded on its features and functions, when in fact it needs to have underpinning pedagogical purpose—a rationale. This and creating online activities, often referred to as eLearning, are one of the main challenges that primary teachers face. Many teachers are encouraged to create online activities and assessments to enable and support blended learning. Consequently, this is often limited by time, resources, confidence and technical knowhow.
So, how can teachers adapt and transform their existing learning materials into memorable eLearning activities? Equally, how does a teacher navigate through the abundance of learning technologies and identify those that support their teaching? Being able to create digitally interactive content for different purposes is one of the aspects of being digitally capable—attitudes and skills of individuals needed in order to be successful in a digitally driven world. Like further education and higher education, the effective use of learning technology in primary education relies on good levels of digital capabilities. This is vital to the achievement and development of children as well as their progression into secondary, further and higher education and into the workplace. This article will introduce teachers to a simplistic approach to using learning technology, a free rapid eLearning creation tool and guidance to shape and diversify your learning content.
Passive to interactive
Before using learning technologies, it’s useful to evaluate your current approaches of the tools you are using as this affects the overall learning experience. The Display, Engage, Participation model (Figure 1) helps you to be more interactive in your application of learning technology as well as identifying what must be taught and what ought to be independently learned, without being too passive.
- Display content – learners are expected to view documents, online information, videos or other media.
- Engage – learners are expected to take information and become familiar with it but may not yet fully understand it. Learners review information from the display but re- purpose the content without fully exploring the breadth and depth of it.
- Participation– expects learners to learn independently and actively create content by applying their own understanding.
This all leads toindependent learning,which allowslearners to take ownership of their own learning by being active and improving retention of information.
Ask yourself, are you using more of a display, engage or participation approach in your use of learning technology? Or perhaps a balance of them all? If so, what percentage? This model is all about the why and how. Why would the learning technology benefit your role and your learners’ learning? Why should you use it and how do you use it? Think about how you approach your use of VLEs, devices and online tools.