EdTech World Tour - Explore EdTech For Primary School

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October 28, 2022 Business

Edtech has been a game changer for learning at all levels due to its multi-faceted applications that make life easier and more interactive for children, teachers, and parents. While EdTech encompasses many forms of computer-based and remote learning, there still needs to be synergy between conventional teaching methods and the digital software and tools being applied to primary-level learning.

How EdTech Applies To The Primary Level

Primary school is part of the developmental years of children and EdTech can play a huge role in facilitating learning. Teachers and educators can deduce the learning ability of their students and EdTech can be used to revise alphabets, improve reading and comprehension as well as increase exposure through virtual field trips to educational venues such as museums or historical sites. The possibilities are virtually endless with regard to edtech being used at the primary level.

Children Become More Independent

One of the best aspects of exploring the use of EdTech for primary school is that children love technology and devices anyway and EdTech initiatives make them more independent with regard to homework assignments or revising what they learned in class. They can partake in fun activities, watch interactive videos, and also communicate with their teacher from home. If they run into technical difficulties they develop the important skills of troubleshooting and coming up with solutions before asking an elder.

EdTech Needs To Be Adapted To Its Users

EdTech programs and software do not come in a ‘one size fits all’ category. Even for EdTech initiatives meant specifically for the primary school level there usually is a lot of improvement required or tweaks needed in order for each individual child to be able to benefit. Teachers and educators need to accept that all children will simply not have the same productivity and retention levels with an EdTech program and that some may do better than others.

EdTech companies do usually reach out to teachers for feedback and in many earlier versions of software, improvements and changes have been made to make them more suitable for certain age groups and learning levels. Many EdTech programs are popular or on-trend when they first come out but teachers need to experiment with them before wholeheartedly applying them to their lessons.

Online Learning And The Real World

EdTech is about learning real world skills like reading, history, comprehension, or math problems. One of the best ways to incorporate EdTech into primary level lessons is to have it be a complementary feature to a conventional teaching style. Of course for some students EdTech will be the entire experience if they’re learning from home or doing remote computer-based learning (which is rarer at the primary level than the higher levels).

In most cases, however, the teacher should ensure that the transition of the skills learned online can be carried out easily to the real world such as a student doing basic math calculations on a blackboard or paper. A 3d vacuum heat press for example can create physical models and printed objects that can be used as learning aids for children but the patterns and concepts can be prepared in an EdTech software.

Making EdTech A Way Of Life

Children at the primary level make habits based on consistency so EdTech should be embedded into many areas of their life. It should be in their academic learning, in sharpening emotional intelligence through interactive games and activities, it should be present for homework tasks and to facilitate communication between the child and his/her parents and teachers.

EdTech needs to go beyond just being used in the classroom and instead should be a vehicle for learning no matter where the child is. This is why virtual experiences like virtual field trips are a good idea because with the right equipment they can be undertaken from anywhere increasing the scope of learning for a primary level child. It might be possible to visit only two or more places physically as an educational field trip but virtual field trips can be a lot more prolific if schools make the investment in digital tools and learning.

Enhance Communication

It is the job of teachers to utilize EdTech to improve and enhance communication between them and their primary level pupils. The EdTech programs should be providing vital intel on each student’s preferences, likes, dislikes, abilities, strengths, and possible weaknesses. This information can then be used to provide extra help or appreciation to students so they can develop their strengths in a better way. Teachers can use multimedia aids and then have interactive activities on the EdTech platform to gauge how much students have retained from the lesson. Pupils might become better at making friends too along with enhanced communication with parents and teachers.

Collective Consensus For EdTech Initiatives

Educators should have discussion forums or networking events that allow them to discuss the pros and cons of different EdTech initiatives. The EdTech industry is brimming with options but they are not all made equally and each educator wants to do what is best for their students. Teachers can get together or have virtual meetings to discuss how the EdTech they are using in the classroom is resonating with the students. Important insights can surface this way so that outdated features or unhelpful ones can be removed or replaced by another program.

EdTech – A Worthwhile Investment

EdTech initiatives have gained momentum in leaps and bounds since the Covid-19 pandemic but many schools are still reluctant to invest in these digital tools properly. Inadequate application of EdTech programs means that valuable progress can be lost as the primary level is very developmental. Teachers and educators should put in the time to find the best EdTech software after careful evaluation of not just the available options but also the learning stage their students are at. The choice of EdTech can be tailored to improve or work upon specific weaknesses in reading or math for example. A needs-based approach might just be the best way to use EdTech wisely in the primary school setting.