The Digital Transformation of Education: Learning Aids in the Digital Age
In our technology-driven era, digital learning aids have an undeniably pivotal role. A striking 79% of educators have reported improved student outcomes when classrooms embrace technology, while 81% of college students attribute their academic improvement to digital learning technology.
This growing consensus highlights the importance of leveraging digital tools to enhance educational outcomes and is fueling the expansion of the education app market. From 2023 to 2030, it is forecasted to expand at an 8.9% compound annual growth rate.
Schools like GEMS Royal Dubai School (one of the Dubai schools in Mirdif) are paying attention. More and more learning institutions globally are adopting digital technology to facilitate learning, empower teachers, and make education more engaging.
The following are some apps and technologies schools can use for digital learning.
1. Seesaw: A Digital Learning Journal
Seesaw is a student-driven creative platform for students to demonstrate their skills and understanding of their lessons. It is a digital learning journal where students can document their work using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links.
In the classroom, students can use Seesaw to create and share their projects, presentations and assignments, allowing teachers to follow their thought processes and progress. Teachers can provide feedback directly on the platform, enabling consistent communication.
Seesaw is not limited to the four walls of a classroom.
Seesaw has a library that teachers and students can use to supplement classroom learning. The supplemental Seesaw curriculum is ready-to-use and aligned with standards, supporting grade-level education as needed.
Seesaw also allows parents to view their children's work and gain insights into their learning journey, fostering a home-school connection. It also encourages students to reflect on their work over time, enhancing self-assessment and metacognitive skills.
2. Scratch: The Gateway to Coding
Scratch is a coding community for children. It is also a programming language founded and developed by MIT Media Lab's Mitchel Resnik and maintained by the Scratch Foundation.
Scratch helps children become computer programming-literate and teaches them to be creative, systematic and collaborative thinkers.
On Scratch (the community), children can create and share the interactive stories, games, quizzes, and animations they made using Scratch (the language). Programming entails snapping together colourful blocks of code – an approach that introduces the concept of programming in a fun and engaging way, helping children transition from digital consumers to creators.
The Scratch community allows children to explore and remix community projects, learn from peers worldwide, and receive feedback on their creations. Scratch can be integrated into any subject area, from maths and science to art and social studies, promoting interdisciplinary learning.
3. Lego Apps: Building Knowledge Block by Block
The suite of Lego apps cleverly incorporates Lego's famous brick-building play into the digital world, enhancing students' learning experience. These apps offer various games that not only entertain but also educate.
Lego specialises in programmable toys, offering educational solutions for every level: pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, elementary and middle school. Lego apps also reinforce coding literacy among their children.
The MINDSTORMS robot kit is an example. The app is compatible with different systems, including Windows personal computers, Apple Macs and tablets. It also has a user-friendly interface, ensuring those new to programming can quickly learn how to use it.
The robot kit has everything children need to build robots, including Lego bricks, motors and sensors. After making the robot, children get to control the robot using the Scratch-based MINDSTORMS app.
Guided learning is also available, as the MINDSTORMS app comes with programming missions. Children can have fun as they learn to code when they follow along with the tasks. The assignments help children visualise programming because coding in MINDSTORMS leads to tangible results and changes in the robot's behaviour.
4. Virtual Reality (VR): An Immersive Leap Into Learning
Virtual reality provides immersive, 3D experiences that bring lessons to life in a way textbooks and traditional teaching tools can't. By wearing VR headsets, children can be transported into meticulously crafted digital worlds that mimic real-life experiences or fantastical environments that defy physical world limitations.
The VR experience is effective as a learning aid because not only is it visually impressive, but it also engages multiple senses, which promotes immersion in learning environments.
In history classes, for instance, children can use VR to walk through ancient civilisations and infrastructure. They can experience the architecture, culture and life of the times first-hand.
In science classes, VR can take children inside a human cell. Children don't have to be content with looking in from the outside, as they must when they look at cells through a microscope. They can also use VR to take a journey across the solar system.
In geography, VR can transport children into different countries, landscapes and cultures without leaving their classrooms. This ability to virtually explore the unexplorable enhances students' understanding and retention of complex concepts.
Additionally, VR technology can support experiential learning, a method where students learn through reflection on doing. For example, in a VR lab, children can conduct experiments, manipulate variables, and witness chemical reactions in a safe, controlled environment.
VR also encourages empathy and diversity in perspectives by allowing students to experience different situations, environments and cultures that they may not encounter otherwise. For instance, using VR, a student can see the world from the point of view of a person with a disability or immerse themselves in the culture of a distant country.
Though VR technology requires specific equipment like headsets and controllers, its benefits in providing a rich, immersive and engaging educational experience make it a valuable learning aid. The future of VR in education looks bright as educators and technologists continue to explore its potential and applications in teaching and learning.
5. Duolingo: Making Language Learning Accessible
Duolingo is a language-learning app. It employs game-like missions and rewards to make learning more engaging and accessible. With its interactive and bite-sized lessons, Duolingo supports learners in building their language skills progressively.
Schools with a modern language programme should find Duolingo particularly useful in making foreign language learning easier for students.
Keeping Pace Through Digital Learning Aids
The world of education is undergoing a profound transformation. Schools and students must adapt or else get left behind.
Are you a parent with school-age children in Dubai? On your GEMS school online enrollment, find out if your target GEMS school employs digital learning aids that will help your children keep pace and keep up with the rapidly evolving digital landscape.