Views & Opinion Harnessing technology
to deliver 1:1 learning By Kenny Nicholl, Director EMEA at Canvas by Instructure
A
student sits at the back of the class, often more focused on their thoughts about lunch, their love life or the big match at the weekend than anything being discussed in class. It’s a scenario we’re all familiar with, and if we’re honest something we did ourselves when we were students.
Research carried out in 2010 suggested that the average attention span for students was a measly 10 minutes. Although this figure is probably unduly harsh on students, we all know how challenging it can be to keep the attention of students for a full lesson.
Tackling this and engaging students in what’s going on in class and with their own studies is one of the most important aspects of the learning experience. A student who receives more one-to-one time with their tutor will not only see a vast improvement in their grades, but will also enjoy their education much more. But, in a class of 30, delivering quality one-to-one time is a real challenge. With 30 sets of papers to mark and an entire room to keep engaged it’s hard to keep track of each individual student and their personal needs. When a student lacks this engagement, they can fall behind, while other students move on.
To solve this, students need one-on-one time with the tutor where questions can be asked, topics can be looked at in-depth and theories are fully developed in the students mind. The opportunity for such close teaching is growing, as technology takes a leading role in the education experience.
Progressing towards the “flipped classroom”
Technology allows for more traditional teaching activity to be given outside of the classroom. Lectures where a tutor simply goes through multiple slides, with little interaction, can instead be delivered through webinars or recorded videos. Lessons where the student works from a textbook can be completed through an interactive app. Audio podcasts can also be used to reinforce learning while the student is outside of traditional learning environments such as the home and classroom.
While technology takes on the traditional teaching activities, the time spent with the tutor can be used to dive deeper into topics, theories and key findings. Discussions are longer, so more questions can be asked. A flipped classroom, where homework is the classroom activity, and classroom activity is the homework, means more one-on-one engagement, better results and more enjoyment.
Developing the student-teacher relationship
Shy students have always been a challenge for teachers – if a pupil doesn’t speak in class or is unwilling to discuss issues with you in person, how can we know how they’re progressing? Technology offers such children an alternative to face- to-face interaction by functioning as an indirect means of communication. Backchannels created by learning systems and other education apps allow students to have private communication with each other and with teachers. In this way it’s easy for students to flag when they’re having issues, without it being made apparent to the whole class.
Such messaging systems can help bring pupils out of their shell, and also allow teachers more 1:1 time with each of their students – even if it’s as simple as sending the same message to each child privately to gauge how they feel about a specific topic or issue.
Data-driven lesson planning
It’s not just about improving the qualitative experience. By tracking a student’s work with a Learning Management System, teachers have access to detailed analytics for every pupil. They can see who is falling behind, who is steaming ahead, and how the class is progressing in general. With this information, lessons can be much more tailored and teaching becomes a craft. Engagement in education shouldn’t be limited to just teachers and students. Parents are a vital third cog in the process and the same analytics can help a parent understand how their child is progressing, and how the flipped approach is benefiting them specifically. This feedback loop, for the student, teacher and parent is incredibly valuable in creating an engaged educational experience. Smart use of technology allows teachers to focus on what they do best - teach. Meanwhile, detailed analytics offer students and parents a level of insight they have never before seen. This style of one-to-one teaching is the future. Now is the time for institutions to put the technology to work.
October 2014
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