The Future of School: 10 Benefits of Digital Classrooms
Until the early 2000s, classrooms looked virtually identical to those from past decades. Despite major technological advances, schools mostly stayed the same during the 20th century. Today, however, in the information age, the integration of technology in our daily lives has extended to our schools. This has given rise to a new kind of teaching environment, i.e., the digital classroom.
What Is a Digital Classroom?
Digital classrooms, as the name suggests, are digitally enabled classrooms. They make full use of the latest technologies to enhance teaching practices and improve learning. Digital classrooms incorporate digital education using laptops, tablets, the internet and educational software. These digital interventions often benefit not only the students but the teaching staff and schools as well. Let’s delve into the various benefits of a digital classroom.
What Are the Benefits of a Digital Classroom?
During the pandemic, a majority of schools adopted the virtual classroom model where classes were held over a virtual conference. This global switch made numerous advantages of integrating technology with education apparent. As a result, many schools today are adopting a digital classroom model. Let us look into some of the benefits of a digital classroom:
1. Learning From Anywhere
One great aspect of digital classrooms is that they allow students to learn from anywhere. Since digital classrooms compile study materials on the cloud or one central network, students can access these materials from class or home making the practice of note-taking obsolete. Even students who have missed a class can make up for it by revising using the study materials available on their devices.
2. Access to Global Information
Digital classrooms globalise education. Students can access materials from libraries around the world using the internet. Rare and expensive books can become accessible at the click of a button. What’s more, professors from around the world can teach students virtually in the classroom.
3. Better Student Engagement
By using technological interventions like animations or games to enhance existing lessons, teachers can make the syllabus more interesting for students. Digital classrooms can make lessons more interactive by providing each student with the ability to solve problems independently on separate devices.
4. Improved Knowledge Retention
You can make learning more enjoyable for your students using technology. When students enjoy lessons taught to them, they understand the subject better. By improving the quality of the content and making it more engaging, you are indirectly helping students retain more information.
5. Multiple Teaching Tools
Teachers can make use of technology to craft their lessons in various formats. Since each student learns differently, teachers can take advantage of new digital tools to help students who don’t learn well using traditional teaching methods learn in a way suited to them.
6. Easier Training for Teachers
The same benefits that apply to teaching students become applicable when helping teachers train or upskill using digital classrooms. New teachers can observe experienced ones teach their students, access teaching resources and tools used by other teachers and even record lessons to review or revise.
7. Teacher-Student Communication
Technology can remove barriers between teachers and students. Students can send messages to teachers with their doubts which teachers can clear at their convenience. It is also a lot easier for teachers to have one-on-one conversations with individual students discretely to offer better guidance.
8. Recorded Lessons
By recording lessons, teachers can give students an important tool to study. Students need not take notes to recall lectures. Instead, they can directly rewatch a particular lesson. This helps students keep concepts fresh in their minds. It can also assist students who had to miss particular lectures. It also frees the teacher from needing to repeat concepts or hold extra lectures.
9. Cost Effective
Cost is a vital aspect of making the switch to digital learning. Since concepts can be taught on devices, students no longer need to spend thousands on copies of expensive books. Schools spend large amounts of money printing out examination papers and assignment booklets. In a digital classroom, both of these can be shared with students on interactive screens. They can also be submitted digitally, eliminating the need for paper.
10. Attracting Admissions
As more and more schools start to adopt digital classrooms, parents will start to choose schools that offer better digital classrooms to their children. Schools will need to incorporate the latest educational devices into their schools to attract a good number of students and fill up classes.
It is time that the educational system evolves to incorporate technology into every classroom. Schools which provide the best digital classrooms are the ones which will rise to the top in the future. Consider joining thousands of schools in adopting 360-degree digital classroom solutions from Extramarks. Bring your classrooms into the 21st century.
Last Updated on October 12, 2023