New tools every student should know about

If students are not able to navigate a complex digital environment, they will no longer be able to fully participate in the economic, social, and cultural life of the world around them.

Information technologies have revolutionized almost every aspect of our private and professional lives.

The people in charge of educating today’s connected learners are confronted with a number of complex problems.

This article presents a comparative analysis of students’ digital skills and the learning environments designed to develop them.

Teachers ask if students really learn with computers. They often say that students are so good at using computers.

No, students are good at playing and socializing, not at using educational software. You really have to show them the potential of that software.

There are three types of teachers: those who do not believe in technology, those who somewhat believe in it and who send students alone to the computer, and …

… there are those who will accompany their students in learning how to make use of it.

It is with these last that we have exceptional results.

We expect schools to teach children to become thoughtful consumers of Internet services and digital media, helping them to make informed choices and avoid harmful behaviors, while raising awareness about the risks children face on the Internet.

No matter the teacher, no one can compete with the potential of a computer. Students and teachers alike can benefit from Course Hero for free.

Students who moderately use computers at school tend to have slightly better academic results than those who rarely use them.

What’s more, even when new technologies are used in the classroom, their impact on student performance is mixed.

Research so far shows that, without a teacher’s accompaniment, young people will ignore the use of computers.

Yet when the teacher is the student, they explain how to use these electronic tools, and the young person learns to make fewer mistakes because they have feedback from the computer.

Computers don’t just give young people answers, they ask them questions.

These teachers are often struggling to see the potential.

On the other hand, there is also a loss of power. When I question students about this, they tell me they do not really need paper and pencils.

Before, it was the teacher who said if the word was good. Of course, this power of the teacher is not lost, but there is a kind of a democratization of it.

As soon as the teacher is not interesting, the students leave and entertain themselves with their tablet.

In other schools, it is forbidden at all times, yet everyone still does it. Everyone has their cell phone. Young people have told us that they know they can use their cell phone, but if they do it during classes, there will be consequences.

With teachers who remain at the front of the classroom, divergent behaviors will be frequent.

Distraction is a challenge every moment. Teachers who walk in the classroom, take care of their pupils, give them specific tasks and sets rules for them, has divergent behaviors that are very limited.

In shopping malls, there are little ones in strollers that play with an iPad or an iPhone.

This mentality is conveyed to the school.

To remove this way of thinking is a challenge on the part of the school. The problem is that technology is synonymous with gaming. It’s not synonymous with learning.

What do you think about these trends? How would you resolve them?
I would love to hear your thoughts about them in the comments below.

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