Teachers are essential to schools and student learning. They impart academic knowledge and social and emotional tools that boost students’ long-term life outcomes. In addition, teachers inspire future generations of leaders and innovators that shape our society.
Technology can ensure teachers have the right tools and expertise to do their jobs. In our ever-growing digital world, it’s also essential for teachers. Here is how IT administrators can guarantee the technology is used intentionally in the classroom
1. Technology is not the end-all-be-all solution, but it can be a solution to various problems.
There are many challenges in education that all have different solutions. One can’t just throw new laptops or tablets into a classroom and expect it to be a utopia. However, technology can help solve more minor issues, as shown in the table below.
| Challenge | Technology Solution |
| Communication with parents and students is unorganized and confusing | A classroom site can help a teacher streamline all communication and be a resource for parents and students |
| Illness or weather keeps causing students to be absent | Providing laptops or tablets so they can still do their work at home |
| Students are at different levels in the curriculum, and it’s hard to give everyone attention. | Virtual learning tools allow teachers to make lessons that actively engage students at all learning levels. (More here: https://ozobot.com/blog/27-tech-tools-teachers-can-use-to-inspire-classroom-creativity) |
2. Investing in training and support is essential.
Each teacher comes into each school year with unique skills and knowledge related to technology. IT administrators should provide training and support on new technologies they implement to guarantee that teachers can use them successfully. Also, if teachers have any questions, there need to be resources or people available to help answer their questions.
3. Testing technology will ensure that it works, is used, and increases learning.
IT education administrators must continually monitor technology performance to ensure that implementation and training are worthwhile. Every school or classroom runs differently, so what works in one may not work in another. The fun of technology is that there is always something new out there or improvements to existing technology that could help, so IT administrators should always research new classroom tools.
To learn more about education solutions from Now Micro, visit https://www.nowmicro.com/.
