Technology has vastly transformed the classroom. Education advocates like eTutorWorld.net applaud these technological innovations, because they help children learn essential math skills with greater ease.
Here are ten ways math students are benefitting from tech devices.
1. Online math games put the fun into learning. Many children have little tolerance for boredom. That’s particularly so in today’s media-saturated environment. Math games bring a world of “edu-tainment” to children. That eliminates the seat-squirming boredom that can put the kibosh on learning.
2. Endemic calculators have eliminated the tedium. In primary school, doing calculations manually still has educational benefit. However, as children attain competence in arithmetic, calculators give students freedom. Instead of doing rote work, children no longer have to spend precious time working a problem that seems unsolvable – that is until the child realizes a number was accidentally transcribed. Baby Boomers have been through that scenario many a time.
3. Interactive software puts the zing into computations. The popularity of computer games prove beyond a shadow of doubt that interactivity is crucial to a learner’s engagement with the lesson material. It’s akin to that famous transition in the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, when the movie went from black and white to color.
4. Internet search engines allow a student to explore a math topic effortlessly. Programs, which teach while also guarding innocent children from toxic websites, have been welcomed as an important learning resource for students. Safe surfing allows both children and parents to tap some of the many mathematical resources available online.
5. Collaboration through social media adds sociality to math lessons. Social media and math can be a powerful combination. Although sometimes it may be used for cheating on assignments, a few bad apples shouldn’t discount the merits of crowdsourcing new ways to practice math skills.
6. Richer media provides easy access to detailed explanations. Self-directed learning has never been more supported than it is now. Teachers are evolving into coaches, which frees up time to assist students who are struggling. It’s a much better use of resources.
7. Touch-screen technology engages math students. iPads and tablets have revolutionized mathematical instruction. Apps help students easily access lesson plans, and what technological development has been more engaging for children than tablets?
8. Online drills reinforce newly acquired math skills. Drills are important in the beginning stages of mathematical literacy. Few students have the willpower to perform math drills in solitude. What could be more boring than reciting multiplication tables in an empty room? Online math drills spur students to finish homework.
9. Email and chat give students improved access to instructors. At some point, every student needs one-on-one help from an instructor to understand a mathematical concept. Often, teachers do not have enough time in the day to give every student the attention they need. Yet, with email and chat, an instructor can be much more effective in giving children feedback on lessons and offering help, when it’s needed.
10. Online diagnostic testing individualizes instruction. This is something teachers have dreamed of for decades. After all, each student has a unique set of skills, talents, and challenges. Online testing provides important feedback, so an instructor can pinpoint those specific areas in which a student may be struggling.