Interactive Engagement and the Use of Technology in Education

Hello there, my friends, and thank you for checking out yet another informative blog post from Potter and Clay Academy. A video that coincides with this post is also available. My name is Aerika, I am the owner and teacher of this home school program, and today I am going to be sharing insight pertaining to interactivity and engagement. So, if you are a preschool teacher or a parent who teaches their preschooler or kindergartener at home this will be beneficial to you. I am going to share three applications or tools that can be utilized in teaching to maximize student or child engagement and learning.

Importance of Interactivity and Engagement

So, you may ask, Aerika why is interactivity and engagement so important? Well, I am going to tell you. Interconnectivity allows students hands-on experience that promotes engagement and motivation to learn. After all the human brain is not designed for formal learning (Jensen & McConchie, 2020). Interactive learning is effective in gaining knowledge, formation of personal skills, and character development in students which is why it is used in schools, universities, courses, and training (Kiyasova, et al., 2022). Student engagement is how a student connects with the lesson or materials, their classmates, teachers, and school. It is determined by their skills, attributes, needs, and values( Wang & Hofkins, 2020). Engagement is a high priority because of its potential for addressing student behavior, school dropout, and poor academic achievement (Wang & Hofkins, 2020). One way to maximize student engagement is through educational technology.

My last two jobs working in the classroom with preschoolers were polar opposites. One job had children’s computers and tablets in the class for students four and older plus a smartboard. The smartboard was in another room because the school only had one and all students took turns playing games and watching educational shows on the very expensive equipment. It was a fun way to get the little ones excited about learning especially since they were able to use the touch screen to interact with the content. I found it beneficial because interactive games on the smartboard kept young students engaged longer than anything else they were involved in. The last school I worked at on the other hand was very anti-technology. The owner wanted no part of it. The only tech in the classroom was the teacher’s tablet used for attendance and parent communication. Technology scares some people who try to avoid it with their children at all cost, but I think it’s to be embraced and utilized in a responsible way. Just like anything in this world, using technology has its pros and cons.

On the pros side of things, teachers find electronic devices useful for implementing activities, making them more understandable, and attractive (Nikolopoulou, 2022). Devices like the smart board can be used for showing videos and searching for information while providing a great visual experience for the student (Nikolopoulou, 2022). Technology can also be inclusive as some aps can help children with special needs.

Going down memory lane once more, I remember we had a STEM event in our foyer at one of my old jobs and I had set up a stop motion station. I cannot express how much fun the kids had creating their own little stop-motion video. It was fun but the students also were learning skills such as collaboration, teamwork, and gaining some STEM wisdom. As a teacher, it brings joy to my heart to see students engaged with the learning material. Engagement means they are making a connection and are more likely to learn and retain the information. Kids learn from experiences, not worksheets. It is important to provide kids with playful experiences and technology can provide kids with some amazing fun and playful experiences.

The cons or barriers of technology in education or the classroom are the lack of equipment and cost as it can get expensive. A smartboard ranges from around $1,500 to $6,000. There can also be other issues such as lack of training, funding, more kids than devices and poor internet connection. Cyber safety is also another issue as students can be victims of bullying, intimidation, and other cyberattacks. There is also emerging research that argues that gamification is not effective in increasing student engagement or learning outcomes (Bochrika et al.,2021).

My Top 3 Applications/Tools

Get Epic

Epic is a digital library for kids. This App has a tremendous number of books covering different subjects. There are also videos, audiobooks, and my favorite feature which is the read-along or the read-to-me books. If you are a teacher with a school email, this app is completely free, and your students can use it at home between certain hours. If you are a parent, you do have to pay for it, but it’s inexpensive at around eleven dollars a month. The interface is easy. A toddler could pick this up quickly, so it’s user-friendly.

It can be used online or face-to-face. I use it with my home school students. I jump on Zoom with them, share my screen, and read books with them using the app. This app can be downloaded to a desktop, a phone, an Android, a tablet, or a Mac. Because the interface is so simple, you can put it on a tablet and hand it to a kid to read books. Plus, it’s children’s books only so you don’t have to worry about inappropriate content. Teachers can assign books for students to read or even videos to watch. This is also great if you don’t feel like doing a read-aloud. Read to me books will do the reading for you.

ABCYA

I just recently discovered this little gem but it’s educational games for kids. What I really like about this site is that it can suggest games based on common core standards which can be a plus for home school parents and teachers. It covers math, literacy, and science for grades Pre-k – 6th grade. Plus, it’s not just games but also contains interactive activities. Some are super simple like Make A Pizza which is good for introducing kids to computer skills such as using the mouse. Another great interactive activity is the Story Maker where kids can type up their story, save and print it. This one is fantastic for kindergartners. This App will work on desktops and any mobile device and is user-friendly with a simple interface.

The app is free with limitations. The free version does not have a full screen, has limited play on mobile (6 games per week), and can only be used on one device. If you play on a desktop, then kids can play unlimited games on the free plan. The paid version is also inexpensive with a family plan being about six dollars a month and a classroom plan around twenty-five dollars monthly.

Wondershare Filmora

This is not a kid app but is definitely a fun one for parents or teachers to use to create content for the little ones. Filmora is a video editing software. You can make amazing videos and never record a thing. This is such an amazing tool because it has endless options for things you can create. It gives the teacher or parent control over the content. This app can be downloaded to your phone and tablet and used on the go. It is compatible with Windows 10 and up as well as Mac. The downside is that the app is not free, but it is yet inexpensive costing about forty dollars a year. You do have to be cautious about the computer you use, as gaming computers seem to work best with the software. Be sure to check and see if the software is compatible with your PC.

Student Success

It is important to know whether you are a classroom teacher or a parent teaching your child at home that you influence the life of the student (Dabrowski, 2020). The education profession is one of the most stressful professions to work within (Dabrowski, 2020) but can be a positive influence on student well-being and academic achievement. I would encourage you to build trust with your child or student, decode pathways to success and connect the child with resources, remove or reduce barriers to success, and if you are a teacher, assess personal bias and its potential to interfere with student success (Barbeau & Happel, 2023). Providing learning experiences that provide interactivity and engagement can ensure student learning is taking place, and that they are enjoying the process.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out our blog post. Don't forget to take the fun sun quiz on our home page. The quiz was made using Filmora. Our kids are studying the sun this month, so see if you can remember the basic facts.

References

Barbeau, L., & Happel, C. C. (2023). Critical teaching behaviors: Defining, documenting, and discussing good teaching. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Qg_JEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT10&dq=student+achievement+good+teachers&ots=Sj0EP_jvDs&sig=d743NvG-JjV444l6os6l4C-jv1c#v=onepage&q=student%20achievement%20good%20teachers&f=false

Bouchrika,I., Harrati,N., Wanick,V., Wills,G. (2021). Exploring the impact of gamification on student engagement and involvement with e-learning systems, Interactive Learning Environments, 29:8, 1244-1257, DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2019.1623267

Dabrowski, A. (2020). Teacher well-being during pandemic. Surviving or thriving? Social Education Research. 2(1). pp.34-40

Jensen, E., McConchie, L. (2020). Brain-based learning: Teaching the way students really learn. Corwin.

Kiyasova Ra’no Malikovna, Sidiknazarova Zulfiya Mirsharapovna, Shamuratova Malika Shadjalilovna, & Amanov Alisher Kakhramonovich. (2022). Types of interactive methods in teaching English to students. Texas Journal of MultidisciplinaryStudies, 14, 1–4. Retrieved from https://zienjournals.com/index.php/tjm/article/view/2641

Nikolopoulou, K. Mobile devices in early childhood education: teachers’ views on benefits and barriers. Educ Inf Technol 26, 3279–3292 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10400-3

Wang, MT., Hofkens, T.L. Beyond classroom academics: A school-wide and multi-contextual perspective on student engagement in school. Adolescent Res Rev 5, 419–433 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-019-00115-z