66% of students say they were prepared to use needed technology when they entered college. This makes me say one thing, “Wow!”. Believe me, I’m glad this stat is above 50% but it still means that 34% of students were not ready.The importance of providing students with proper training and skill development in a safe and responsible digital learning environment has to be a top priority, especially as technology use among students increases exponentially.
Whether schools are trying to bring technology in the classroom through 1 to 1 or BYOD it is critical to understand this new tech-savvy generation of students and how they are using technology. Check out this incredible infographic about how students are using technology in the classroom and how this is impacting their behavior and communication.
As we can see, the data is quite revealing. Mobile technology use in schools has clearly taken off over the last 8-10 years and students want more and more of it, but for many different reasons. From the infographic above its important to point out that blended learning environments are more the "norm" than ever.
Students are saying that these blended environments are the best solutions to supporting the way they want to learn. Schools should prioritize the development of mobile-friendly resources that students want to use to access the educational items that matter to them. For example, coursework, assignments and academic updates allowing students transparent visibility of their grades and progress.
Apple has been a long standing leader in mobile education with the introduction of iPads in the classroom and edu-specific apps and support. Google has also joined in the cause with the Chromebook and programs like Google Classroom (available through Google Apps for Education in September 2014). More and more is being designed to evolve the learning environment, organizing the classroom for more collaboration and as Google says, “More teaching, less tech-ing”.
Our students are the future and we all have to do our part to give every student the tools they need to succeed, for today and tomorrow. At SecurEdge we are experts in designing school wireless networks and have helped hundreds of schools coast to coast to implement their wireless network solutions. If you have any questions, or would like to see how we can analyze and optimize your current wireless network contact us here today, we’d love to chat with you!
