Engaging Education: How To Get Kids To Participate In School

There’s an old adage that says you only get out of something what you put into it. Indeed, effort and hard work can pay great dividends for those determined enough to succeed in life.

Of course, many of the tools we need are hard-wired into us as we grow up – whether it’s through parents, friends or school. While some children are natural born students, with a solid attention span and a natural aptitude for all subjects, some youngsters need just a little encouragement to participate fully in classroom activities.

This could be because they’re shy, or they may just be daydreamers – but a good teacher can go a long way towards ensuring each child has the best possible chance in their early formative years.

To increase participation, teachers must explore ways to engage children. With the digital revolution in full swing, with an array of contraptions and devices spread throughout most modern houses, the classroom has to go some way towards reflecting a child’s home environment.

Whilst traditional mediums such as books and chalkboards will probably always have some role to play in the classroom, they may not be enough to engage the minds of young learners. That’s where interactive whiteboards (IWBs) come into play.

The digital whiteboard has the same look and feel of a traditional whiteboard, it can be mounted on the wall at the front of the class, but they’re fully-functioning multimedia devices. Children of all ages can be drawn in by video, audio and animation - but IWBs go much further than that.

Youngsters can tap into personal learner response systems and participate in tailored tests, whilst question and answer sessions can be transmitted wirelessly to everyone in the class. Student input can include everything from words, numbers, symbols, Likert scales and many more. Given that learner response systems are so flexible, teachers from all subjects can use them, from English and History, to Maths and Physics.

Many children will be used to working with handheld devices, be it remote controls, mobile telephones or games consoles. Given that learner response systems use similar buttons and controls, youngsters find them very intuitive to use – which increases the chances of them participating in classroom activities.

Any technology that encourages children to engage with lessons, the teacher and other children has to be a good thing. The digital revolution is in full swing - and it’s vital that the school environment isn’t left behind.

About the Author

Daniel Collins writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.

Author (dcollins). Submitted on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 Time: 10:01 AM

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