On 14 March 2020, education systems the world over ground to a halt and schools had to open up thousands of “branch offices” in their students’ homes. With varying degrees of fortune, most schools were helpless in the face of this situation and had no idea how to proceed.
The digitalisation of education was planned for 2030, but the COVID-19 crisis, a completely unprecedented situation for both the healthcare system and society, sped up this process. Two essential factors came into play:a united educational community, with the admirable work carried out by teachers to continue their work in this unprecedented educational situation, and how technology was used to continue education when schools closed and ensure that students did not stop learning.
Although we used all the technologies that we had incorporated into our centres in recent years, the physical and emotional dimension of a school is not comparable to students’ homes. They did not offer the socialisation or human contact that all children need, and the technological devices, good internet connection and training necessary to allow teachers to handle this new reality were lacking in some cases. Another difficulty was that parents had to provide students with academic support during the first few weeks, when the end of this crisis seemed like a distant prospect.
Why were BSS schools able to successfully overcome this educational challenge?
When electronic devices first started to make an appearance in classrooms, we mistakenly believed that our students and classrooms had not changed, just that text books had been replaced by a technological alternative.
There is nothing better than a teacher who is not only able to share their knowledge, but also teach students how to manage their emotions in the classroom, spark their curiosity and help them develop their skills.However, we are now facing a new challenge … how can we optimise learning with both technology and the help of a teacher? This idea has led to the concept of hybrid education, which poses a new challenge for teachers: designing projects that involve technology as an improvement to, and not as a substitute for, the traditional learning process.
Centres from the Best Schools in Spain (BSS) network are committed to digitalisation and believe that it represents our new educational reality. They make the most of current educational trends and incorporate technology into their educational projects.
Technologies that help students “learn by doing”
This cone of learning shows that when students learn by doing and teaching others, they remember more of what they have learnt after a period of two weeks. We achieve this is BSS schools by applying the “Maker” methodology in collaborative environments.
In this regard, technology encourages students to “learn by doing” as they can create their own audiovisual materials, search for information on the internet, learn at their own pace or consolidate what they have learnt in class.
Imagine swimming in a block of liquid cement. We could say that it is equally difficult for any member of the educational community who suggests REVOLUTIONISING their school to give digital TECHNOLOGY an increasingly important role in the classroom and other departments.
BSS Schools are committed to boosting this revolutionary approach through communication, teacher training and financial investments, among other efforts.
It is not about recreating current content and methodologies, but about EVOLVING towards an educational model that is different, effective and motivating for students.
Source: https://bestschoolsinspain.com/the-digitalisation-of-education/
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