Nothing can replace the caring, guidance and expertise of a dedicated teacher or the influence of a loving parent or guardian when it comes to achieving successful educational outcomes for children. Still, technology can provide valuable tools to help today’s students learn using the platforms and methods they already use and best understand—tools that can genuinely capture their interest.
From accessing an existing, enormous library of online educational videos and apps to looking into more expansive plans to tap into immersive technology-enabled experiences, there’s much parents, teachers and communities can do to ensure students have access to individualized, engaging and future-forward learning experiences. Below, 16 members of Forbes Technology Council discuss current and potential ways to leverage technology to improve educational outcomes.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Supplement Lessons With Entertaining Online Media
Be engaged with what your child is learning, and supplement lessons with popular digital mediums of information. For example, if your child is learning about the weather, take some time to watch a fun YouTube video on the subject, or look up a TikTok that provides a perspective or information that isn’t being covered in the curriculum. This makes the topic relevant and interesting to them in daily life. – Logan Brown, Slalom
2. Leverage Dedicated Educational Apps
Parents and teachers can access a variety of tools, including educational apps such as Khan Academy, which offers free video lessons and practice exercises in math, science and other subjects. Duolingo helps students learn a new language, and Quizlet provides flashcards and quizzes to help students study and memorize information. These tools are an accessible and affordable way that teachers and parents can leverage technology to improve education. – KJ Dhaliwal, Social Discovery Group
3. Build Up Tech-Focused Entrepreneurial Skills
Utilizing technology to build the entrepreneurial skills of students is essential in creating maximum value in educational outcomes. Enabling skills including digital design, the ability to code and the creation of digital solutions is essential. Ensuring upskilling of practical technology skills is increasingly accessible through technology-enabled, entrepreneurial learning environments. – Dax Grant, Global Transform
4. Engage In Parent-Teacher Videoconferencing
Parent-teacher communication is key to student success. Holding shorter, more frequent meetings with parents through Zoom, Teams or Google Meet makes conferences more efficient for teachers. Furthermore, it improves parent attendance and involvement by being more accessible for working parents who cannot get to school during their workdays but can join an online meeting. – Kate Eberle Walker, Presence
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5. Communicate Via Short-Form Video
While we’re not all social-media-focused, all of us are used to consuming short-form video. Recording 2- to 4-minute messages that are easily consumable to provide updates between parents and teachers would keep everyone informed about what is going on, and it’s more personable than an email. – Michael Adler, N-able
6. Turn To Gamification
By using online educational resources that have gamification features—such as leaderboards that are generated based on small achievements—teachers and parents can help students engage with educational content in a fun and interactive way and can provide them with additional support and resources to help them compete and succeed. – Milan Dordevic, Proctorio Incorporated
7. Focus On Fostering The Child’s Interests
As a mother of two little girls, I found that there is no correlation between the cost of a piece of technology and its educational outcome. The most important factor is a child’s own interest in a particular subject, character and so on. There are wonderful online platforms that are free or next to free that will deliver outstanding results in anything a child is interested in. – Maria Scott, TAINA Technology
8. Ensure Community Hotspots
Many schools provide laptops or tablets for students to borrow and use. Studies show that students who do not have internet access at home will not show the same academic results as their peers with access. One way to bridge this digital disparity is to provide hotspots to students. Schools and libraries have successfully leveraged public funding to provide this service. – Ritesh Mukherjee, Inseego
9. Start Kids’ Exploration Of Technology Early
Early adoption is essential! There’s a widespread belief that playing video games and looking at the internet is a waste of time, but that’s not the case. No matter how much you want to limit tech in your life, we’ll all be engulfed in it very soon. Get your kids involved with technology of some sort. Find where they excel with it, and educate them while doing so, keeping in mind that moderation is key. – Kevin Huber, IT Outlet
10. Consider AR Your Power Immersive Education
The use cases of augmented reality powered by 5G have immense potential. AR is already being implemented in medical schools, and it needs to be rolled out across the educational system. As a father of two, I can attest that kids tend to learn better if concepts are presented and explained visually. There is a huge, untapped potential out there in AR. – Hassan Abbas, Ericsson
11. Provide Lessons Using Interactive Software
Using highly interactive software with dynamic, immersive experiences is the best way to deliver information to the modern knowledge-overloaded student. The reason is simple: It provides the ability to deliver a lot of information within a limited timeframe. To accomplish this, define key aspects from various educational methods and test them to identify the best fits for interactive software. – Slava Podmurnyi, Visartech Inc.
12. Participate In Hackathons, Gaming Arenas And Subject Olympiads
Online hackathons, gaming arenas and subject Olympiads are effective and affordable ways to improve the teaching experience and outcomes. We live in a global world, with global competition, and technology has reached (almost) every corner of the planet. By participating in such activities, kids and educators will develop multidiscipline, multicultural experiences, much needed in today’s education. – Spiros Liolis, Micro Focus
13. Explore Technology To Track Personal Educational Metrics
At its core, education should lead to habits. Educators can use technology to gamify learning with measurable metrics. For example, new digital health tech is improving wellness habits. Fitness trackers can give you quantifiable metrics to measure yourself against. Furthermore, using wellness or diet management apps such as Calm or Nutruneo can help you establish and follow up on healthy habits. – Nicholas Domnisch, EES Health
14. Set Up Optional Online Courses
One easy, affordable way teachers can leverage the power of tech and improve education for students is to create optional online courses that supplement material discussed in the classroom. Parents can work with their children on these lessons to help them better understand the concepts taught in school. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
15. Create Varied Learning Experiences For Different Levels And Subjects
Teachers could create a full, 360-degree experience for different grade levels and subjects. For example, they could create a package for learning at an advanced level with extended reality, while at the standard level, technology could be leveraged in a different way for information consumption. They could also add key performance indicators to track information consumption rates using technology; this could be an addition to standard testing for verifying achievement. – Kaitki Agarwal, A5G Networks, Inc.
16. Establish Small Online Learning Communities
One easy, accessible way to leverage technology to enhance educational outcomes is to create small groups of online, cohort-based learning groups. These groups would include parents, students and teachers working on a collaboration platform with access to open learning material. – Rajat Sharma, Zensar Technologies
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