10 ways computers are changing public schools

There’s a reason many school administrators and teachers get excited when they’re talking about one-to-one computer programs. Many new learning possibilities open up when each student is equipped with his or her own device. Here are 10 of them:

1. Flipped learning. Teachers can record lectures ahead of time and assign them to students to view for homework.
2. Increased attention. Teachers can keep students interested by giving them tasks to complete on their computers that follow along with the lesson. Instead of just taking notes, students may be asked to answer questions, contribute research or work out a problem.
3. Work together. But with computers, they’re able to all work on a single document at once, share ideas and research and even take the group work home with them.
4. Instant feedback. Teachers can see what students are doing on their computers in class or, if they’re working in an online document, they can see their progress on homework. They can give feedback on the work while it’s in progress.
5. App for that. The tools students can use in class aren’t limited to what they bring with them when they have a computer at their desks. Students can download programs to help their studies as they need them.
6. Progress check. Teachers can give students questions to answer from their computers or give them interactive assignments to complete in class or at home that provide instant feedback on which topics students understand and which need more attention.
7. Individualized learning. With teachers able to track students’ homework and test results instantly, they get a better sense of each student’s strengths and weaknesses. When they give students homework or classwork to do on their computers, they can customize the questions to give each student exactly what he or she needs to work on.
8. Connect to the world. Students can contact people all over the world from their desks or from home. That means they can interact with other students who might be working on similar projects, speak with experts on a subject, and tune in to broadcast events or exchange cultures.
9. Show the class. Instead of having one student do something on the board while the rest of the class watches (or zones out), each student can perform the task on his or her computer. The teacher can then display students’ screens at the front of the room.
10. Immediate research. With each student having instant access to the Internet, looking up background related to a class topic or doing some research doesn’t require a special trip to the library. Students have the entire Internet and Web-based academic research tools at their fingertips.