Teacher Knows Best: How to Get the Most from Post-Pandemic Tech

When COVID-19 hit, schools and teachers worked tirelessly to create a whole new way of providing an educational model that would engage and inspire students, and fill parents with confidence. At the cornerstone of it all was technology. Via devices, platforms, apps and programs, teachers were able to bring the schoolroom into the home, and children were able to learn, develop and connect.

With schools now returning to “business-as-usual”, with kids back in classrooms and teachers running lessons face to face, there are questions around how we can take the tech learnings gained during remote learning, and make them work for students, families, educators and schools moving forwards.

Google for Education recently hosted their National Education Summit, a virtual event in partnership with education experts discussing the future of education in the UK, and how technology is bringing benefits to the classroom beyond the pandemic.

Provided by teachers who have lived it and learned it, here we present practical ways educators and schools can continue to drive the use of tech in the classrooms post-pandemic, with the primary aim to make education and outcomes better, brighter and more exciting for the whole community.

How tech supports teaching and learning in our schools

Technology in schools has always been a source of excitement for children. From the computer lab days, where kids might get one hour a week to discover the delights of a PC, to today, where young minds can create almost anything with the help of the right tech tools.

The fact that tech brings joy aside – how can the right devices, applications and platforms support real teaching and learning, both in and out of the classroom?

Chromebooks have been a game changer for educators and students in this regard and have made some key impacts.

Accessibility

“Having a Chromebook is like having a teacher’s aid by your side all day long.” - Zaitoon Bukhari, teacher, secondary school, England.

One of the advantages offered by Chromebook has been for students with accessibility needs. For those children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Chromebook’s accessibility tools, including the screen magnifier, screen reader, Braille support and more, have worked to support teaching staff and students in ensuring a quality experience for all.

Feedback and Tracking Learning

Functions such as Questions, within Google Classroom, enable students to get real-time feedback, and relieve teachers of the burden of cumbersome marking at the end of the day, giving them more time to spend on more dynamic aspects of learning.

Additionally, teachers have welcomed being able to set tasks in advance within Classroom, which gives students a clear roadmap of what’s next, plus the added autonomy of being able to work at their own pace. Furthermore, teachers are able to track student learning during the lesson, giving them a much more detailed insight into how a child learns and interacts with stimuli.

Collaboration

“For our little ones, we use Google Classroom, Google Tools, Google Docs… we teach them how to collaborate, which means I get sent 30 little poems. They love the collaboration features and the instant feedback.” - Tracy Jones, head teacher, primary school, North Wales.

Collaboration has been a key outcome for many students and teachers who have adopted Chrome, Chromebooks, and the Google for Education offering. Where students are now better able to collaborate together on projects, using products such as Google Sites, the inclusivity extends to fellow students and even parents who can share the experience and access the work.

How the pandemic changes education’s relationship with tech

“We’ve gone from using Chromebooks in the classroom as a research tool, to completely changing the way we are delivering our lessons. We’ve created independent learners, and we’ve transformed the way we do professional development.” - Zaitoon Bukhari, teacher, secondary school, England.

Back in the classroom after some long stints educating remotely and learning from home has revealed some incredible benefits that schools, educators, students and families will now reap, thanks to the disruption.

Across the board, what the pandemic has done across many different learning ages and school types, is expose the breadth of opportunities something like Chromebook offers. And the benefits aren’t confined to student learning.

Teachers have redeveloped their professional development style and roll-out, using tools such as Google Sites to create dedicated homepages for staff who are then able to access tools and briefing information from anywhere.

The impact has also been felt and appreciated by the IT decision makers in schools, who have noticed a significant drop in hardware errors and repairs thanks to the sophisticated functionality of Chromebooks compared to other devices.

“Before the pandemic, Chromebooks were very much viewed as student devices. During [the pandemic] we gave every one of our teachers a Chromebook. Now we‘re back in the classroom Chromebooks have replaced all of our legacy desktops. They’re much faster, meaning lessons can get started quicker, and we’ve got less old devices to manage. It’s a win-win, and has made all of our jobs a bit easier.” - Peter Horner, IT lead, College, England

How to make the most of your pandemic investment

Many education sites invested a significant spend in purchasing devices to support staff and students during the pandemic lockdowns. Now we’re back in classrooms, how can we ensure we continue to get the most for our money?

Training

Investing some time in training all staff on Google Educator will mean that every student and educator will be able to wring every last drop of opportunity out of their devices, because they will understand how to make them work for specific learning and teaching needs.

Stay Creative

One of the more exciting pandemic outcomes was discovering a multitude of tools, apps, platforms, functions and programs that extended our students' learning and improved engagement. Continuing to explore new tools will drive outcomes for schools, students and educators and keep our schools at the cutting edge of what’s new and exciting.

“The pandemic really pushed us to explore new tools, web apps, and new ways of doing things, such as Screencastify for creating videos. Soundtrap was brilliant for podcasts, and we even had our musical theatre students recording together from different locations. It’s been good to keep hold of that.” - Peter Horner, IT lead, College, England.

Sharing New Discoveries

Although the pandemic may have pushed people apart physically, tools and devices in tech brought many of us back into the same spaces digitally, and a new kind of sharing of skills and collaboration was created. Encouraging this across your school community will continue to drive the use of tech to make schools more dynamic and exciting places to be for the whole school community.

“Keep sharing best practice. Keep exploring for new tools, keep picking up new ideas, and sharing those ideas with colleagues to see how they work across the school. Jamboard was like a storm across our school. The students love it.” - Zaitoon Bukhari, teacher, secondary school, England.