Introduction:
Today, technology and education are quite interrelated. Almost every teacher has some favorite technology tools that they use to engage students in the lesson. With the advancements in the field of technology, educational tools are also constantly evolving along with the addition of some better functions and features. Therefore, it is difficult for a teacher to keep up with technology and use the newest and most useful tools. Educational tools can be characterized in several categories. Here, some of these tools will be discussed.
Technological Peripheral Equipment:
• Cloud Computing
• Social network tools
• Web 2.0 tools
• Teaching media in the classroom
Cloud Computing:
Cloud computing uses remote central servers and the Internet to store applications and data. In general, the term ‘cloud computing’ is used for anything that provides the services hosted throughout the World Wide Web. It allows people to access their valuable data and files from anywhere with just an internet connection. This technology provides highly effective computing through the use of centralized storage, bandwidth, and data processing. The most common example of cloud computing is Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc. You can use the Services simply by connecting to the Internet.
Today, many companies offer “virtual storage space,” which is a form of cloud computing. Students can use this technology to store their valuable information. This would allow them to access the required information from the Internet even in situations of data loss from their hardware devices.
Social Media Tools:
With the rapid prevalence in our daily life, institutes are still hesitant to use social media as an educational tool. There is a wide range of social networking tools that can be used to create an even better and more interactive classroom environment. These tools allow teachers to engage students in clever ways by stimulating discussion and encouraging collaboration even among some of the soft-spoken students.
Different social networking tools have different characteristics. For example, Symbaloo provides classroom resource management for teachers. EDU 2.0 provides the course management system, and teachers can share quizzes, experiments, assignments, videos, lesson plans, and other content in a shared folder. Another tool, Edublogs, is quite similar to the WordPress blogging platform and only supports educational content. In addition, you will find a host of other social networking tools that are currently used by teachers and offer a number of different features and functionality.
Web 2.0 tools:
Web 2.0 tools provide an easy way to share, collaborate, edit, and create user-generated content online. Teachers and students do not have to download and install these tools and can effortlessly learn them in a matter of minutes. For example, video tools allow the user to embed useful videos into presentations and shared projects. Next, the presentation tools make it easy for both students and teachers to edit, create, upload, and share their presentations. Also, Mobile Tools supports quizzes, blogs, podcasts, and media sharing, etc. The use of these interesting applications on your cell phone can make it an efficient teaching tool. Additionally, community tools provide a way for teachers and students to share their work.
Teaching media in the classroom:
Classroom instructional media include audio, video, and graphic services. These services are provided by the highly qualified coordination department and are responsible for training faculty members to operate media-equipped lecture rooms, maintain media equipment in lecture rooms, and produce instructional material.
Conclusion:
With the rapid advances in technology, no one can deny its importance in any field of life. Now, teachers and students can have better collaboration and sharing through the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology). It is important for teachers to stay up to date with the latest advancements and latest features in the field of technology, so that they can better deliver their lectures and help material to students.