Using Technology to Bridge the Learning Gap

Learning gaps (or achievement gaps) can arise in students because of a lack of qualified teaching, parental educational background, family income level, disinterested students, or for a variety of other reasons. 

 

The trick is to bridge the learning gap, and in the process, ensure everyone has at least an adequate level of knowledge on a particular subject. 

 

One benefit of the recent pandemic was that technology was being made available to students of all ages and income levels, so remote learning was possible for all. In the years before, school districts and government officials stressed the need for tech for all, but the pandemic sped things up from more than talk. 

 

Listed below are ways that both parents and teachers can use technology to better all students.

 

Record Lessons Online

Students can struggle when a lesson is presented quite simply. They may have trouble understanding part of the lesson plan, and before they know it, it has snowballed from there, and they have fallen even further behind. If the educator would record the important lessons that they believe students may have difficulty with and then post the video on the classroom website, students can go back and rewatch the lesson to strengthen their understanding of the material further. 

 

Find Apps that Correspond with Each Lesson

No matter the subject, there are thousands of apps available online that correlate with the material covered in the classroom. History, Math, Writing, Science, Art, Physical Education, and everything else you can think of has plenty of free and inexpensive apps that coincide with all topics. It may take a bit of time to locate the best apps for the students. But this enables them to keep learning about the subjects long after they have left the classroom. 

 

Remote Tutoring

Back in the day, students were at the mercy of hiring a geographically convenient tutor. This means that the tutor had to live within a few miles of the child that needed the assistance. However, because of these constraints, kids were tutored by people not always qualified for teaching the topic.

 

Through remote tutoring or tutoring online, students can now reach out to qualified tutors located anywhere around the globe. At iAchieve, we have both in-person and online tutors that can help students with virtually any subject or topic. Plus, parents receive updates on how well the student responds to the tutoring, so everyone is up to date on the latest information.

 

Google Docs

Google Docs is entirely free for students and allows for easy transfer of documents back and forth between students, parents, and educators without having to resave the data and send it all over again constantly. Whether a document, presentation, or spreadsheet, Google Docs has it all covered. 

 

Educational Online Videos

The number of hours of great educational videos available online is staggering. It would take students the rest of their lives to watch even a fraction of them. Teacher Tube and Discovery Education are merely two sites to examine for videos that correspond with the topics covered in class. 

 

Students will often tune their teachers and parents out just because they often hear from them. But when an entertaining video comes up on the screen, their focus improves tremendously. 

 

Just a Drop in the Bucket

There are hundreds of ways technology can be used at this moment with students of all ages. Your creativity only limits you. Keep your options open and learn from others how they incorporate tech into the classroom and outside of it. Kids love to use technology and learn rather quickly from it. Using tech to help children learn can develop their understanding of a topic even more thoroughly.

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