Education has changed a lot since I was a kid.  For students, doing anything besides paying attention to the teacher was out of the question. Chewing gum, talking, laughing, or even staring out of a window could land you in trouble.

It is nearly impossible to place the same restrictions on today’s kids. Even your most basic smartphone has a calendar, the internet, space for music, and text messaging.  If the kid is into apps then go ahead and add about 50 distractions to that list.  Nothing like finding out where your favorite pop star went to high school and then tweeting that to your friend (who also happens to be in school).

The teacher’s tools consisted of a chalkboard, chalk, a few notepads, and a hand full of pens.  In today’s world of high distractions its almost impossible for a teacher to hold attention with those limited tools.  Fortunately for them more weapons are being created each day.

There are 2 major technological advances in the classroom that stand head and shoulders over their competition:

Classroom Response Systems (CRS) – Students are given a clicker that allows them to interact with the teacher.  The teacher can pose a question and see answers from each student in real time.  This allows the teacher to gauge understanding and adjust to critical gaps in learning on the fly.

Smart Board – The smart board is a device that combines the functionality of a chalkboard and desktop computer.  Teachers can use the smart board to show multimedia presentations, browse the web for real time content, and save and email specific information to students for later reference.

Which advance do you think is the most useful?

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