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kid looks at a computer

Today’s piece continues on from last week’s blog about edtech terms every teacher should familiarise themselves with in light of the increasing use of educational technologies in the classroom.

First up is asynchronous learning (also known as e-learning), which is a learning style that focuses on the student by providing them with access to online assignments and resources such as chat and videoconferencing to support learning regardless of where the student is based.

Digital storytelling is another increasingly used form of educational technology, and refers to the combination of narrative with digital content such as video and sound, resulting in an interactive short movie ideal for teaching students about specific topics.

A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course i.e. a typically free online course available to Internet users—MOOC subjects tend to be quite broad and people of all ages use them to learn and gain new skills.

Similarly, open educational resources are free to access educational materials such as documents and media that can be used in the classroom to teach.

And the final entry on today’s list is the virtual classroom, an online-based learning space accessible through the internet or software that provides teachers with additional tools and often engages students on a greater level than traditional lessons.

Mobile app design and development

Educational technology is becoming more and more prominent in classrooms around the world and with it a whole heap of new terminologies that describe various forms of edtech.

We’ve rounded up some of the most common edtech terms you’re likely to hear over the coming years as educational technology starts to take on a bigger role in the learning process.

Adaptive learning refers to the use of technology to enhance study materials to improve students’ ability.

This technology could be in the form of a computer, tablet or online system, and most edtech tools could be described as adaptive learning.

Blended learning is the use of both edtech and traditional modes of learning when teaching e.g. online resources such as tablets and offline resources like schoolbooks.

Differentiated learning is the technique of tailoring various components of a lesson for each individual student, and is different to personalised learning as you modify the lesson based on the syllabus rather than the student’s strengths.

Gamification describes the use of the gaming elements in teaching e.g. earning points, levelling up and competing with others.

A number of edtech tools use gamification to ensure students are fully engaged with what they’re learning.

The above are just a few of the many edtech terms in use today, and we’ll be covering some of the more technical terminology in later blogs.