Creating Immersive Digital Learning Experiences: How Technology Can Excite and Engage Students

The classroom concept has drastically changed over the past year. While the physical rooms on school campuses were once the main space where students learned, now nearly any place in the world can function as a classroom.

This shift means that educators must think creatively to engage students who are participating in remote or hybrid learning. The current generation is digitally native, so they are used to everything being online, from socialization to entertainment and now, education. They’re expecting an immersive learning experience, but how can teachers deliver quickly and with limited resources?

Utilize Technology to Enhance Digital Learning

Prior to the widespread onset of remote and hybrid learning in the spring of 2020, most classrooms were already equipped with some form of technology, such as projectors and interactive display panels. Now many schools have shifted their focus to mobile technology, like laptops and hotspots, to facilitate remote learning. Educators are also adjusting to new ways of delivering lessons and interacting with students, which can be overwhelming.

Learning how to use these new tools seemingly adds another thing to worry about, but when applied strategically, technology can actually ease your stress. It frees you up to focus on creating engaging experiences for your students, whether they’re learning remotely or through a hybrid model.

If you’re looking to develop or expand your remote learning program, there are many solutions available to help you build a strategy to excite and engage students.

Boost Blended Classroom Productivity

Educators are always looking to improve how they teach and assess how students are learning, and this is even more critical in remote and hybrid learning environments when teachers are not interacting with students face-to-face.

One way to boost learning outcomes is by using an interactive flat panel in your classroom. The panel displays rich multimedia content that students can engage with, whether they’re learning in-person or at home. Paired with the plethora of educational resource sites that are available, interactive flat panels enable collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking in a digital environment.

Panels are a brand-new tool for many teachers, so it’s important to consider professional development sessions to learn how to use them to facilitate instruction. Vendor partners such as Newline® are dedicated to providing training to schools that purchase interactive flat panels to help educators understand how they work and how to integrate them with the curriculum.

Create a Foundation for Continuity

Despite changes to the classroom structure, the expectation to deliver effective instruction remains the same. Educators can achieve continuity using camera technologies that bring the classroom environment into whatever space students are learning in.

Document cameras, like those produced by AVer®, are compact and portable to allow for sharing between classrooms and remote teaching. Included software adds interactivity and allows teachers to instantly connect to distance learning platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, enabling seamless engagement with remote students.

Many K-12 educators have taken note of the use of artificial intelligence auto-tracking cameras in higher education environments and are now using them to facilitate distance learning in their schools. The cameras enable teachers to move around the classroom as they normally would while ensuring all students can see and hear them clearly. This helps maintain the traditional classroom feel and keeps students connected to their teacher and their peers.

Ensure High-Quality Learning Opportunities

A big challenge for educators in remote and hybrid learning environments is ensuring students learning at home have access to high-quality learning opportunities. By combining high-quality audio and video solutions in the classroom, teachers can keep students engaged, no matter where they’re learning.

Technology companies such as AVerMedia® offer easy-to-use wireless microphones that are USB-enabled, so teachers don’t have to worry about complicated connections between the mic and their computer. A classroom sound system that incorporates a receiver and sound bar allows students learning remotely to hear their teacher and other classmates just as they would in a typical classroom environment. This helps facilitate better learning outcomes and can ensure students are excited about the curriculum.

Learn How to Create Immersive Digital Learning Experiences

Remote and hybrid learning can present many hurdles for educators, but with the right technology and know-how, you can create immersive digital learning experiences that engage and excite students, even if they’re not in the classroom.

Looking for more ideas to innovate education within the remote and hybrid learning environment? Visit our Remote Learning page for must-haves and resources. You can also watch our panel session from TCCA 2020 for tips from technology experts or contact your Trox account executive for more information about solutions to help build your virtual classroom.

About the Author

Ashley Wallinger is a content marketing specialist at Trox. She began her career in broadcast journalism, working as a producer at two TV stations, where she created content for news broadcasts and digital platforms. She has since held roles as a digital copywriter for a marketing agency, as well as a social media specialist overseeing content creation and analytics for the Scottsdale Unified School District in Scottsdale, Arizona.