The Interactive Class

     

     The very first time that I heard the phrase The Interactive Class, I thought about a class that was filled with technology.   An interactive class to me was having the right kind of tools that would assist in learning within the classroom.   An interactive class to me would promote being socially and emotionally healthy.   I saw a lot of moving around and discussion between the teacher and the students, as well as amongst the students themselves.   To me that's what interactive class looked like.  

     A more clearer definition is that the interactive classroom is an interactive and active learning environment, where students move around the classroom and interact with technological devices according to the learning task that's being worked on. 

     I grew up in a time where I didn’t get any real lecturing teaching.   I just listened to what my teachers were trying to tell me.  Things are different now so we should be making the proper adjustments as well.   “One thing is certain:   Educators cannot continue teaching in the same structured classrooms, with the same outdated materials, and in the same standardized ways (Merrill et al., p.7, 2020).

     The Interactive Class shows how important it is to be more engaging and interactive as well.   This book mentions early on the need for change for educators who are trying to facilitate learning.   It’s stated, “innovative learning never stops, and educators need to ensure that their teaching practices keep up, because this next generation’s innovative spirit is already being felt (Merrill et al., p.7, 2020).  

     As educators, it’s very important that we continue to develop our learning within our respective fields.   Life has changed just in the last 25 years as it pertains to technology.   The kids of the world today are going to think even bolder and continue to try their best to make this world a better place.   

     Because of this, we have to stay on top of things.   And staying on top of things means making sure our technology is up to part!   This book main purpose is to use technology to make learning more relevant and engaging in the elementary classroom (Merrill et al., 2020).

     The book mentions often of the importance of “interACTIVE” learning.   Students are fed up with just receiving handouts and asked to complete the worksheets by the end of the class period.   Students might not say it but we as educators know they really yarn for the knowledge.   Many kids just want to have fun so you have to find a nice balance to create lessons that will engage them.   

     “This is why an interACTIVE classroom is so vital for teachers today.   Simply assigning the difficult and challenging tasks won’t result in optimal learning.   Without engagement, students will find the lesson two challenging, become frustrated, and simply send the sensory information over the reactive brains” (Merrill et al., p.11, 2020). 

   I learned that The Interactive Class goal in the book is “to focus on the things we have tried and implemented in our classrooms and our personal experiences leading to successful and interACTIVE teaching and learning with students” (Merrill et al., 2020).  It’s a process to make sure that we as educators are consciously doing the right things.   The book shows a method that is used to make sure things continue to flow smoothly.   There is something called the “Interactive Method,”  which consists of these steps.   Prepare, innovate, visualize, observe, and troubleshoot.  

     This method is used to ensure that successful planning and preparation is happening for a successfully interactive class.   The book did a good job of initially providing the guidelines to what a interactive class is.  But the book isn’t the only source that backs the importance of interactive classrooms.   

     In my computer science classes the first things most students always ask me could they do is play some games.   I don’t know why most my students relate computer science to games but that’s mostly what they think about.   Games are fun and I told you kids like to have fun.   It turns out from this scholarly article that games are a great interactive technique for learning within the class.   A study was conducted that shows interactive techniques for even adults.   

     “This two-part study investigates perceptions of interactive classroom teaching techniques for adult learning. In the first part of the study 62 college faculty members and 45 corporate trainers were surveyed about their teaching and training methods. 

     The survey had two main objectives: to determine rates of classroom techniques used, and to determine influences on teaching styles. Trainers used a greater variety of teaching techniques in their presentations, such as visuals and interactive exercises including games, and spent less time on lecturing than their college faculty counterparts” (Kumar, Lightner, 2007).   Check out this video to show how games were utilized once again to make for interactive classrooms.  

     In the end, we see now more than ever the importance of staying on top of our technologies and making sure we are growing professionally, so that we can continue to engage our students in an interactive classroom.  

References 

Kumar, R., & Lightner, R. (2007). Games as an Interactive Classroom Technique: Perceptions of                           Corporate Trainers, College Instructors and Students.  International Journal of Teaching and                       Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), 53-63.

Merrill, J., Merrill, K., & Miller, C. (2020). The interactive class: Using technology to make                            learning more relevant and engaging in the elementary class. ElevateBooksEdu.

“Interactive Games Using Google Slides for Your Bitmoji Virtual Classroom.” YouTube, 15 July 2020, https://youtu.be/bzwPFh059jI.