Knowledge
Connecting through Technology: How Edtech Can Facilitate Social and Emotional Learning
Technology has always been given a negative image, especially for children but when used in the right ways it can do wonders for us and more for our children
The purpose of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is to help students build relevant connections in and beyond the classrooms. Initially, SEL was considered just another branch of instruction, however, it has now gained momentum as there are lifestyle changes around children. Emotional connections, empathy, self-awareness, and communication are skills that students miss out on due to the unavailability of family attention, lack of interaction, and more.
This directly affects their ability to make connections when they grow up, to have their voice, or expand their minds. SEL can be achieved through non-tech activities like group discussions, guided learning activities, storytelling and more but introducing tech into the classroom takes it to the next level.
Technology and emotions are probably never going to be on the same side for anyone. What’s technical cannot have emotions and vice versa as we have always believed.
Technology has always been given a negative image, especially for children but when used in the right ways it can do wonders for us and more for our children.
It is undeniable that the next generation will continue to use technology for everything. From waking up to sleeping through apps is how they’d probably go through life. With technology being such an important part of our lives, it only makes sense that we accept that NOW technology probably plays a vital role in developing our emotions too, or at least it has the power to influence our emotions. It is now our choice to leverage it or to consider it as a boon entirely.
I would pick my side of leveraging technology because let’s accept that tech is here to stay! We need to make the most out of it for our children to enhance their Social Emotional, Cognitive, or even physical Learning. One of the greatest benefits technology gives us is “freedom”. Freedom to customize a student’s learning journey according to their interests, and what they actually care about leads to greater engagement levels and ultimately achieves greater results.
Using technology in our classrooms through smart boards, smart toys, cameras, and learning platforms can help students learn collaboration, communication, and sometimes even frustration. Although education technologies aren’t capable of replacing human interaction, they can make those interactions more meaningful and help enhance learning experiences for students through continuous targeted assessments.
For example, using smart boards for storytelling in preschool classrooms can lead to a longer engagement for students followed by quick assessments and auto-generated feedback. This not just reduces the workload for teachers but also gives a far-more detailed analysis. The use of technology, however, has to be balanced especially in preschool so students are not exposed to screens too much. It can be designed into a daily schedule where a fixed hour for story-telling is done through smart boards. Technology can help us make them familiar with phonetic sounds, images, and experiences with no hassle.
Connecting student emotions with technology and enhancing their experience can help us achieve their developmental goals quicker and more efficiently. A student dealing with a tech app in the classroom learns about sharing, asking for help, collaborating with his peers, and creating value with a more futuristic approach through technology.
Problem-solving can also be addressed through smart tools popularly used in robotics which lead to cognitive development in students. Robotics helps students understand complex problems and come up with creative solutions on their own. Particularly when students have social or language disorders, they can use various educational robotics tools to communicate by programming the robot to say certain messages or execute certain actions that indicate how they’re feeling. Technology can help in tracking progress and engaging them by giving guidance and feedback. Another way technology helped us was communication through apps like Zoom or skype. Students can talk to their friends who are traveling during holidays and know their experiences, in turn, develop their communication skills.
While technology is still daunting for most teachers, especially in low-budget schools in our country, it has still made its way to our classrooms through YouTube or Pinterest for starters. Educators are increasingly benefitted from these apps to learn activities that could help in the social and emotional development of their students. However, we still have a long way to go. Educators need to first understand why social-emotional learning is important and then how technology is such a brilliant tool to help them connect better with their students. The lack of training for teachers makes them fear technology and consider it an additional burden which is not true.
Technology has made its way into all classrooms even in rural areas but the challenge now is how to use it effectively which can only be resolved through teacher training and awareness.
Author – Ankita Pareek, Director, EDuBrain Schools & Softel Educare Pvt Ltd.
