Intelligent School – Better Learning Experience In School

On our company hackathon, our little team was brainstorming on methods for improving an average school day. A bunch of our ideas: rooms where individual as well as group work can be done; context board for easier memorization; ‘what’s up’ board to ease the job of the teacher.

First, it is the physical surroundings that have to enhance productive learning for multiple kinds of activities. For this purpose a square classroom is way better than the conventional rectangular classroom. Special tables that can be joined into a big one help the students to form groups.

Another major problem with the conventional teaching method is the lack of connection and association in the minds of students regarding the teaching material. We have a vision of a thematic classroom with an entire wall serving as an illustration of the course plan. This is always there for the students as well as for the teacher, who can always use it in order to facilitate explanation. Such a contextual information board not only assists knowledge integration, but also assists memorization.

Learning is most efficient if one can do it at his/her own pace. This is a source of problem for the teacher, who cannot see clearly the learning processes if everyone is working on different things. Digital technology can be of great support. If students choose their tasks using a digital tool (e.g. tablet), or even doing their tasks using one, the tool could send an automatic message to the central screen about the status of each and every student; this could be shown in the tablet of the teacher, or even on the visual wall of the classroom. Projecting info on the wall may even create a healthy competition among students, inspiring them to perform better.

We had tons of ideas for the organization of a school day, too. For example, defining the goal of a given lesson is helpful for the students because they can see what they will acquire in the end. Giving a bunch of methods for one particular task from which the students can freely choose may as well be motivational. By using a digital system for choosing the exercises, we can make a part of the assessment automatic: the system could store information about what exercises has been done and how much time the student needed for doing it. Also, this way we can get a clear picture of a student’s strengths and weaknesses. Actually, it is a great support for the parents, because it allows a better insight into their children’s lives in school.

You can find other interesting ideas and cases from our work on our Facebook page. Follow us!