Was education simpler when it used to be just students reading books and listening to their instructor? It might have been more straightforward, but it was also less interactive. Students retained information from required readings and input from their teachers — and little else. Now, however, things have become more interactive, perhaps for the better.
These might not have been available in the last two decades but now they are considered essential teaching aids:
DVDs
Interactive learning is one of the most effective methods of getting students interested in even the most challenging lessons. Take one topic, present it in a fun and engaging way, inject a little humour into it, and make it easy to reuse for several classes. There you have it — a teaching instrument that will lessen the strain on educators but will make learning more robust. It is easy to produce DVDs of materials through a DVD duplicator machine, and playing them only requires that you have a DVD player in the classroom.
Movies
Everyone watches movies at home. Genres range from silent films, which can be a good way to teach students about the history of films, to thrillers, which become an invaluable tool in dissecting the inner workings of the human mind. There are also adaptations of literary classics, making an afternoon of discourse on Shakespeare’s best works even more entertaining. Audience participation will improve if they see scenes unfold right in front of their eyes rather than simply read about them from books. In some of these adaptations, the setting has also been modernised, opening an interesting discussion on how the literary masterpiece can still be applicable to present-day society.
Holidays
Students are not confined to the classroom anymore. They have always been encouraged to pursue learning even when they are at home but today, places for studying also include foreign, often historic, areas. The whole class may decide to take a trip during school holidays to visit a historic spot where a favoured historical personality once lived. It may even be the place itself that is historic. Sometimes, these trips are all about the experience. Trips vary in duration as well, with some of them lasting several days while others just taking up the whole afternoon if the destination is not that far.
School Festivals
Despite all the new ways to teach children vital information, the school is where children ought to stay the most. It is where they are taught to follow rules and abide by school regulations, which is another way of preparing them for the future. While in school, they can still learn beyond their horizons in the form of cultural festivals. School festivals may take up a whole week, within which students are tasked to present or introduce a certain culture and they have the option to explore those presented by other classes. The whole school comes together for a successful event and everyone learns while having fun.
As an educator, you have the great task of giving students access to useful information that they will hopefully retain. To do your job well, be aware of the latest tools that help with information dissemination and improve retention.