The process of educating and engaging children is made increasingly easy with advancements in today’s technology.  Educational tools and programs that used to only exist in one location can now be accessed around the world.

The coolest summer camps  

Take Google’s Maker Camp—created by MAKE Magazine, the program runs online for 30 days in July. It bridges the gap between a traditional summer camp and an entirely web-based learning program.  Hosted from the creator’s own Google+ page, teens are encouraged to build different interactive projects with friends or on their own.

With daily Google+ Hangouts, it’s easy to go on virtual field trips and communicate with other campers.  They encourage social media use since it helps share new accomplishments, ventures, and ideas.  For example, the hashtag “#FieldTripFriday” helps everyone gain behind-the-scenes knowledge of interesting topics and atypical adventures with the Maker Camp.

Sharing finished projects and videos of the construction also helps the student’s entire learning process.  As long as learning new stuff is this fun, improvements in technology can only be beneficial to the growing minds of today’s society. After all, kids that truly want to learn will always put their best effort toward gaining knowledge.

Learning on the go

If the Maker Camp sounds too out there to jump into, or maybe your students are too young to join the high-tech movement, consider the benefits of (GASP!) watching TV!  Educational programs seem to fall all over your traditional channel lineup.  Shows on PBS, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel will likely have some significant educational value to them.

And now, you don’t even have to be home to enjoy the advantages of catching your favorite show to learn something new.  Watch episodes on-the-go on your tablet, mobile device, laptop or gaming system.  Try out the newest in TV technology with fiber optics, like FiOS TV, and choose programs on demand to watch instantly.

Sneaky websites 

If you’re an online enthusiast that shares YouTube videos and educational links every chance you get, you probably already know that educational websites don’t have to be boring! Many students, especially young ones, love to practice math or spelling with online games.

Have them connect to a home or school computer to play games that (ever so secretly) help them memorize important things like multiplication or word synonyms.  These websites are typically available across devices too, making it easier to share and explore in more than one location.

Here are just a few some of the best sites to teach and amuse the younger crowd:

funschool.kaboose.com/

multiplication.com/games

abcya.com/

Technology makes education fun!

We all know that engaging kids in learning practices is not always easy.  However, when activities are fun, students are more apt to choose learning on their own.  Having students enjoy the process while gaining valuable knowledge they’ll retain for the long run is quite certainly the key to a successful education.

 

Author Info:  Matt Evans is your typical Internet geek who thinks the Internet makes everything better – which it does.  Matt enjoys highlighting new and undiscovered ways the Internet can be a great asset.  Have a question for Matt?  We encourage you to send him an email!

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