Technology is rapidly transforming the educational landscape, and private schools are no exception. While successful independent schools often invest in cutting-edge tools, technology challenges in private schools present distinct obstacles to everyone involved.
In this blog post, we'll explore five innovative solutions for overcoming technology challenges in private schools and how they can be uniquely addressed within the private education sector. But first, let's dive into "Why do private schools need technology and what are the unexpected challenges that arise from it?"
Why Do We Need Technology in Private Schools and What Are the Unintended Outcomes?
Technology cannot be taken out of modern day classrooms. It enhances learning experiences, fosters collaboration, and prepares students for success in a digitally-driven world. However, the rapid adoption of 1:1 programs and EdTech tools can also lead to unintended outcomes such as digital distractions and teacher burnout.
With parents paying high tuition costs to send their children to private schools, school admins feel the pressure to remove any and all obstacles to student achievement and student well-being. It's time independent schools' admins focus on squashing digital distractions and providing needed support to teachers.
1: Supercharge Student Engagement in Independent Schools to Overcome Technology Challenges for Students
The Challenge:
One of the key challenges facing students in independent schools is maintaining high levels of engagement in digital learning environments (DLEs). Studies show again and again that when student engagement goes up, student grades go up, too. To meet the academic expectations from students' families, independent schools will do well to delight and inspire students to stay engaged with the curriculum, especially online.
To address this, private schools can optimize the elements of digital learning that have an important impact while simultaneously mitigating its unintended negative side effects.
The Solution:
Implement Flipped Classrooms: Encourage teachers to create video lectures or interactive content that students can access asynchronously outside of class. In class, focus on discussions to expand student thinking, answering questions, and collaborative activities.
Gamification: Move beyond rote memorization by using educational games and quizzes to make learning more engaging. Competition energizes students and incentivizes them to learn fast.
VR Experiences: Introduce Virtual Reality field trips to historical landmarks, museums, or even the human body to create immersive learning experiences.
Eliminate Digital Distractions: Automate your school’s filtering with real-time AI filtering.
2: Empower Staff with PD and EdTech Support to Conquer Technology Challenges for Teachers
The Challenge:
Teachers often struggle with adapting to new technologies. Lack of professional development (PD) and inadequate support hinder effective implementation. With the national teacher shortage, private schools need to retain their top talent by providing support wherever possible.
The Solution:
Comprehensive PD Programs: Invest in ongoing PD workshops, seminars, and online courses that cover both basic and advanced tech skills. Build in time for teachers to explore tools and share best practices.
EdTech Coaches: Appoint dedicated EdTech coaches who can guide teachers, troubleshoot issues, and facilitate collaboration.
Invest in Easy-to-Use EdTech Tools: The best EdTech tools are designed to be intuitively understood by the user. In addition, choose EdTech companies that offer free resources and/or PD training that helps maximize the value teachers get out of using the tool. Deledao offers free support articles, videos, and virtual training sessions for customers throughout the year. Not that you’ll need it much – we’ve been told an educator in her 80s can use the Deledao filter without much assistance.\
3: Unlock Academic Success with Unique Opportunities to Personalize Digital Instruction in Private Education
The Challenge:
Parents paying high tuition fees expect private education to provide smaller classes and more personalized instruction. One-size-fits-all instruction doesn’t cater to individual student needs. Personalization is crucial for academic growth.
The Solution:
Adaptive Learning Platforms: Implement adaptive software that tailors content based on student performance. These platforms offer personalized learning paths based on a student's individual strengths and weaknesses.
Digital Portfolios: Encourage students to create digital portfolios to showcase their work, track progress over time, and reflect on their learning journey.
Online Tutoring Resources: Provide access to online tutoring services for students who need extra support in specific subjects. Private schools can either purchase access to an online tutoring platform, or designate internal staff to be available for online tutoring through a video sharing service.
Data-Driven Insights: Use student data to identify strengths, weaknesses, and learning gaps. Adjust instruction accordingly. The Deledao classroom management tool, ActiveInstruct™, now offers an invite-only feature: TimeOnTask™ (TOT Score). Teachers, students, and parents can use a single metric, the TOT score, to quantify student engagement online. With everyone on the same page, teachers can work with both parents and students to set concrete goals to increase their engagement in classrooms with a digital component.
4: Ignite Parental Involvement by Partnering with Them to Set and Reach Student Goals
The Challenge:
No matter how great your private school teachers are, you have to focus on motivating parental engagement in your students‘ learning. Parental engagement is consistently shown to be a positive factor in driving student success.
The Solution:
Transparent Communication: Informed parents are active partners in student learning. Regular emails, newsletters, and parent-teacher conferences help everyone collaborate to set goals for students and track their progress.
Parent Portals: Prioritize EdTech tools with parent portals that give real-time access to their child's grades, assignments, or learning activities. Deledao built a parent portal since the beginning so parents can be involved as early as possible to teach their children to be good students in the digital age.
5: Foster Appreciation for Cultural Traditions in Religiously Affiliated Private Schools
The Challenge:
With the internet extending the classroom beyond its four walls, it’s harder than ever for religiously affiliated private schools to foster an environment where their cultural traditions are respected and practiced.
The Solution:
Virtual Tours of Religious Sites: Organize virtual tours of historical landmarks or pilgrimage sites relevant to the school's religious tradition.
Interactive Language Programs: Implement language learning apps to help students learn languages important to their religious texts and traditions.
Online Communities: Create online forums or chat groups for students to connect with peers from other schools with similar religious backgrounds, fostering a sense of community and shared heritage.
Use a Highly Adaptable AI Web Filter: Real-time AI filtering offers the flexibility to create digital learning environments that are aligned with cultural values. For example, Google Images may often present culturally inappropriate images. The Deledao real-time AI filter can preemptively blur all images, quickly evaluate the image, then unblur images that pass the test. Deledao also has an optional Modesty Mode that blurs images that fall outside of cultural definitions of modesty.
Conclusion
In conclusion, private schools have a distinct opportunity to overcome technology challenges by leveraging their flexibility, resources, and commitment to personalized education. By implementing innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of their students, staff, and communities, private schools can harness the power of technology to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for success in the digital age.
For more information on solving technology challenges in private schools, refer to resources from the following organizations: