Flash progress comparisons help teachers bolster and customize student learning.  

GUEST COLUMN | by Tony Glockler

Teachers have incredible amounts of data and information to juggle. Keeping track of grades, assignments, and engagement is a challenge that teachers gracefully overcome each day. With more teachers embracing next-gen learning and moving to a flipped classroom model, this challenge becomes even more daunting. The flipped classroom model, where students view video lectures and complete hands-on exercises and quizzes as homework, allows educators to guide interactive projects during class time. The benefit of this model is the ability to demonstrate real-world applications and engage students with interactive projects.

Individual tracking helps educators ensure achievement for every student by giving real-time visibility into progress.

However, the added challenge of the flipped classroom model is that foundational knowledge is being learned outside of the classroom, so teachers lose direct visibility into student progress.

In a traditional classroom, teachers can scan their class to see the nods of understanding during key points. With a flipped classroom model, teachers need integrated tracking tools to measure engagement and retention.

Teachers who embrace technology to help them flip their classroom are also embracing technology to help them track and measure their students’ progress. Next-gen online learning platforms now provide at-a-glance visibility into student learning, tracking both engagement (watching the lectures) and retention (quizzes and assessments). The digital revolution in education is helping educators rethink how they track their students and classes by seamlessly integrating technology and independent learning with face-to-face interaction and collaboration.

Every class has a spectrum of learning speeds and styles. An advantage of a flipped classroom is that students have the opportunity to go over lectures as many times as they need without slowing down the pace of the class for other students. Individual tracking helps educators ensure achievement for every student by giving real-time visibility into progress.

If a student is struggling on a particular area of the course and could use additional help or resources, teachers can easily identify the gap in learning before the student gets left behind. Or, if a student is flying through the course topics, teachers are able to suggest additional opportunities to deepen their understanding.

Using technology to customize a student’s education frees teachers from a “one size fits all” classroom to a targeted learning experience that identifies students’ needs. Over time, student performance data can also help educators fine-tune their curriculum. Students are more engaged with a personalized learning experience and enjoy tracking their own progress, as well.

With digital tools, students become more active participants in their own education. Immediate feedback motivates students and pushes them to improve. Next-gen learning allows new approaches to assessing student progress that benefits both teachers and students.

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Tony Glockler is the co-founder of SolidProfessor, an online learning company specializing in software applications used in engineering and design. His passion is combining the best of instructional design and technology to help engineers and designers become more effective. He has helped students and design teams keep up with their rapidly evolving software tools with an ongoing, guided learning experience.