The alarm goes off, they jump out of bed and embark on their journey to the school or institute, after ‘checking’ that they have collected everything necessary for the new course. The students return to the classrooms, but something has changed. If the backpacks with wheels replaced their counterparts a few years back, today, the introduction of ICT as part of the learning process has revolutionized the system. The books and workbooks continue to have an unquestionable weight in the educational centers, but their presence in the classrooms is reinvented in digital format.
One of the most interesting issues of the digital backpack is that it is constantly evolving. It is no longer just accessing resources but have them evolving constantly.
If the suspenders gave prominence to the wheels decades ago, today it is the tablets, computers and other electronic devices that pick up the baton. The contribution of new technologies to the chapter on educational resources is nothing more than the reflection of a digital society that has to take its first steps in school. In an ecosystem in which solutions for the needs of teachers, students, schools and parents have to be combined, digital backpacks seem like a tool capable of responding to all of them.
But what are digital backpacks? How are the contents offered? What advantages do you have compared to traditional systems? At the IES Aldecoa, they have spent five years developing the ‘Tablet in the backpack’ program, a pioneering project in which digital backpacks are front and center in the classroom.
Digital backpack: a world of possibilities
Although more and more centers are betting on the so-called ‘digital backpack’, it is important to be clear about what a term refers to, which, a priori, can lead to error. It is not about the mere transformation of the paper format to its digital version. The denomination covers much more and it is that it collects all the set of contents in this format that, previously, have been selected by the teachers for their work in the classroom. Texts, videos, activities … In practice, these are resources that not only facilitate the management of educational centers, but also the relationship of students with teachers and learning through ICT. The virtual environment in which each and every resource is organized puts at the disposal of the parties a wide range of tools that optimize the pedagogical process.
animations, images and other resources or live content are just some of the formats
that give some clues about where trends are going in the digital universe.
But the benefits of the system go further, allowing constant monitoring and improvement of the application of ICT in the classroom. Far from limiting the burden, the advantages of these new educational practices include an increase in students’ motivation, as a result of the interaction allowed by the materials or their versatility. The teachers also use the benefits of using the digital backpack to focus their work and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students.
The evolution in the format of digital content
One of the most interesting issues of the digital backpack is that it is constantly evolving. It is not only that you have resources capable of providing valuable data to update or improve content, but that the presentation of them has also evolved and does not stop. It seeks to respond to the needs of teachers and students, but also to the new communication formulas that have arisen in the light of the evolution of ICT and the change in the consumption of information.
Trends in terms of digital content are based on text, image and sound as basic pillars. However, production and consumption mark the horizon to which digital backpacks are directed. Very short videos accompanied by a small text, longer written proposals and loaded with items that encourage the interaction of the participants, rich content based on animations, images and other resources or live content are just some of the formats that give some clues about where trends are going in the digital universe.
In short, it is about having contents that are part of an educational strategy that responds to new scenarios. The integration of ICTs facilitates the work of teachers and the learning of students, something they have been practicing successfully for five years in the IES Aldecoa.
Do not miss your experience and discover the advantages of our digital backpack!
