How Teachers Can Interest Learners in Technology

There is this stereotype that goes around schools where people who love technology and subjects around technological issues are considered geeks. This stereotype has been entrenched in media programmes to the extent that there is a generation that has been made to believe that technology is for ‘losers’. The reality on the ground is that students who pick up technological subjects end up getting jobs faster and are also more likely to be successful. Teachers and even parents can play a big role in undoing this misconception. Some of the ways that they can do this are:

Catch Them Young

Teachers should not wait till learners are grown and less impressionable before trying to sway them into loving technology. Right from when the learners are young, they should be introduced into different technologies and then allowed to explore them. In no time, those who are interested will find themselves asking for more. If teachers wait for long, the learners are more likely to listen to what their peers are saying and ignore the teachers.

Invite Role Models as Speakers

During career days, or when the learners have open sessions, teachers should consider inviting people who have done well in technology to guide the learners. Young people who have role models and people to look up to always have a likelihood of performing well and trying to follow the example of the role model. The people who are invited to speak should touch on the stereotypes that exist about loving technology, and they should work to shatter those myths that hold other learners back.

Make Lessons Fun

Another reason why learners shy away from taking up technological classes is that teachers make them sound too complex. Most of the time, the learners are expected to be holed up in a lab, with their noses stuck on a computer screen or an item that they are working on. This makes even the people who were initially interested to lose interest. There are many ways that teachers can light up tech subjects, including adding fan and games, encouraging the learners to create fun apps, and more importantly, to listen to the expectations of each learner and help them develop towards it. They can also add in trips to schools that major in technology and have someone who is head of such an institution take the learners around.

Encourage Creation

The good thing about technology is that it encourages learners to think beyond what already exists Teachers can start encouraging the young learners to come up with innovative projects and ideas that can be explored further. The teachers can even come up with a competition and reward system for leaners who go out of their way to create outstanding projects in technology.