Engagement in the school setting has a direct impact on student learning. Students’ behaviors and academics are often a direct result of their engagement in learning (Martins et al., 2022). Educators certainly want their students engaged in their instruction and classroom activities and therefore often turn to interactive assignments, including games, puzzles, and online interactive materials. Engagement can have an impact on students long-term, including their academic achievement and social-emotional well-being (Cinar et al., 2023). According to Cinar et al. (2023), there are many factors that play a role in a child’s engagement in the classroom, and engagement is shown to improve over time as students progress through their elementary years. However, in individual classrooms and with different teachers and peer groups, it is still imperative to keep students focused on the academic instruction and activities taking place to ensure their continued success as they progress through the grade levels.
Educational technology is often used as a form of engagement for students. Online platforms offer many differentiated instructional materials, games for review, and new ways of assessing students’ knowledge. According to Yu et al. (2021), the increase in educational games available has allowed many educators to begin incorporating more technology into their classrooms, but there has been limited research on the positive and negative effects of using educational games for instruction, as well as whether these games truly increase student engagement. The researchers found that online educational games could potentially increase student motivation and engagement in learning, however certain types of more competitive games had the potential to frustrate students and have a negative impact on motivation and learning. Games can be fun for students and temporarily increase their motivation to participate in class, but the learning outcomes, particularly academic achievement on assessments from the use of educational technology, is not clear. Akman and Çakır (2023) researched the engagement and academic achievement of a group of upper elementary students in mathematics from the use of a virtual reality game. They found that students’ academic achievement was either maintained or increased by the use of such educational technology. The interactive nature of virtual reality technology allowed students to engage more deeply in the content due to a feeling of actually being in the virtual world. Therefore, educational technology, depending on the type and how it is used interactively, can be effective in increasing student engagement.
There are three specific educational technology applications that are highly recommended for upper elementary grades to use in the classroom, both to increase student engagement, but also as a form of instruction and assessment. They include Flipgrid, Edpuzzle, and Nearpod. Each includes a free version for educators and has the potential to increase student engagement through interactive classroom material in different formats. Click on the images below each description to access any of these online applications now.
Flipgrid: Flip is a video and audio recording platform to allow students and teachers to interact and share knowledge and learning. It is available online through any web platform and can be shared with students through email, Google Classroom, or any other learning platform where a link can be provided to students. There is a free option for educators and students. Educators can simply create a classroom online and provide a code to students to join. A feed of topics that the teacher has created appear for students to click on. Once a student clicks on a topic, they can read the directions and they record a video or audio clip with their answer to the provide prompts. This is a great tool to use as a quick assessment in the classroom, and can be provided to students for in-school or home use. After a student has submitted their recording, other students can see their posts and interact accordingly.
Edpuzzle: Edpuzzle is an instructional tool that includes a free version for educators, but can also be purchased for an entire school building or district. Edpuzzle allows educators to take video content from other online platforms such as YouTube, and insert pauses with multiple choice or open-ended questions throughout the video to assess students learning as they watch. The content can be shared on almost any learning platform, or video links can be sent directly to students. Edpuzzle allows educators to create content for students both in the classroom or for distance-learning options as well. Results of students answers to the questions are shared directly with the teacher when they have completed the assignment.
Nearpod: Nearpod takes lessons to a completely new level. Teachers can take existing lessons they may have on a PowerPoint presentation, Google Slides, or worksheet, and incorporate additional videos, interactive notes, games, and assessments. Nearpod can be used for free on any web platform and supports both in-classroom instruction and distance-learning. The concept of games and interactive materials allows students to engage in content in a different way than simply listening to teacher-directed instruction. There is also the opportunity to differentiate instruction for students using Nearpod. Teachers will get direct formative feedback from the embedded questions and assessments included in the Nearpod lessons shared with students.
Try out an interactive Flipgrid assignment from the student perspective to dabble in the world of interactive educational technology for your upper elementary students. You can join a Flip Group using the link and code below. The specific topic assignment is a sample of what you might provide to students in the classroom. Feel free to upload your own video of a recent book chapter you read!
Flip Group: https://flip.com/1df536e7
Join Code: ccb39397
Flip Topic: https://flip.com/ccb39397
When it comes to students in the upper elementary grades, studies have found that engagement is sometimes lower than engagement of students in the primary years (Havik & Westergård, 2020). This indicates that while much of the primary grades is hands-on learning, as instruction leans towards more direct teaching, note-taking, and worksheets in the upper elementary grades, students begin to lack engagement in the instructional activities. Ultimately, the educator in the classroom, as well as the parents and families that work with students at home, have a significant impact on student engagement. Educational technology is not the only tool necessary to increase engagement of students and focus on their academic learning. Havik and Westergård (2020) found that students showed the most engagement in the classroom when they perceived their teacher’s as supportive and high-quality instructors. Parents and teachers alike want their students to be engaged in the classroom, and therefore the perceptions students have of their support is imperative. Relationships with teachers and parents play a significant role in engaging students in learning (Rickert & Skinner, 2022). No matter the type of educational technology used in or out of the classroom to engage students in learning, there must be solid instruction from the classroom teacher and support from families to ensure student success.
References:
Akman, E., & Çakır, R. (2023). The effect of educational virtual reality game on primary school
students' achievement and engagement in mathematics. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(3), 1467-1484. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1841800
Cinar, E., Chaput‐Langlois, S., Fitzpatrick, C., & Garon‐Carrier, G. (2023). Why children differ
in classroom engagement: Insights from a prospective longitudinal cohort of elementary school students. Psychology in the Schools, 60(10), 4102-4116. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22986
Havik, T., & Westergård, E. (2020). Do teachers matter? students' perceptions of classroom
interactions and student engagement. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(4), 488-507. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1577754
Martins, J., Cunha, J., Lopes, S., Moreira, T., & Rosário, P. (2022). School engagement in
elementary school: A systematic review of 35 years of research. Educational Psychology Review, 34(2), 793-849. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09642-5
Rickert, N. P., & Skinner, E. A. (2022). Parent and teacher warm involvement and student’s
academic engagement: The mediating role of self‐system processes. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), e12470-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12470
Yu, Z., Gao, M., & Wang, L. (2021). The Effect of Educational Games on Learning Outcomes,
Student Motivation, Engagement and Satisfaction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(3), 522–546. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633120969214