Hitting the books hard is the traditional and often dreadful activity for students. Therefore, education is often described as a dull process of memorizing dates and definitions and reading theoretical material until you fall asleep. Nowadays, learning does not have to be this way. Making learning fun is a booming trend, meaning that an increasing number of teachers both online and in traditional education facilities are opting for interactive, engaging, and overall more exciting strategies.
The believers in the traditional approach sometimes disregard the importance of how to make learning fun. However, as the saying goes, if you are having fun, you are learning. Of course, please do not take our word for it. In the publication from Psychology Today, researchers claim that the standardized learning techniques and rote learning approach lead to students becoming less passionate about their education. So, how can interactive learning change that, and what are the current fun possibilities for students online?
Innovative learning strategies to replace traditional education techniques
As we have mentioned, traditional learning approaches often take the fun out of the equation. However, the best formula for how to engage students in learning is not to focus on tests and memorization of rules or principles.
Every student will think of at least one case from their education when they learned a definition without fully understanding what it meant. The goal of teachers in such situations is to make you recite the description like a poem, and whether you understand the meaning is relevant. You need to make comprehension relevant in your class or course (or even the focus of it).
If something is not working, fix it. Traditional teaching is clearly not showing the best results possible. Luckily, teachers are already tailoring their classes differently and shifting from the rote approach. However, education is essential not only to children but to adults that want to learn new skills and advance their careers as well. Therefore, many online learning platforms are emerging, and they offer people opportunities to get quality lessons from professional instructors. While some online courses follow the standard model of students watching videos quietly in their rooms, others are making learning fun with game elements and rewards. Trust us: you can have so much fun learning that you can forget the fact that you are actually learning and not playing a game.
Interactive learning and gamification are revolutionizing education
By definition, interactive learning refers to an approach based on making students excited about their classes and the development of practical skills. Teachers aim to encourage students’ participation and to provide them with hands-on experiences. For instance, instead of learning various grammatical rules of a foreign language, students might be encouraged to communicate with others (simulations of real-life situations and conversations in a foreign language).
Interactive learning is applied outside the traditional classroom as well. Online learning platforms are introducing interactive courses as an innovative way of acquiring new skills. But how are they different from conventional video content?
Traditional video courses follow a very simple model. Instructors record their lectures, and students learn from them. The end.
Interactive learning consists of several components. First, we have the instructions and explanations of various concepts. Then, we have exercises that you need to complete before starting the next lesson.
For instance, BitDegree is a strong competitor among online learning platforms. One unique feature that they have is in-house interactive courses. They are targeted at programming rookies that find it challenging to complete traditional online courses.
However, probably the most significant advantage is that these types of interactive courses provide the basics of programming languages, exercises, and a code editor. Therefore, you will be able to read theoretical material, come back to the task, and write code within the same screen (no need for that froggy jumping from one window to another).
The process of making learning fun does not end there. Interactive courses on such platforms are gamified. Gamification, if you have not heard of this concept, is about taking a specific entity and infusing various gaming elements into it. Sounds confusing? Well, it is actually pretty simple.
Making learning fun online: mobile apps to consider
The question of how to make learning fun is not that difficult to answer in the modern world. With technology advances we are seeing, there are many platforms ready to help students or teachers make learning less stressful and test-oriented.
For instance, one of the game-like approaches is seen in the Kahoot! application. This app is an excellent strategy for teachers to make learning similar to a fun game show on TV. Students can answer questions through their mobile devices or computers. Another great example comes from Duolingo. It is a platform for language-learning both for adults and for children. If your dream is to learn Spanish or Norwegian, you should definitely try this app on your phone.
When the fun stops, so does learning
It is crucial to change the perception of learning from a very young age. Children should understand that learning is not about acing that test or memorizing that definition for a better grade. Education is a part of self-growth, forming people’s views on the world and attitudes towards life.
Therefore, many teachers are applying innovative strategies to make sure that children are having fun while learning. One of the biggest criticisms that traditional teaching has is that people cannot relate to the material and are unsure of how it will improve their lives. Therefore, consider taking advantage of these interactive, gamified, and hands-on options now!
