Microsoft Office is the most universally important computer program in the world. It is used in nearly every office, business, and school in America. In many cases, it is presumed that job applicants have a basic command of Office. Workers and students are expected to know how to use it and are therefore rarely given any training in that regard.
But, of course, there are plenty of people who don’t know how to use Office well, and some don’t know how to use it at all. That’s why 30 Bird makes Microsoft Office training materials that are geared toward giving students hands-on experience with the program.
Learning Office is a basic preparatory skill in today’s digital world, and we want your students to be fully prepared for their bright futures. With our fresh, contemporary take on classroom materials, you can ensure that every student who leaves your classroom is ready to put what they’ve learned into action.
Our Microsoft Office training materials emphasize hands-on interaction. At the end of our instructor-led training course, students are ready to immediately apply the skills they have learned. Here are seven ways hands-on interaction can improve your classroom results.
1. Learn by Doing
We learn best by doing, a fact that has been recognized since ancient times. As early as 500 BC, Confucious wrote of an ancient Chinese proverb that said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” Of course, Confucious couldn’t have imagined that his proverb would apply so perfectly to computers, but it does.
Someone can tell you all day how to use a computer program, but until you’re actually in it, working and clicking and navigating through it, instructions mean little. What you need is instruction along with action–that way you gain both experience and knowledge. With interactive learning materials from 30 Bird, you get both.
2. How the Brain Works
Although humans have known for thousands of years that interactive learning works, it wasn’t until the twentieth century that we began to learn why that was the case. As Brain and Cognitive Science developed, researchers began to discover that there were observable, biological differences in how the brain works when we learn in different ways.
When you hear something, you receive input that causes your neurons to fire, lighting up the auditory sensors in your brain. Our brains encode this auditory input, filing it away in our memories. The same thing happens when we learn by sight, touch, or feel.*
When we engage with a subject in an interactive way, it sends encoding signals to our brains from a variety of input sources. Instead of distracting us, as is the case with multitasking, interactive systems work together to convey the same information. That means the information is more likely to stick with us than if it was from one single input source.
Our 30 Bird Microsoft Office materials are specifically designed to promote better learning through interaction. So, why just read about using Office when you can see, hear, and do it yourself?
3. Different Types of Learners
You’ve probably heard before that there are three types of learners: auditory, kinesthetic, and visual. Over the years, science has found that these categories are artificial–that is, real people do not seem to fit neatly into any of them. Instead, science shows that most of us, if not all, learn through a combination of all three. Not only that, but it can change depending on what we are learning.
If the types of learners are so variable, how can you make sure that you’re meeting everyone’s needs? The answer is to use teaching methods that constantly engage all of the different types of learning. If students can see, hear, feel, and move with their subject all at one time, they will learn better no matter what. With interactive materials from 30 Bird, all of the senses are engaged for maximum benefit to your classroom.
4. Plurality and Accessibility
Though the word “class” is singular, any teacher with experience can tell you that it’s really plural. That is, every class is composed of unique individuals, each of whom learns in a way that is just as unique as they are. If you treat a class as a singular unit, you risk missing the nuances of learning that each student responds best to.
A lecture is a great example of this–it treats the class as a singular unit, addressing them all on the same level, even though each student is different. Now, thanks to technological changes, we can break out of the singular approach and finally teach our students like the unique individuals they are. As tech gets better, so does our ability to ensure the accessibility of information to all types of students.
5. Connect Ideas With Actions
One of the major benefits of interactive computer programs in the classroom is that they are a way to engage the kinesthetic, or movement-oriented, part of the brain without disrupting the learning process. For years, we have known that physical movement can help cement knowledge in the brain more effectively than just listening or reading alone. Our bodies register external signals when we move differently than when we are still. It makes us hyperaware of what we are taking in, and it tends to stick around in the brain longer.
Although scientists and educators have known about this mind-body connection for a long time, it was difficult to figure out how to engage the body in learning without distracting from what the mind was doing. Things have changed with computers. Now, you can seamless integrate the physical with the mental through the use of our interactive software. The result is memory retention that lasts longer than could be achieved through most traditional teaching.
6. Keep Students Engaged
One of your biggest enemies in the classroom is boredom. Inattention leads to huge gaps in learning–gaps that you and the student have to spend valuable time filling in. As a teacher, it can be frustrating when you look out at your class and see their minds wandering. But, it’s natural that when a student loses interest, they stop paying attention. As an instructor, you can only do so much to keep their attention. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had some help keeping them focused?
Our interactive, hands-on learning system is your new ally in the fight for your students’ attention. By engaging their minds in tasks, your interactive classroom materials ensure that they remain focused on the lesson at hand. In order to progress through the lesson, they must remain actively involved in the interactive program. This ensures that if their minds do wander, it won’t be for long.
7. Follow Their Progress
When you’re lecturing a class, it can be hard to tell whether the students are really listening or not. With interactive learning, it is much easier to observe your students’ level of engagement. Because our learning software requires direct participation from each student, you can easily see if someone has stopped responding to your lesson.
The interactive technology we use in our learning materials can also help you to spot who is struggling or falling behind faster, which means that you can address their difficulties faster. In a typical classroom, you will have students with a variety of study-skill levels and learning abilities.
In the past, teachers have had to try to adjust their lesson plans to compensate for slower learners. The problem is that learning is unpredictable. Students can understand one thing easily and be completely frustrated by the next. You can try to predict what they will get hung up on, but any teacher knows that this is guesswork at best. This is especially true with lectures, where teachers often don’t know whether their instruction has been effective or not until it’s test time.
With interactive training materials, you can immediately identify the problems a student is having and address it at that very moment. Not only are they more plugged into the material, but you’re also more plugged into what and how they are doing. If you can follow their progress, it will be easier for you to be sure that they are learning effectively.
Contact Us Today
We can help you get started with interactive learning in your classroom. Call us today to learn more about the amazing materials we offer. Visit 30Bird.com for more information about our products.
*https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2018/09/tricking-brain
