Future Classroom Lab: for a teaching full of technology and innovation

They are everywhere because they are the future! Tomorrow's schools anticipated due to a pandemic called COVID-19 that accelerated the digital revolution in education, but there is still a way to go in favor of innovative democratic teaching with a focus on the student and on the development of their skills. Ésistemas' solutions help tread this path by promoting interaction, content sharing and the involvement of students in more dynamic and attractive classes.

A classroom of the future is a reflection of an educational environment that meets the emerging requirements of social and technological evolution. In other words, in practice, the classroom of the future is a technological classroom, which privileges innovative methods of learning through hardware and software, responsible for stimulating students' attention and, consequently, favouring positive academic achievement. The term "Future Classroom Lab” is also closely associated with the expression classroom of the future, but it should be noted that more than transforming the physical space of the classroom into a "laboratory” environment, properly equipped with state-of-the-art technology, it is intended invest on digital pedagogies and encourage motivation and interest in knowledge, creativity, communication, interaction and teamwork, key skills in learning processes. But one thing is true: accepting that technology makes teaching easier is accepting an absolute truth. And it makes it a lot easier!

Interaction: between teacher and student, between classmates, for dynamics on the scale of the educational institution or even on a global scale. Interaction is the central point of the school of the future, which intends to be increasingly interconnected and globalized, advocating the sharing of content and the exploration of experiences that promote knowledge.

Virtual Reality: we all know that theoretical classes are not successful among students. Enriching them with authentic immersive trips to the places where everything happened will certainly guarantee maximum attention. Why not approach Classical Antiquity with a short trip to Rome to visit monuments or archaeological remains? The classroom of the future can contemplate enriching immersive experiences that make all the difference in the memory of students for the assimilation of knowledge.

Collaboration and Content Sharing: using technology it is easy to share notes, documents, images, in short, countless contents, promoting interpersonal skills essential for team work.

Autonomy: no less important than stimulating skills for team work is also developing skills in terms of autonomy and leadership. The student must be the protagonist of the learning process and once again technology can help in this aspect through gaming (educational game software).

As can be easily seen, the advantages are added to these technological teaching models that pass through the online universe, but it is necessary to ensure that everyone will have the same access to technology because this is the only way to leverage general progress in education. The pandemic showed us that, although some educational institutions are prepared or have, in the meantime, prepared to implement remote learning during confinement, many of their students did not have the tools at home to monitor what was required of them, from computers to internet, which made it difficult for some to monitor teaching content and for others made it impossible, creating a barrier to access to education that is no longer egalitarian. The Government and some educational institutions have already provided educational spaces and students with the necessary resources, which shows that we are on the right path to implement the classroom of the future in a generalized manner, but time is pressing and schools also play a role determinant in this path towards access to information technologies for all children and young adults.