One of the most challenging parts of every teacher’s job is developing a lesson plan that caters to the way each student soaks up knowledge. What makes that so difficult is the fact that there are several learning styles that could show up in any classroom. In fact, according to some, learning styles can be separated into at least seven distinct categories: visual, verbal, aural, logical, Kinetic, social, and solitary.
Thankfully, education technology makes it fairly easy for modern teachers to personalize their lesson plans for multiple types of learners. Over the next several weeks, we’ll take a look at each learning style and how to accommodate them with EduTech solutions. Let’s get started by studying visual learners.
What Is a Visual Learner?
A visual learner (also called a spatial learner) is at his or her best when working with images and reading text. As college writing instructor Theresa Spanella puts it on study.com, “This learning style requires that learners first see what they are expected to know.”
It’s not hard to see (pun intended!) how technology is super helpful for teaching visual learners. Cameras, tablets, and a legion of other devices deliver a feast for the eyes of students all over the world. A couple of especially effective tools are visualizers (document cameras) and classroom software.
How Does EduTech Help Visual Learners?
Aptly named, visualizers seem to have been invented with visual learners in mind. These handy educational aids project paper handouts, pages from books, and any other object that will fit within the camera’s perspective to large screens so that students can get a close look at the details of the world around them.
AVer has crafted an array of visualizers with powerful engagement features. Check out this list with just a few of the many ways educators can use these devices to help visual learners gain new knowledge:
- Capture images and video with a touch of a button to use in the classroom and keep visual learners engaged with the AVerVision M17-13M mechanical arm visualizer.
- Closely examine 3D objects, such as architectural models, or magnify blueprints and maps to provide a spatial smorgasbord with the AVerVision M15W.
- Teach pronunciation by capturing a close-up of your mouth with the AVerVision U70+, giving visual learners the instruction they need to pick up a new language.
Classroom software also offers a multitude of methods for captivating and guiding visual learners. Teachers can push images, videos, and text-based content from their laptops to student devices connected via AVer's A+ Suite. Another way to capitalize on the incredible selection of educational apps available today is to link classroom devices with a CP3-B Collaboration Box (or the soon-to-be-released CB-310), which enables convenient interoperability between the Windows and Android operating systems.
The latest advances in EduTech—we’re talking AI robotics and AR/VR applications—are a dream come true for visual learners as well. Still, until those tools become commonplace, there’s always room for a trusty old document camera and its companion software.