With the growing popularity of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Netflix, children can find it hard to

disconnect from the online world. So much so that it can often be a struggle to get them to stay offline once they enter the classroom.

But rather than pleading with students to stay away from their screens when they get home, some teachers are actually encouraging them to go online – to help them learn.

The concept has been dubbed the “flipped classroom.” As their homework, students are instructed to watch a lesson posted online every night. They then work on the problems during class the next day. This gives teachers more one-on-one time with the students, as they aren’t spending hours at the front of the classroom.

This simple change helped a Michigan school reduce its failure rate in math by 31% and English by 33%. As well, a high school in Newmarket, Ontario increased its classroom attendance from 65% to 90% after a grade 10 math teacher adopted the flipped classroom system*.

Technology is changing how we live. But it’s how we choose to use that technology that will make the greatest impact of all.

* Michigan information provided by: 41 Most Innovative K–12 Schools in America, Noodle Staff (October 2015). Newmarket information provided by: In ‘flipped’ classroom, kids watch videos at home, do homework at school,” Liam Casey, The Canadian Press (August 16, 2015).