We have officially entered the digital age of learning since the pandemic started. And this is going to stay even after the pandemic completely vanishes from our lives. Although adapting a digital transformation was a bit too difficult in such a short span of time with the diversity of our country, the efforts made in this direction have improved the situation to a good extent. Digital learning is now a part of our education system and is definitely going to increase its pace in the near future. Given how integral this is going to be in the coming years, it is essential for children to be taught how to use digital tools in a justified manner. And this becomes necessary for the little ones who don’t have much idea about them and can easily get into its misuse. The following article addresses “When and how to introduce digital learning to small children”?

The right age for children to get known about digital learning

Children learn the most before the age of 5 years as their mind is more creative, inquisitive and eager to explore and know more about the world around them. But engaging them into the digital world at this tender age can have a destructive effect. So, what is the right age for introducing digital learning to your little one and with the need for online classes at the moment, how to do it the right way?

Well, given the present situation of pandemic and switch to online learning, it is important to cope up with the digital classrooms and introduce digital learning to small children, here are a few tips to help:

When to start giving your child digital gadgets?

Children learn things faster and with their inquisitive minds it is obvious for them to have a lot of questions, doubts and a lot of things in their mind. So, the right time to get them into the digital world is a few days before they are actually going to start online classes. This would give them some time to understand and get comfortable with the digital pace of learning.

How to avoid any misuse of digital gadgets?

Children can get into the habit of excessive use of devices, or digital content very easily. And at a young age, they might also encounter any media that can harm their mental health. Moreover, the use of devices can be harmful for their eyes and can affect the pace of learning as well. So, to avoid this a guided use of digital devices and media is highly recommended. Parents should take account of time and digital content the child is exposed to and manage things accordingly. Moreover, apps like digital wellbeing and parental control can help in this. 

How much time should be spent on digital devices?

One of the common questions that parents have is for how much time should their child spend on phones without getting addicted to it. Ever since the classes shifted to online mediums, children spend a lot of time using digital devices. And as that time cannot be reduced, they can get a few minutes after every class to rest their eyes. Considering the time, besides the classes, not more than an hour should be spent using digital gadgets. 

Are the schools also adapting digital learning in classrooms?

With the intervention of online ways of learning, the best boarding schools in Karnataka have included cutting edge technology that makes learning better, innovative and understandable. Most of the schools are including digital learning into the teaching and learning approach. 

Technology is revolutionizing the education space and children can now step into the world of knowledge through it. Education technology is a superpower for children to explore, learn, imagine and create the best out of what exists in the world. A few taps, and the child is in a different space, revolving around knowledge. And this is how integral the role of edtech is in educating students and igniting their world. But a child’s brain can also get lost in the house of information available in the virtual world, so it needs the right and managed way of online learning where students can grow their minds but at the right pace, in the right direction. 

Looking for the best boarding schools in Maharashtra for your child? Let Edustoke help you find the right one. Connect with our counselors for expert advice and genuine information.  

The post When And How To Introduce Digital Learning To Small Children? appeared first on edustoke.

The inclusion of technology in schools is not very new in Western countries where countries like the USA have incorporated the usage of tablets as an important part of schooling. Children in the US use the tablets more often at a very young age; say by around 10 years at a learning tool at school. This system is widely spread across the country which has paved the way for a smarter learning mode. The advantages that come with the technology are definitely to be considered as a positive whereas the negative points are not less either. Technology and education will go hand in hand only when it is executed well with proper guidance and supervision. Technology with its attractiveness as a prime quotient has attracted the kids making learning easy and effective.

In India on the contrary, traditional teaching practices are still not changed at many remote and underprivileged places where having a school itself is like a luxury. Classrooms with minimum facilities and premises with basic hygiene are like a challenge faced by the school authorities every year. At these circumstances, affording a technology friendly learning environment is like a mammoth task. E-Boards, smart classes and digital teaching equipment like AV screens or projectors look like a long lost dream for such children. The Indian government does provide grants every year for such schools. Yet getting technology into the scene will take a good amount of time.

The schools in the cities, on the other hand, are now emerging into better than the best institutions with the rise of techno-friendly learning platforms coming into existence. Blackboards are replaced by projectors and post-school tutoring has been replaced by learning apps that are extremely user-friendly and gives an in-depth knowledge about a topic via various perspectives and theories. Learning is no more a straight path. It is not a royal highway with many deviations leading to the success destination.

Let us discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of having technology as a helping hand for better knowledge sharing experience.

Pros:

• Multimedia is for sure an attraction when it comes to children. Using this as a learning medium will definitely prove to be more effective than the traditional method of using books and charts for illustrational purposes. The colourful visuals tend to stay in their minds for longer than the printed, stagnant material in the books. This is why kids pick up the jingles of the advertisements shown on TV better than those ads printed in the newspapers of the same product.

• Preparing themselves for a simpler tomorrow through today while using the technology. It is evident that in today’s world, there is hardly any job or a career that does not require any usage of technical jargon or technological stuff. A kid who can operate a PC easily today could perform better during his days of becoming a Software Engineer, or a child who grows up looking at better educational AV visuals turns out to be a great dreamer and shapes oneself to be an ace actor/performer or a cinematographer. Technology gives wings for their imagination and prepares them for an obvious tomorrow which includes the compulsion of using smart gadgets.

• Inclination towards technology could prove a cost-effective way of learning. Spending less over books and updating the technological application will for sure go lite over the parents’ pockets. Each year parents spend a good amount of money over the books which are perishable and difficult to carry. Instead of this burden over the children’s’ tender back, carrying lesser books and adapting eLearning can prove beneficial. This is an advantage of technology which is both cost-effective and environment-friendly. More the books more will be the production of paper which requires many trees to sacrifice their existence.

Cons:

• Affordability of this geeky stuff can pinch the pockets of those parents for whom affording quality education for their children itself is a challenge. The below poverty income group crowd, who can barely afford books admission, can only see technology aided learning as an impossible dream. Providing tablets is one cost and getting an internet connection for further learning adds on like a never-ending cost due to which compromising for a low key facilities school would be like an obvious option.
• Technology brings in a lot of health hazards with it. Each day paediatricians are recording many of their patients struggling with vision and concentration-related problems which come as an unpleasant gift for loving these gadgets more than required. Usage of tablets for studies or for fun can prove very dangerous if not used for a recommended duration. The young eyes and brains are under constant risk which is a serious concern for parents.

• Tools like auto-correct and spell-check are spoiling the skills of the children to a certain extent. The prominence given to handwritten scripts/assignments is gradually diminishing with the birth of the online submitting provision. Virtual classrooms and Smart-boards have given a back seat to a good parent-teacher relationship. Things are for sure becoming easy but at the same time it has decreased that zest for listening to a nice lecture from a scholarly teacher who explains a concept of germination the way it has to be and doesn’t just show videos at YouTube or any learning apps as a part of “Conceptual Learning”.

Thus, both technology and traditional schooling methods are equally important for our children to excel in both the virtual and the real world. Feeling and touching a pet cannot be replaced by just reading a blog about it. At the same time, it is also important to admit that an email saves time and energy compared to writing a long letter to a distant friend. Both technology and tradition must go hand in hand to lead a harmonious life in this racing pace world.

The post Technology in Indian Education – Advantages and Disadvantages appeared first on edustoke.