Collaborative Post
For those of us who grew up without it, technology is still something of an unknown. Sure, we’ve been using this stuff ourselves for a few years now, but many of us are still sticks in the mud when it comes to keeping technology out of our home classrooms. The trouble is that, as teachers learnt a long time ago, this is a battle that technology is guaranteed to win, especially as we rely more than ever on devices to do pretty much everything, including work.
Far from taking the moral high ground, then, banning all tech from your home lessons could leave your kids ill-prepared for the world that they, at least, will enter once they get to adulthood. With an IT-skills shortage especially prevalent in the business world right now, getting on top here early could actually see your youngsters set up with high paying jobs for life.
That’s not to say, of course, that you should let your kids spend their entire lessons on their phones. Time outdoors is still fundamental and, even when you do use tech to teach, it’s vital that you make sure to utilize education-specific platforms like those developed by Age of Learning. Still, the moment you invite tablets or whatever other tech of the moment into your classroom, you may well notice the following benefits.
# 1 – Learning that your kids can engage with
Whether we like it or not, our kids come from an instant gratification generation, meaning that the lengthy essay copying exercises from your school days simply aren’t going to suit. By comparison, technology offers immediate lessons in a format that modern kids are predisposed to engage with. As such, lessons that come from a tablet may well sit better than those from a book. It’s still vital to utilise both, of course, but the immediate lessons that technology has to offer certainly stand to reap results.
# 2 – Wider access to all-inclusive knowledge
The phrase ‘I’ll just ask Google,’ has become a staple, yet many of us are reluctant to engage this online encyclopedia within home lessons. In some ways this makes sense given that online sources like Wikipedia aren’t verified but, as fact-checkers and trusted educational websites come to the fore, the internet stands to offer beneficial elaboration on a vast array of topics.
# 3 – Proficient understanding of different programs
Most workplaces now utilize a wide range of software, and employers typically seek individuals with the ability to quickly adapt to these different solutions. As such, taking this time to get your kids proficient in everything from Microsoft Excel through to learning portals can provide them with a notable career benefit from the off, ensuring wider career options, and easier workplaces transitions later on.
There’s no denying that screen time still needs monitoring but, as these benefits prove, using technology in the right ways now could well be one of the most useful ways to enhance your teaching, and your children’s future prospects in turn.
