Introduction
The roles that technology has played in the past and present world cannot be overemphasized. From time immemorial, technology has gradually improved the state of things and made them better. Without technology, our world would remain at a point and we would still be living in the days of our forefathers.
However, when it comes to the topic of technology for children, it is a very controversial topic. So many adults think that children shouldn’t be exposed to the use of technology because they are still of tender age. However, the world is evolving and changing daily. Children should not be subjected to having to do things manually anymore.
The focus of this write-up is on how parents can use technology to the advantage of their children’s education. For some who think that technology isn’t good for children, this article will also answer your questions on whether technology is good for preschoolers.
Another important thing that we will explore here is how to balance technology and real-life childhood education. We can not run from the fact that the world is changing daily. As it evolves, the coming generation must stay in the loop so that they won’t be left behind in oblivion.
Table of Contents
- Why is Technology Important in Childhood Education?
- Is Technology Good for Preschoolers?
- How do you Introduce Technology to Preschoolers?
- Balancing Technology and Real Life in Childhood Education
- Conclusion
Why is Technology Important in Childhood Education?
Putting every negativity about employing the use of technology in childhood education aside, you need to know that technology can play a positive role in your child’s learning and development. Some of the ways through which technology showcases its importance in childhood education are as follows:
Learning How to Use Technology is a Necessary Life Skill
We are presently in a technologically heavy world. Learning how to use technology right from childhood is a necessary life skill for your kid to survive. Gone are the days of papers and pens. These are the days where everything has been modernized to suit the comfort and needs of humans. It is, therefore, a very great advantage for your child, if he or she learns how to make use of technology right from childhood. In short, learning with the use of technology promotes an early foundation in digital learning.
Supports Social and Emotional Development
As children engage in online activities and view educational content online, they can share ideas with other children as they complete content online.
Assists Them in Following Multistep Directions
When attempting to engage in activities online while making use of pads, tablets, phones, and the likes, children are being guided through different processes of instructions. Such instructions guide them to complete the tasks set for them online. When playing educational games that will develop their brain, they would have to follow some instructions to complete those games. Such instructions might be swiping left or right, selecting items on the screen, and so on. These assist them in building an ability to complete tasks by understanding and following instructions.
Make Learning an Enjoyable Process
Naturally, some people do not like school. However, everyone enjoys making use of technological devices to do a thing or the other. To make learning enjoyable and more understandable, children educators can make use of technology. The aim is for children to enjoy the learning process.
Children can Revisit Their Last Activities
With technology, kidsl can go back to the activities they have done before. This is because they can save or record whatever activity they do on their devices. They can also share with other children the lessons that they learn each day. Technology is a very valuable tool to educate children because they can always revisit their lessons to enhance their knowledge.
Access to Concepts That May Not Be Available Offline
With digital devices, children have access to content that may not be readily available offline. This is because the internet is loaded with concepts such as historic events, people, animals that have gone into extinction, geography, and everything about the life you need to look for. With their technological devices, children have access to these and many more directly.
It Promotes Education for Children with Special Needs
Learning with the use of technology is a very good platform for children with special needs. This is because it promotes their development faster and better than learning manually.
It Facilitates Parental Involvement
Parents would get better involvement in the things their children study. This is because they would be able to monitor and guide the activities their child engage in online. This is to prevent them from harmful content online.
Also, parents would be able to monitor their children’s progress and performance in their daily activities. They would also be able to help their children’s teachers as they can also give them some sort of homeschooling after every day’s work in school.
Furthermore, parents can easily have access to announcements from their child’s school plus other personalized reports.
Develop Talents and Skills Early in Life
Technology can be used to help children recognize and develop their talents and also acquire new skills. This is due to the exposure of children to different platforms and activities such as music, writing, and many others that have been made available by technology. With technology, parents can begin to note their children’s strengths and weaknesses as early in their life as possible and help them grow in their strengths.
In essence, the use of technology to teach children right from their early stages is of great importance. It helps in the improvement of communication and connections. It also facilitates an improvement in workflow efficiency. Roles that have to do with the administration have been made more efficient due to technology.
Is Technology Good for Preschoolers?
When children are exposed to using technology actively and not passively early in life, they would use technology positively. Using technology passively has to do with divulging information on the internet most times without contributing anything at all. But when they use it actively, they use it to assimilate stuff that would add value to them and help them walk through the road of success.
Games and applications on phones can help to develop the brain of your child actively from his or her early stage. It can also help them to learn how to make decisions and solve problems. This will in turn apply to their growth and daily life.
In other words, preschoolers can use technology developmentally. It would help them to grow and learn about life. It would also help them to explore new worlds and engage actively in challenging activities, as well as fun activities. In summary, technology for preschoolers enhance cognitive and social learning because it supports play, creativity, and exploration.
How do you Introduce Technology to Preschoolers?
Preschoolers need to learn the skills that they need to be successful in life. As established in our discussions above, the usage of technology is one. How then, do you introduce technology to preschoolers?
Letters and Numbers
The first thing you need to introduce to them is letters and numbers. There are several ways by which you can introduce this to them. For example, you can make use of the Shine 2 Software which helps children to explore early math and literacy skills. It helps them to recognize letter sounds and then learn counting, sorting, and grouping.
Promote Active Play
While using technology, children can learn while they play. Children can be taught by downloading some software that ensures that children are actively enjoying themselves and at the same time learning important lessons.
Learn About Animals
Learning about animals can be so fun and educational for children when they are taught in the right way. Introduce this form of learning to preschoolers by using software that displays pictures of animals and at the same time makes the sounds for the children to listen to. When they can identify an animal by the sound it produces, it’ll be easier for them to be able to name the animal in the long run.
Encourage Creativity
You can also introduce technology to your children by encouraging creativity. You can help them use drawing apps, taking and editing pictures, painting pictures, making videos, and all other activities that encourage creativity in them.
Develop Digital Literacy
By introducing technology to preschoolers early in life, you’re helping them to develop digital literacy. This kind of skill is required and essential to survive in this current world. Developing this skill from their early ages would be of great advantage to them in the future.
Balancing Technology and Real Life in Childhood Education
Technology was developed for a purpose; to improve our way of life and make things easier. However, technology has no doubt taken over some aspects of our lives. A lot of people most times are either busy with their smartphones or tablets, doing everything and nothing. Technology shouldn’t be a substitute for real life because some moments in life do not need tech. This has created a sort of imbalance between technology and life. How then do we balance the usage of technology in this life and the real life itself?
Stop Double Screening
You can be working on your system and at the same time be working on your smartphone or tablet. This is the fight between technology and the attention span of humans. For example, you can be in an online meeting on your personal computer and still be trying to do something else on your smartphone thinking you’re trying to save time. The truth is, you aren’t in any way saving time. Instead, you’re dividing your attention and not getting the point of everything at the end of the day. Teach your children right from their early education not to double screen to maintain focus in whatever they’re doing.
Create Tech-Free Rules
For yourself, you need to create rules that will guide your usage of technological devices. Most times we even go to bed with our gadgets. You must teach children how to stay away from technological devices as at when due. Let there be time for them to interact physically with others. Let there be time for them to leave their gadgets alone and do something physical. Don’t let them ever go to bed with their gadgets on or beside them.
Try Meditation
Teach your children to always have a me-time for themselves. Teach them to learn to meditate and put away all technological devices. Help them in focusing and relaxing their minds at the same time. Help them find ways out of challenging situations than just resorting to technological devices every time. This is very important for their behavioral and mental well-being.
Be Picky with Notifications
You don’t have to check every notification. Your child should be trained to only attend to important and necessary notifications. Sometimes, they get notifications from their games and other online activities to call their attention. You must train them right from their early stage to only respond to notifications that are valuable and important.
Conclusion
The usage of technology is amazing. It makes life easier and better. Also, it encourages us to want to learn new things daily. Your child must be exposed early to the use of technology. Make them use it to their benefit and improvements. With technological devices, they have all the motivation that they need to learn and complete tasks. It as well helps them to enhance their capacity for visual attention. When you train your kids right from time with technology, then they are more than ready to receive and learn in the four walls of a classroom as they grow. Develop enthusiasm for education in your children right from now and you won’t regret ever doing so. Hopefully, this article has helped you make a decision on how to help your child by developing their technological skills and educating them.
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