Children’s Learning and Technology

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids is the tablet that grows with your child. With intuitive Kids Mode, parental settings and a great selection of preloaded apps, it’s the unique tablet for kids that parents will love.

Technology is touching almost every part of our lives, our communities and homes.  It is a big part of our world today and our children are being born and raised in this digital world.  It is a fact that tablets and other technologies are here to stay and will continue to develop and change the way we do things, particularly the way we educate and teach our children.

I believe that with the introduction of technology in schools and in the home environment has opened up a huge window of opportunity  in children’s learning.  Tablets and other technologies are an effective tool in children’s learning when they are relevant and interactive to the learning experience.

Like with anything though, moderation is important and there is nothing better than real life hands-on learning opportunities for our children. 

How do kids learn?

Essentially we all know that children learn differently, in their own way and at their own pace.

Children learn best through following their interests and what has meaning for them and seek out stimulus best suited to their style of learning.

As educators and parents we need to find ways that motivate our children to learn and create opportunities that are interesting, motivating and engaging for them.

For example all my children learn through play but they all have their own specific interests and ways of learning and acquiring information.  My eldest child loves books and learns best through repetition and reading.  She is also musical and often uses this artistic streak to help her development an understanding of a challenging concept or skill.  My middle child is very sensory orientated and learns best through technology, games and hands-on experiences.  She will continue doing something over and over again through trial and error until she finds the solution.  My youngest child is also very sensory based and learns best through watching and then exploring and doing.  She is very hands-on orientated.

Benefits of Technology as a Tool for Learning

Effective technology integration is achieved when its use supports curricular goals. It must support these components of learning: active engagement, participation, frequent interaction and feedback.  When looking at the benefits of utilising technology within the classroom or home we first must look at purpose, relevance and nature of the device, game or app.

• Technology provides each classroom and home with more interesting, diverse, and current learning materials.
• Technology has provided another means for providing information and another tool for learning.  Some technology and educational games and apps are highly interactive and this can keep students actively engage, focused and on task longer.
• Technology can be used as a tool to motivate.
• Technology provides another avenue to explore concepts and skills and may assist children developing an understanding that was previously a challenge.
• It has provided the opportunity for self-correcting, try again and problem solve.
• Prepare children for the future and up to date technological advances and developments.

Technology also changes the way teachers teach, offering educators effective ways to reach different types of learners and assess student understanding through multiple means.  The educational opportunities that technology gives to children are amazing and endless.

This post is part of a Nuffnang native advertising series.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 Kids is the tablet that grows with your child. With intuitive Kids Mode, parental settings and a great selection of preloaded apps, it’s the unique tablet for kids that parents will love.