Our current age is one of the most exciting the human race
has faced. We struggle with the issues of
pollution and climate change, and we also face a future of unprecedented
change, innovation and creation. Our
challenge is to prepare our children for an
ever-changing future, with career paths looking very different from ours.
Frequently we hear parents comment on the use of technology in the classroom. They say they didn’t have it as children and they ‘turned out okay?’. However, we are now aware that comparing our
childhoods and lives we are living to that of our children, is like comparing
apples and pineapples - similar to our grandparents comparing forms of
transport or telecommunications to the advancements and access we currently
know.
Jan Owen AM, the CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians, in one of the largest surveys ever undertaken, collected data from large companies
around the country and world, to see what it is they are looking for in
prospective employees. The
message was employers are ‘Recruiting for mindset, and training for
skills’. Larger companies are employing
undergraduates straight from high school, and offering them training and
education purposefully designed for their company with their specific needs in
mind. They are looking for presentation skills, creativity and critical thinking
with digital literacy being the number one skill (and self-regulation being the
number one attribute).
At Peregian Springs, we are intentionally developing these
skills with our learners, and no better program does this for us than our mLearningprogram. From Prep our children have
the opportunity to develop and build their 21st Century Skills, as
they build independence to problem solve, creatively discover and present their
learning, whilst becoming a digitally literate learner.
Every year parents ask about pencils and paper, fine motor
skills, screen time and face to face interactivity and how the use of a device
impacts this. Each of these elements
have never been replaced within our classrooms, yet enhanced with the use of
technology.
Fine Motor Skills
- our Early Years classrooms are resplendent in artwork hanging throughout the
spaces to know that fine motor skills of cutting, drawing, painting etc. are
still very much alive and valued. And
with the use of devices, our students can record, digitally collect, share and
bring to life the drawings or paintings that were once static.
Screen Time –
Screen Time as a negative impact is referred to when a person is sitting with
their brain in idle mode watching a movie, video or simple game. At school this rarely if ever happens. When students are using devices they are
creating, making, interacting or adapting content.
Interacting with
others – devices are often used to collaborate on tasks with others. Students FaceTime experts around the world, or interacting with blogs and
written content. And, in the classroom, students are creating with another
student alongside. Their conversations
lead to deeper learning and greater challenges.
Your children are not missing out in this new age - in fact
the reverse is probably true.
And some questions parents could ask instead are
·
How will they use the device to create?
·
How can we interact with what our child is doing
to help them deepen their learning?
·
What questions should we be asking our child at
the end of a day to hear their learning or extend their understanding?
(This blog post is a collaboration between Clair Allan and the Gwen Sands using the latest technology and our digital literacy skills ☺️ )
