DON’T BE DIGITALLY ILLITERATE – BE E-LITERATE!
Did you ever imagine a future in your past that remotely resembles your present?
Technology today is nothing short of magical and marvelous to say the least, but as with everything, it is a double-edged sword. At the other end of this rapidly evolving technology, which we often struggle to keep pace with, is the security, sanctity and social skills of our children.
The domination of technology in our everyday lives highlights the importance of digital literacy not just for adults but also for our children.
As parents we need to guide, mentor, nurture the future and present of our children in this digital age.
But, if we ourselves don’t know some answers, how can we ask the right questions?
This requires that the parent herself should be digitally literate – “e-literate”, so to speak.
Our indulgences can often be the very undoing of our children!
Did you know – your simple act of pride – sharing your child’s photo in their school uniform going to school on a social media site often exposes them to grave risks!
Are you aware of the type of ads that are being shown within the ‘nice educational game’ you installed on your child’s phone, hoping it will help the child learn better?
Do you have an idea what else happens on the app that your child is using just to click photos with some funny filters? The kind of predators and evils that lurk around such a closed virtual environment!
A digitally illiterate parent poses a clear risk to the privacy and safety of children. Privacy management in Internet and social networks is possibly the primary and most important e-skill that a parent must possess. It is important for every parent to understand that information in the cyber-universe is permanent and not difficult to retrieve and may thus pose a risk for the child’s future, and often, even present.
Parenting, as is often said, involves giving kids wings to fly and roots on which to stand. Parenting in this digital age can only be more so. The only path ahead involves conscientious and conscious participation, rather than outright techno phobia or techno philia.
As we can’t do away with technology, we must try to harness it for better!
Here are some key points that can help you with digital literacy:
Choose and diversify your media: Choose Media that is Worth Your Time.
More than 80,000 apps are labelled as educational, but little research has demonstrated their actual quality. Products pitched as “interactive” should require more than “pushing & swiping.” Look for reviews about age-appropriate apps, games & programs to guide you in making the best choices for your children.
Any app or game we allow our kids to play, we must first ask ourselves: Does it engage the child? Or does it just engross the kid?
Of course, ideal case would be where it enlightens the kid and not just entertains!
How does one judge such apps?
Just remember the 3 Cs:
Critical Thinking Creativity Connect/Context
Critical thinking. Look for media that takes a deep dive into a topic, subject, or skill. Maybe they are games in which kids wrestle with ethical dilemmas or strategize about bypassing obstacles. Rote quizzing and simple Q&A-style games may be fun and educational on the surface, but they may not help kids find deep or long-lasting meaning. Problem solving, strategizing, rapid decision making can be some skills that can be learnt from the right games. These games need not always be violent! We learnt such skills playing Ludo, Carrom, Chess and Battleship. We can try to encourage our children to pick up similar games that would boost this aspect.
Creativity. No, not the kind of apps were you just tap somewhere on the screen and colours just fill themselves up. There are a lot of apps and games that help boost the left brain of the child and improve their creative skills.
A great feature of many great learning products is the ability for kids to create new content themselves — a new level for a video game or a song of their own, for instance. Kids can feel more ownership of their learning when they get to put their own personal spin on the experience.
Connect/Context
Most apps or games are just about collecting some coins to keep unlocking some mundane items, or about mechanically swiping things on the screen or pushing blocks.
The activity should help the child ‘connect’ ideas and concepts or at least help understand the context of some concepts better. For younger kids in particular, the discussion and activities they do surrounding games are key. Being with kids while they play, asking questions about what they’re taking away, and doing related offline activities can extend learning even further.
These are a few basic things we can expect from technology to fulfill as a role in the life of our children. As technology changes the way we communicate, connect, create, consume and innovate, it is democratizing access to opportunity.
We shall keep reviewing apps from time to time. So, watch out for Tech Tuesdays!
