Preparing students for a future that they haven’t imagined.
Where will your experience take you today?
Digital learning is teaching that uses technology to improve a student’s learning experience. The emphasis is on high-quality instruction and provides challenging content. The student is assessed constantly and unobtrusively and feedback through formative assessment is almost instant.
With modern Digital Learning learning is anytime and anywhere. Students can be taught individually to ensure they achieve full potential. Through such choices the student is led to discovering her / his own interest.
Digital learning is personal learning. It increases access to quality education. It provides learning that places the student at the centre. Through repetition it increases the students response time. The student is only challenged by her / himself. The criteria are only set against him /herself.
The student creates a time and the opportunity to learn. When and what they learn and nurtures a lifetime of education through a journey of self-discovery. It opens a world of education unrestricted by the four walls of a conventional classroom.
After All, Man will be judged by his character
Thus, the focus on the importance of the values, which include respect, kindness, courtesy, consideration, confidence, humility and learning to be givers, not takers, must not be lost.
Each day students come to school bringing dreams hope seeking inspiration
Ideally a 21st Century Education should provide every learner with:
A personalized, student-centered learning environment
Research-based digital learning strategies implemented by caring and qualified teachers
A learning experiences that prepare students for an increasingly technology-driven workforce and world
Learning that taps into passions and interests for deeper engagement and agency
A clear pathway to post secondary success through which every child achieves his or her potential
Digital learning is replacing traditional educational methods more and more each day. In the rapidly changing classrooms, it is best to forget past practices and start thinking about newer teaching and learning techniques. Techniques that are based on digital learning tools and technologies.
The inclusion of digital learning in the classrooms can vary from simply using tablets instead of paper or using elaborate software programs that measures a learners progress and maps a way forward for the learners development.
LMS – Learning Management System – Online Learning Platform
A learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. (Wikipedia)
Even social networks and communications platforms can be used to create and manage digital assignments and agendas.
Irrespective of how much technology is integrated into the classroom, digital learning has come to play a crucial role in education. It empowers students by getting them to be more interested in learning and expanding their horizons. Here is how digital learning is a step up from traditional education methods.
A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses. Learning management systems were designed to identify training and learning gaps, utilizing analytical data and reporting. LMS’s are focused on online learning (Wikipedia)
Students using digital learning tools and technology become more engaged in the process and more interested in growing their knowledge base. They may not even realize that they are actively learning since they are learning through engaging methods such as:
peer education,
teamwork,
problem-solving,
reverse teaching,
concept maps,
gamification,
staging,
role playing and
storytelling.
Reorienting Students for A World Where Technology Is Omnipresent
Digital learning is far more interactive and memorable than voluminous textbooks or one-sided lectures. They provide a greater viewpoints and more engaging activities. In this way students connect more actively with the learning material. Digital tools often offer a more interesting and involving way to digest information. This is reflected in retention rates and test scores. Further, by tracking their own scores and progress it can improve motivation and accountability.
Some benefits of digital learning
Learning tools and technologies like social learning platforms make it easy for teachers to create and manage groups.
The shift to digital learning can assess the benefits of tutoring while
The shift to digital learning can free up time for teachers to address individual and small group needs.
Learning now becomes customized for individual learners. The opportunity to customize learning for each student will make education more productive. Learners will progress at their own pace.
By closing the learning gaps in this way progress can accelerate. The chance for working together and peer-to-peer interaction increases, dynamic grouping, workshops, and project-based learning can add lots of collaborative learning to the already present education model.
For the Teacher
There are many online platforms like Panworld Education that provides lesson planning tools, worksheets, assessments etc. for educators. This makes their tasks easier. Educators can also join online professional learning communities to ask questions and share tips and stay connected with a global educators’ community. They can keep themselves updated with the most relevant content for their curriculum using such learning tools and technology.
These help teachers teach better and students learn better through engagement and enjoyment.
Parents can easily monitor their child’s progress which can serve as an extension to what they are learning in their classrooms. Digital learning tools and technology provide enjoyment for kids as well as numerous benefits in terms of developing a child’s well-being. Everyone benefits with the digitization of learning.
GAME BASED LEARNING
There is nothing as encouraging as instant gratification. A child’s interest in learning is enhanced since gamification makes the process much more enjoyable and interesting. This also provide instant results.
Digital Learning Tools and Technology Is Rapidly Increasing Information Sharing
Do not forget that this is not the first change in media. Six centuries ago, the printing press transformed formal education and increasing learning opportunities by providing books for all. The recent shift from print to digital has NOT only change the medium but has impacted how we learn. Digital learning allows students to access more and more information while ensuring that the information customizable and suited to their personal needs.
The opportunity to help every student learn at ‘the best pace and path’ is the most important benefit of digital learning.
Increasing Students’ Employability with Digital Learning Tools and Technology
Technology in the workplace.
Before technology reaches the classroom, they are first employed in commerce and the workplace. So, it is essential that learners are comfortable with this medium.
Entrepreneurship
With the ongoing employment crisis, it is crucial that if young people are unable to find jobs, they should have the ability to create their own and ideally even generate jobs for others. For this purpose, newer methods of learning and education need to be incorporated into the school curriculums, starting right from elementary school. Digital learning tools and technology in elementary, secondary, and high schools prepares students for higher education and modern careers by helping them acquire skills including problem-solving, familiarity with emerging technologies, and self-motivation.
Traditional Education Methods Have to be Replaced – Some things change while others remain the same
Traditional lectures may still exist along with the new-age learning tools and technology, but the lecture materials should be provided as a supplement to classroom activities and moved online for students to reference outside of the classroom. Classroom time is better used for discussing the curriculum, engaging in activities with teams and completing class projects. Students often have the option to pace their learning and even study ahead with a digital learning tool if they wish to do so. By helping children think outside their typical learning modes, digital learning inspires creativity and lets children feel a sense of accomplishment that encourages further learning.
Digital learning tools and technology fill the gaps where traditional classroom teaching falls behind. In fact, some of the efficiencies such tools bring are simply unmatchable by traditional learning techniques. From
Then there is the environmental impact recognized by the need for less paper for handouts and books to
saving time with quick access to information and the ease of research,
digital learning provides an effective way to cut costs, maximize resources
and heighten both reach and impact for students and educators alike.
Traditional lectures may still exist along with the new-age learning tools and technology, but the lecture materials should be provided as a supplement to classroom activities
The way learners access and absorb information has changed significantly over the past decades. They want lessons that are interactive, engaging and fun. Technology allows educators to adopt eLearning as – a method and practice of teaching by using different apps, images, videos and other online resources to enhance the traditional ways of teaching and keep learners engaged. We also need to expose our learners to technology. ICT (Information and communications technology) skills are no longer optional, they’re basic skills for functioning in society. For today’s generation of learners to prosper in the world of tomorrow and become contributors to the 4th industrial revolution rather than just passive bystanders, they need to benefit from the opportunities that eLearning provides.
Resources for Online Learning
The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of years. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore — not with the rise of the internet and new technologies, at least. Nowadays, you have access to a quality education whenever and wherever you want, as long as you have access to a computer. We are now entering a new era — the revolution of online education.
In general, when taking an online course you might encounter resources like:
eBooks;
Journals;
Videos;
Recorded lectures;
Quizzes;
Discussion forums
Live Q&A sessions; and
Interviews.
Time
eLearning is different from the traditional classroom. Firstly, the time spent listening is shorter and the time spent on assignments and activities is flexible, but
It involves self-discipline. You learn naturally and at your own pace
“But in some other cases. … procrastinating, and not having that physical reminder, sitting in class and the teachers grilling one, can cause the learner to fall behind. That is the rough part.”
It’s flexible.
Online education enables the teacher and the student to set their own learning pace, this allows for greater interaction and more feedback between learner and your tutor.
Enriching experience
There’s is access to very diverse material such as videos, photos, and eBooks online. Tutors can also integrate other formats like forums or discussions to improve their lessons.
And once you get the hang of it, you can dive into it and find your own material that can enrich your knowledge of any subject. You are definitely not restricted to a particular subject.
The final word
More than 6 million students are currently in online courses as part of their higher education program
Almost half of all students enrolled in online courses are educated exclusively through distance education
85% of students think that online learning is the same or better than the traditional classroom experience
Reading is a fundamental skill that gives access to knowledge and alternative points of view, and also provides the foundation for success in school.
Reading opens vocational opportunities. Every child has the right to learn to read well, but in many countries, especially developing regions, there are unacceptably low levels of literacy. An estimated 750 million (approximately 10%) of the world’s adults are illiterate; two-thirds are female (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, n.d.).
The most frequent causes of illiteracy and low literacy levels
in adults are the following:
Lack of reading instruction as a child (e.g., lack of, or denial of, access to schools; inadequate reading instruction)
Difficult living conditions, including poverty
Parents with low educational attainment
Dropping out of school early (intentionally or forced)
Learning disabilities.
The development of basic reading skills is one of the primary goals of elementary education.
Several things need to happen for a child to learn to read and to comprehend
Several
things need to happen for a child to learn to read and to comprehend what she
reads, says Nadine Gaab, PhD, an HMS associate professor of paediatrics who
heads a research unit in the Laboratories for Cognitive Neuroscience at Boston
Children’s Hospital.
Infants must learn to process sounds.
By early kindergarten or preschool, the child must learn phonologicalprocessing, which is the ability to manipulate the sounds of language, such as adding or deleting sounds to make words.
The child must then learn to read single words and develop the vocabulary necessary to read and understand sentences and paragraphs,
and, finally, master the ability to read fluently with reasonable speed.
To put it in another way:
The child has to decode words,
The child has to have the vocabulary once she decodes the words,
The child has to know meaning of the words and
she has to read fluently so that she can comprehend a whole paragraph,” says Prof. Gaab.
“These all have to come together for successful reading comprehension.”
READING AND THE BRAIN
Children are born
with almost a full quota of neurons – white spaces (blanks) – in the brain.
Through experience these spaces are connected to increase cognitive
development.
Best years of Life
from 1/4 at birth to fully grown at age 5
At birth, the average baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain. Incredibly, it doubles in size in the first year. It keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and 90% – nearly full grown – by age 5.
From birth to age 5, a child’s brain develops more than at
any other time in life. And early brain development has a lasting impact on a
child’s ability to learn and succeed in school and life. The quality of a
child’s experiences in the first few years of life – positive or negative –
helps shape how their brain develops.
THE SUPERHIGHWAY
‘the white matter pathways’
Structure of the brain – So how does this work?
Creating pathways to carry information
Neuron form part of the outer layer of the brain. The neuron consists of two parts the central body and the dendrils. The dendrils catch information, collect, scans and transfers information to the correct centres.
In this way pathways are created in the brain to pass on information and store in different regions
Storage Areas (memory)
A number of brain regions/centres are involved in reading
and comprehension. Among them are:
the temporal lobe, which is responsible for phonological awareness and for decoding and discriminating sounds;
Broca’s area in the frontal lobe, which governs speech production and language comprehension; and
the angular and supramarginal gyrus, which link different parts of the brain so that letter shapes can be put together to form words.
In order to read and comprehend, this highway system must be wide enough for multiple pieces of information to travel at the same time. The highway must also be smooth, so that information can flow at a high rate of speed. Professor Gaab says, “You don’t want the information to stop. You don’t want a lot of stop lights.”
connecting the centres and make the information flow
There are several important white-matter pathways involved in reading. Professor Gaab likens these tracts to a highway system that connects the back of the brain’s reading network to the front. In order to read and comprehend, this highway system must be wide enough for multiple pieces of information to travel. The highway must also be smooth, so that information can flow at a high rate of speed. And, she says, “You don’t want the information to stop. You don’t want a lot of stop lights.”
Reading ability in young children is related to the growth of the brain’s white matter tracts which links these language centres with parts of the brain that process visual information.
Stimulate the brain
“The brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years, and kids who have more stimulating experiences are at a huge advantage when they get to school… And it’s really harder and harder for kids to catch up if they arrive behind.”
WHAT WORKS – STIMULATING EXPERIENCE
Recent studies done by the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center of Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital provide neurobiological evidence for the potential benefits of reading and the potential detriments of screen time on a preschool child’s brain development.
screens
Dr. John Hutton, lead author, paediatrician and clinical
researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital says:
“Children are born with more neurons than they’ll ever have in their life, essentially a blank slate,” Hutton said.
“Depending on what type of stimulation the child has with caregivers
being
talked to,
being
held,
going
outside,
being
read to
These stimuli reinforces connections between these neurons.”
Experience consolidates “hardwires” those connections in the brain, Hutton said. But any that aren’t well used are pruned by the brain and die off.
“And even though the brain can change and learn at all ages, it’s much more efficient in the first five years, and that’s why those early childhood experiences are so important,” he said.
WHAT IMPEDES LEARNING
SCREENS
Most people know that taking away screens and, reading to our children during the formative years of birth to age 5 boosts brain development. We all know that’s true, but now science can convince us with startling images.
A new study scanned the brains of children 3 to 5 years old
and found those who used screens more than the recommended one hour a day without
parental involvement had lower levels of development in the brain’s white
matter — an area key to the development of language, literacy and cognitive
skills.
The studies have also shown that excessive TV viewing is
linked to
the inability of children to pay attention
and think clearly, while
increasing poor eating habits and
behavioural problems.
Associations have also been shown between excessive screen
time and language delay, poor sleep, impaired executive
function, and a decrease in parent-child engagement.
So how do you
organize the child’s brain?
Taking away screens and – reading to our children during the
formative years of birth to age 5 boosts brain development.
The brain of a pre-schooler,
who is often read to by a caregiver, show a growth in organized white matter in
the language and literacy areas of the child’s brain. It is these areas that
will support learning in school. There is also the increase in organized white
matter in the language centres of the preschooler’s brain.
On the contrary the
brain of a preschooler who likely spends an average of two hours a day playing
on screens shows massive underdevelopment and disorganization of white matter
in the same areas needed to support learning in school.
In addition to brain
scans, the children were also given cognitive tests.
When it came to
screen time, kids who used screens more than one hour a day had
poorer
emerging literacy skills,
less
ability to use expressive language, and
tested
lower on the ability to rapidly name objects.
In
contrast, children who frequently read books with their caregiver scored higher
on cognitive[3] tests.
Screen time, on the other
hand, gets in the way of more than reading, “such as playing with toys,
using imagination and going outside,” Hutton said, “thus interfering
with all kinds of activities that would benefit different parts of the brain
that aren’t just related to reading.”
What type of reading was
most important?
“What really seemed
to drive the bus, at least based on this analysis, is just showing up and doing
it — reading to your child on a regular basis,” Hutton said. “And,
to me that takes a lot of pressure off parents to find the perfect book. Just
keep reading in a loving and consistent way.
How to read to
your preschool child
There’s no one
“best” way to read to your child, say experts. But research does
provide some tips on what may work best to engage and entice your child to love
books and reading.
Start from birth by talking to your child and
responding to their attempts to “baby talk”
Sing the ABC song
Have your child use their imagination and
make up stories — and ask lots of questions about those invented tales
Pick books with interesting characters — and
don’t be afraid to role play with different accents and voices for the
characters
Have your child point to pictures and words
and repeat them
Most important — enjoy yourself!
This article is
informed by an article posted by CNN
This is your
child’s brain on books: Scans show benefit of reading vs. screen time by
Sandee LaMotte, CNN
Updated 1114 GMT
(1914 HKT) January 16, 2020
From preconception through the formative early years it is essential to safeguard and maximize children’s developmental outcomes
This introduction to reading will investigate:
innate nature and personality
brain development
brain structure
Early Childhood Development (ECD)
فطرة – Fitra” or “fitrah”
(Arabic), is the state of purity and
innocence and a natural disposition
Many of these traits can be observed in young children.
Children are often referred to as innocent – meaning they are naive, harmless, guiltless or blameless etc. So how and when do any changes in their natural disposition occur? These changes occur after exposure.
Now we may ask: Are all children not the same?
A child is a composite human being, inheriting
characteristics from the mother, father and some features that are unique to
itself. Then these characteristics are manipulated through exposure. This
exposure occurs prenatal and after birth.
Ihsan[i]
meaning “to do beautiful things”
It is a matter of
taking one’s inner faith and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of
social responsibility borne from religious convictions.
During the second month this
neural tube begins to differentiate into brain cells and nerve cells. The
brain cells transform into recognizable brain structures. The most notable is
the outer layer called the cerebral cortex.
3
By the third month the embryo
display reflexes and also reacts to its environment.
4
At the end of the first trimester,
hormones are released that will determine whether development will continue
to occur as male or female.
5
By the fifth month, the foetus is
learning to control its reactions to these sensory sensations and to control
its movement.
6
By six months the brain becomes fully
developed. Even though the brain has not reached its full size, most of the
neurons (nerve cell) within the central nervous system are present. These
nerve cells conduct electrical impulses (i.e. send messages).Significantly it is during this period that
the foetus begins to prepare itself for the outside world. The foetus can
experience sensory sensations such as sound, taste, and smells. The ability to consciously react to sensory
sensations becomes even stronger during the sixth month. During the sixth month, another major mark of
brain development occurs; the cerebral cortex splits into two separate
hemispheres. Some researchers believe that, at this stage,
the foetus develops the ability to remember.
At birth 80 percent of the brain is developed and consist of 100 billion neurons or brain cells.
This means that during every minute of the pregnancy period at
least 250,000 brain cells are created!
Because of this rapid pace of development, proper prenatal care
is essential to the development of an unborn child’s brain.
During this process i.e. during the prenatal and postnatal,
the child is being prepared for the world around it and evidently the child
will be what the parent exposes it to.
Early Childhood Development
ECD is the net result of ongoing interactions between
biology of children and environments
The early years are critical, because this is the period in
life when the brain develops most rapidly and has a high capacity for change,
and the foundation is laid for health and wellbeing throughout life.
Nurturing-care means,
care is provided in a stable environment,
being sensitive to children’s health and
nutritional needs,
providing protection from threats,
providing opportunities for early learning, and
interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating.
We emphasize
stable, responsive, and nurturing caregiving;
safe, supportive, environments;
appropriate nutrition
and protection from violence, neglect and abuse.
This is what is at the heart of children’s potential to develop
Why is there so much emphasis on ECD?
From preconception through the formative early years it is essential
to safeguard and maximize children’s developmental outcomes
http://imacademy.co.za/?p=4094
references
[1]
recognize and work with the sounds of spoken language
[3]
Cognitive – relating to, being, or involving conscious
intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering
[i] In Islam, ihsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain
perfection, or excellence, in worship, such that Muslims try to worship God as
if they see him, and although they cannot see him, they undoubtedly believe
that He is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the Hadith
of Gabriel in which Muhammad states, “[Ihsan is] to worship God as though
you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you”.
(Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim)
Children learn best through play and through valuable relationships
I am going to school
Increasingly children are treated as commodities. We find ourselves “in danger of losing the child in childhood.” Instead of imposing adult expectations parents and teachers should try to “take their blinkers off” and see the world through the eyes of young children—a change in perspective that might allow us to better understand and cultivate and grow children’s unique abilities.
We talk about young children, increasingly, as commodities
to “invest” in for future payoffs. Parents express enormous anxiety about their
child’s future, and seem to be curating their children’s life experiences in a
way that would look quite unnatural and even rather joyless to previous
generations.
We hear:
Go to school, get good grades, get into university and get a good job
There’s a weird contradiction that early childhood is both
safe and stressful. Yes in modern society the early years are safer than
they’ve been of late.
Children have fewer fatal accidents and debilitating
diseases. However there still is poverty, stress, and trauma—and some of these
problems affect very large numbers of children—but in general terms, many of
the big ‘killers’ of childhood have been vanquished.
On the other hand, 21st-century society poses many
challenges for young children too. We have an increasing numbers of kids with
mental health and behavioural challenges.
young children are not simply mini-adults
Children should be allowed to learn through play and through
valuable relationships.
In the first phase of a child’s life 0 – 6 Years Old, we
should give full love and play together–they will follow you as role model.
When their developing brains are given the chance to grow in
a nurturing, language-rich, and relatively unhurried environment. We will see
enthusiasm of mental and emotional development
Bu we often fail to see the world from a child’s perspective.
sometimes it is necessary to get down on our knees and see the world from
a four-year old’s level
Just reflect on the many ways that adults inflict adult
pacing, adult expectations, and adult schedules on young kids. And for what
reason?
Young children sleep less and have far more transitions
(scheduling) in their days than in previous generations—and most educators and
parents would agree that their developing brains aren’t really designed to cope
with adult schedules and pacing. We need to step back and see the world from a
child’s point of view and break the cycle.
We fail to see the value of digging in a container of mud
for an hour, so it must be time to whip out the math worksheet! And what about
the gross motor development? It boggles the mind how little outdoor time
and gross motor play many young children have in their days. Deny this and the
balance in their development is disturbed.
What do we look for when we place our child in an Early
Education Centre
Quality education is about relationships. Caring teachers
who understand a child’s development and who know and are attuned to the
children in their care. This is far more important than many of the measures of
quality we use today, such as class size, physical environments, or a specific
curriculum.
And what is the parent’s role in the education:
Listen to your child
Rich, open-ended conversation is critical, and children need
time in the day to experience warm, empathic oral language—to converse with
each other playfully, to tell a rambling story to an adult, to listen to
high-quality literature and ask meaningful questions. In short set the child on
your lap in a relaxed environment and read “with” your child. Can you imagine
this is not a very lengthy activity. It may just take 30 minutes and it is a
wonderful educational bonding experience. It is an in vestment in a child
emotional and educational development.
Let’s get back to the Educational Centre
Teaching is the opposite of a free-for-all where children are running the show. Quality preschool teachers are intentional about everything they do:
the classroom routines,
the physical environment,
the schedule,
the types of materials they make available for
children to explore and manipulate.
These teachers do an extraordinary amount of observation and
reflection—so that they can continually experiment with and modify their
learning environments to take advantage of children’s natural curiosity.
And this is my most important feel about children
that children are fully capable of learning, and we refuse
to let school or state mandates dictate how children learn.
A quality learning environment considers a child’s backgrounds,
sometimes backgrounds of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. If a child
walks in the door not having had anything to eat the night before—or maybe they
are processing something positive, like welcoming a new sibling or a grandparent—the
high-quality preschool classroom will have a mechanism to respond to those
experiences and to channel them into cognitive and social-emotional growth.
The value of Play
Play is hardwired into us and can’t be suppressed. However,
it’s crucial that we recognize that while the play impulse is one thing, the
play know-how—the nuts and bolts of playing—is not always so natural, and
requires careful cultivation. This means that that there are two types of play
free play and structured play activities. It is for the second reason that the
play school preschool is favoured but any with a genuine intention can guide a
child to make play a learning experience. It simply means get down and try to
think like a child.
Children should have time to mess around and make their own
rules. They need the time and space to learn how to play effectively, and they
require a culture that values play.
We can see that learning is not confined to a curriculum or
a classroom.
Anyone who has seen the wonder on a child’s face when they
see a butterfly landing on a flower understands that learning goes far beyond a
classroom.
The good news is that children are wired with the capacity
for learning in almost any setting. With the loving support of responsive
adults, they can learn without the bells and whistles of what we call
preschool.
So much learning comes about naturally
And the last word: Children are individuals and should be measured against their own progress and should not be compared with another child.
