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This week a read a short blurb on educational apps in Tech and Learning magazine entitled, "Learning: Is there and App for that?" that are helping young children learn and develop important skills. This blurb stated that two-thirds of children aged 4 to 7 have now had access to an iPhone or iPod touch at some point in their short lifetime and that 85 percent of those children use one owned by a parent. The article also stated that many children who do use these apps on a regular basis, made significant gains in vocabulary comprehension, letter identification, and rhyming.
My own experiences with my three and five year old daughters show that the above is true. My wife and I both have iPod touches that include educational apps that my daughters love to use. I have seen a great deal of improvement in both of them especially in my three year old. She knows the alphabet and can count to twenty. I think this is due largely to her playing with apps that teach numbers and letters.
I believe that what was discovered from all of this is truly the essence of distance education. We live in a world where we can access and learn information on the go. Education is not confined to a classroom, but is mobile and ours for the taking anytime anywhere. This blog will be devoted to exploring recent trends, news, and issues in the field of distance learning. As I scour news articles and journals on the topic of Distance Ed I will post to this blog weekly summarizing what I have discovered and learned. Stay tuned and feel free to comment where you see fit.
A couple of semesters ago, in our research class I did a literature review on hand held computers helping in the class rooms. The indication that I found there was the same. There seems to be significant advantage to making these assessable to students. One thing it mention was the cost is so much less than even laptops. There is software out there that helps teachers keep track and make assignments using this technology.
ReplyDeleteI have been able to post some of my tests online and have the students take them via the Internet. It has worked great. The program gives them immediate feedback where I as a teacher could never give immediate feedback with the tests. It would be at least a day for me to correct them and return them.
ReplyDeleteThe students that know they will be absent have also benefited. They can take the test/assignment even when they miss school.
It's great!!
I think the key to success with young children is that the apps you are talking about appear like fun and games instead of traditional learning. As Chad mentioned, instant feedback is also a motivator.
ReplyDeleteBrandon - Great blog start up. One thing that electronic devices can do is take the teaching out of the hands of the parents. What parent wants to listen to their 2 year old say the alphabet 35 times in a row? Or how any things do you want to point to and ask 'what color is ... ?' The device doesn't care how many times the user repeats the steps - it is 'patient' and always able to give the correct answer. A downside could be that the child is interacting with a machine more than a human.
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