How parents can leverage ICT-based methods

Education has fairly evolved from its earlier tropes of rote learning to engaging children through modern methods. Yet, the base of its principles gets strengthened with parental involvement. It’s a widely recognised fact that greater involvement of parents in their child’s education results in a better performance in school. It can be simply contributed to a practical school of thought – parental supervision can lead to nurturing a self-reliant and conscientious child, who pays extra attention to her academic performance.

Students respond positively to parents taking a proactive part in their schooling – whether being aware of their progress and understanding their achievements or taking a more dynamic role by involving themselves in the school curriculum. Either way, greater parental engagement often motivates the child to perform beyond expectation.

It is important to impart education in a harmonious manner, to unearth the fullest out of tender impressionable minds. To survive on the current competitive where it is essential to have expertise over a multitude of skills - parents need to ingrain within their progeny, importance of applicable lessons to truly learn and not indulge in rote, for performance. To facilitate this, parents need to inculcate an immersive foundation, to craft a malleable mind, fast in imbibing lessons

Psychologists have enunciated upon the importance of a solid foundation, that increases the probability of positive outcomes in career and life. Early experiences and learning are known to produce an embedded impact on the outline of a maturing brain. It is crucial to equip children with the right skill set and outlook, for staying a cut above the rest. This is where Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have a vital role to play.

ICT has garnered approval from scholars across the world. Integrating this technique, students achieve a balanced educational experience, uniformly gaining building blocks to self-knowledge and applying these inferences in real-world circumstances. Creative inculcation of ICT in education facilitates an increase in retention and incorporation through enhancing teaching capabilities and providing additional learning expertise.

ICT creates a superior atmosphere for children to grasp on basic as well as complex concepts, leveraging technology to assist in uplifting the overall primary school atmosphere. Students who are consistently exposed to educational technology in the primary levels learn to progressively harness self-esteem and self-confidence.

Here are other proactive benefits that cement the importance of ICT learning for young minds:

n It emphasises the understanding of fundamental core concepts, aided by narrative learning and top-notch animation. Through ICT, images are utilised which improve the retentive memory of students.

Complex instructions can be easily explained, ensuring students’ comprehension of tricky lessons.

The ICT methodology creates a wider space for interactive classes that results in lessons becoming enjoyable leading to improvement in concentration and engagement.

Lessons can be tailored according to the strengths and weaknesses, enhancing the learning curve.

A comprehensive record is maintained in the form of an electronic portfolio, which can lead to better inferences on cognitive studies, apart from adding immense value to the learning process.

The use of ICT has a major influence on a student’s motivational capabilities as well. It is found that students express positive feelings towards work and education when they use technology to complete tasks, motivating them to learn. Children learn to be more conscientious, learning how to be responsible through managing their digital portfolios efficiently.

ICT is found to have a positive impact on students’ performances in schools, with a rapid increase in scores compared with those of earlier. Pupils consider ICT tools very helpful as they aid them in comprehending assignments easily, especially for students with special needs or difficulties. It also helps in reducing social inequalities between pupils, as they work in cohesion to achieve a given task - the very principles that parents want to inculcate in their children. Parents should embrace the endless possibilities that come armed in ICT and leverage it to secure a bright future for their wards.

(The author is co-founder, Kiwami, New Delhi)