Using Technology to Empower Kids for a Better Future

Growing up in a digital era comes with a whole platter of benefits that people can use to their advantage. The technology that is available to children in the present times allows them to have access to a wide variety of information using their smartphones, iPads, laptops, and other handheld devices.

While there are drawbacks attached to growing up in a digital age, there are certain advantages too if chosen and used wisely. There are certain avenues that are now open, which were hitherto unknown.

Teaching Kids to Use Technology for Better Purposes

Children can now tap into new areas of interest and know more about the world, all while sitting behind screens at home. Since this digital trend is certainly here to stay, trying to pick out its many drawbacks seems redundant. Instead, people need to focus on making the most of what the technology has to offer. There are numerous ways in which one can empower kids to carve out a better future for themselves.

One doesn’t need to look far to find a number of sites that are working to help kids acquire certain skills that will move them in the right direction and lay the foundation for their success. These sites show that the technology isn’t merely limited to social media and games. While there has been a significant rise in the number of startups across the country, certain well-known ones are working to provide children with better growth options which can make them better entrepreneurs in future.

Startups That Prepare Your Child for a Better Tomorrow

Tynker

Dedicated to providing kids with a computing platform where they can develop their computational skills and programming abilities, Tynker seeks to foster computer education in homes, classrooms and the like. By getting acquainted with all that Tynker has to offer, kids will soon be skilled at developing their own mobile and web apps, designing games, programming devices, and controlling robots.

More than 50,000 schools are using Tynker to aid kids in improving their computer science programming skills. Since the world is now driven by technology and there is no stopping the developments that are taking place, it will certainly serve children well to learn to become creators of technology and not just mere users.

So by signing up to such sites, kids are assured of receiving a more engaging introduction to programming that will make the learning process a great deal easier. Learning the fundamental concepts of programming has never been so easy or so much fun.

Coursera

Another learning platform that kids should be on is Coursera. Instead of spending hours on mobile phones and tablets surfing through social media, enrolling with Coursera can offer hordes of benefits.

Coursera works with universities and institutions to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs) that can be used to further one’s knowledge of a particular subject or field, be it physics, engineering, medicine, biology or more. Interested students can undertake courses in any subject that suit their interest. At the end of the course, there is a proctored exam that students have to answer at the cost of just $60 to $90. This platform follows a computer-based marking system and when this is not feasible, students are sometimes made to grade their peer’s results.

Students can sign up for this course to complete a series of classes and they offer certificates from certain colleges. A lot of universities have already put their entire curriculum online, thus making it easier for students to learn with the help of video lectures and web-based testing. Hence, Coursera is an innovative solution that offers a fantastic platform to take up any course a student is interested in.

Khan Academy

Started by the well-known educator Salman ‘Sal’ Khan in 2006, Khan Academy aims at providing a world-class education to anyone across the globe free of cost. The instructing is primarily done in the English language with the help of short YouTube videos. However, it is available in a number of other languages too.

This website offers short lectures along with exercises to practice what the child has absorbed. There are also tools available for educators in order to make the teaching job easier. This learning platform can be personalized to suit an individual person’s needs and can then be used to track what the child has learned along with suggesting what they should tackle next. The automated exercises that are available provide scope for continuous assessment to gauge the participant’s child’s level of understanding and application.

Though the advent of technology has changed the life of children today, it certainly hasn’t reduced the opportunities that are available to them. And, these educational startups prove just that!

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Also read : Wish your child should be a programmer? Try Osmo Coding Blocks.