It is the 21st century and children in almost every other household seem to be hooked to electronic devices. From watching shows to playing video games, parents seem to be worried about the number of hours their children spend in front of these devices and are even more concerned about their resistance to put a stop to this. These times of the pandemic and the need for social distancing have made the situation significantly worse, increasing the number of hours children spend on augmented technology.
Technology today has become the new normal for children. Their dependency on these devices in terms of both their personal and professional life is rapidly increasing. Internet addiction is a real phenomenon and has gained significant importance in recent times. Even though this is a topic of concern, it is not too late to divert our children’s attention in more productive directions.
Both parents and teachers indeed have a big role to play in this phenomenon of internet addiction. Now that this issue has grown multi-folds, the next step is to move on to possible solutions and implement them in all children’s lives at the earliest. While we cannot eradicate the use of technology, we can come forward and suggest alternatives to this problem. We need to implement a solution that does not work long term but is also useful, beneficial, and the best utilization of our children’s time.
Currently, and in the future, we suggest the best solution to the excessive use of technology is to replace it with experiential and hands-on learning. Here are a few reasons that will better help you understand the importance of experiential learning in today’s time –
Effective Learning without Compromising on Health
Excessive use of technology strains the eyes and makes the children extremely lazy, ultimately leading to a lack of physical exercise. Experiential learning is a better solution since most of its activities require the kids to be active and alert. It not only increases their knowledge but also challenges them to rack their brains and find answers to questions they never thought possible
Development of Important Skills
Experiential learning facilitates the learning and polishing of skills that will come in handy even outside the educational institutions. Hands-on activities prepare students for the real world and help them understand the theory implementation in practical situations. Effective Communication, Analytical Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, and Decision Making are some qualities experiential learning helps develop.
Engaging and Interesting
When you initially introduce the concept of experiential learning, children may outright say no to the idea of using their free time at home to study and learn. However, their attitude may change once they indulge in hands-on activities. What you as a parent can do, is ask them questions, allow them to be inquisitive, and introduce the concept of “do it yourself”. It will not only interest them but will also instantly grab their attention.
Building Relationships
Experiential learning requires teamwork and coordination. You can indulge in these activities with your child and spend more time with them. Instead of being in their room, busy with electronic devices all the time, these hands-on activities can also be performed outdoors and help create effective bonds.
Augmented technology does not just have negative implications. Technology has grown tremendously in the last few years and continues to help children in their daily life. However, it is also important to be aware of the consequences of excessive use of technology and understand how important it is to maintain a balance. Moreover, we fully understand that children cannot sit in front of a book and mug up theory all the time. What they need is something they can work, something they can create, something of real value. Here is where experiential learning comes to play and aims to make a significant change in the lifestyle of all children.
We hope this article achieved its goal of informing you about the increasing importance of experiential learning and how it is the perfect way to rid your child of technology and its addiction. If this information helped in any way, stay tuned for our next article on activities that you can engage your children in, all from the comfort of your own house!
At ExperiHub, we teach Science and Mathematics by bringing concepts from the real world into the classroom. We conduct science experiments and have myriad science projects for better learning and understanding of concepts. If you want to learn more about Experiential Learning and cool home experiments, browse through our Online Sessions and Youtube Channel!