Page 12
March 2018
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT
Edutainment is a nonsensical
word often used by teachers to
emphasize that entertainment
should be educational and
education should be entertaining.
Children today seem to bore
quite easily. They love to use
that phrase to describe a lack of
interest or desire in a particular
task.
Parents and teachers
have begun to use devices as a
primary source of entertainment
for children. Tablets, IPads, cell
phones, E-Readers, and other
electronic devices are exposed to
children as soon as they develop
an interest. Children, as young
as six months old, are often
able to navigate technological
devices, including unlocking
and accessing apps.
While
experts may differ in opinion
that exposure to hours of device
usage is harmful, I argue that
what they are exposed to on
the device is more crucial than
exposure to the device itself.
As a parent, I am very intentional
about loading only educational
apps on my children’s devices.
Some of their favorite apps
include
ABCYA,
Khan
Academy, Prodigy Math, and
countless others. Don’t get
me wrong, ever so often, they
also will ask to watch YouTube
videos of their latest trending
obsession. Currently, making
slime is the newest craft
obsession. However, apps like
YouTube Kids and Candy Crush
are what I like to call treat apps.
Like a candy bar, we use these
apps sparingly. Limiting the
use of non-academic apps has
allowed my children to excel in
school. But here’s the kicker, my
children love these educational
apps. They spend time on these
apps with no complaints. I even
notice that they will still use
the educational apps, even for
their free choice opportunities.
Educational apps have made
learning engaging and fun for
children.
I remember when I first began
teaching over 15 years ago. I
would find silly songs to use
to engage students in learning
new concepts.
They loved
participating in music and
movement, which helped aid in
students grasping concepts and
retaining them rather quickly.
Technology advancement has
made this teaching method easy
and convenient. Teachers can now
easily find an engaging song on
YouTube to help them learn any
curriculum. In fact, our school,
High Achievers Education
Center uses educational apps to
help students progress and excel.
They engage in other subjects,
but during tech-time, there’s an
additional sense of excitement.
The teachers select apps to load
on the children’s devices that
review and accelerate their level
of learning. The children love
that type of education. The
great thing about teaching this
generation is that technology
makes it easy to create learning
fun and entertaining. Soon,
take some time to evaluate your
little one’s devices and replace
the random app selections with
intentional learning apps to help
them become High Achievers.
Dr. Nadra Powell
Owner/Educator of High
Achievers Education Center Inc.
T o develop a com m un it y
t h at su pp o rts en th u siast ic,
m o t ivat ed , high ach ievers
wit h in an academ ically
rig oro us and en rich in g
learn in g environ m en t t o
achieve at t heir g reat est
p o t ent ial.
Personal ized
Ins truction
Hands -on Learning
Criti cal Thinki ng
Sc ienc e, Tec h, Art,
Engi neering and Math
FEEDING THE BODY AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT
It was a celebration of the arts
and an outpouring of community
spirit at the 7th Annual Empty
Bowls Dinner fundraiser and
C