Let kids be appy, says prof

TEACHERS s hould s t op focusing on standardised testing and become more techsavvy, a leading educational expert says.

Flinders University professor of early childhood studies, Nicola Yelland, wants schools to move away from a focus on basic skill acquisition and embrace new technology.

She said teachers saw “governments and the public obsessed with national tests results, which focus on print literacy” while children in their homes were fluent in both digital and print.

“This is problematic as we strive to educate children to be active citizens in the 21st century for a world of ‘work’ that is continually evolving and changing,” Prof Yelland said.

She studied the schoolbased learning of 459 children aged two to 12 over four years and found their experiences were enhanced when both digital and traditional methods of teaching were used.

“Teachers should be encouraged and supported to incorporate the use of tablets and a range of apps in learning options,” she said.

She found apps such as iWriteWords, AlphaTots and Monkey Preschool Lunchbox helped young children learn the alphabet, explore sounds and write letters and numbers, together with activities in everyday life with real objects. Apps such as Book Creator and Sock Puppets, enabled them to create their own stories and document their learning or create plays.

Prof Yelland said children from low-income areas, who tended to perform less well in standardised tests, didn’t have opportunities to explore more diverse learning methods. Often, tablets were available but teachers did not know how to use them properly.