Teaching methodologies are one of the most discussed topics these days. There are some who advocate the exclusive use of the material available on the net to teach reading to a child, while there are others who choose to dissent and consider traditional methods of using printed material to be the best.
I believe online modality is preferred by some because of the ease of access. One can conveniently choose online material based on the child’s capabilities and also make the experience exceedingly challenging as the student makes progress. Online materials are created by software experts keeping in mind all the possible contingencies that may arise during the reading sessions. For example, if a young student is learning to read English as a second language, there are websites which offer pages with links to dictionaries so that they can look up the meaning in their native language. Such functionalities make the learning process more convenient for both the student and the teacher.
On the other hand, there are some who want to go with the traditional printed materials like books or newspaper to enhance a child’s reading skills. One of the cogent reasons could be the proven history of this method. Except for some dyslexic students, almost nobody so far has cited books as the reason for their learning disabilities. Physical materials such as books do not have the side effects such as eye strain caused by the electronic gadgets. Also, given the negative effects, it is justified for parents and teachers to be apprehensive about introducing technology to students earlier than it is absolutely necessary. For instance, reading from books has never caused sore eyes or neck stiffness, but reading from a PC or a mobile phone can certainly cause these health hazards.
In my personal opinion, a pragmatic rather than a hard-nosed approach is the most efficient approach. Rather than shunning online material or the printed material, a good blend of both should be utilized to provide an effective learning experience to the child.
Teaching methodologies are one of the most discussed topics these days. There are
some
who advocate the exclusive
use
of the
material
available on the net to teach
reading
to a
child
, while there are others who choose to dissent and consider traditional methods of using printed
material
to be the best.
I believe
online
modality
is preferred
by
some
because
of the
ease
of access. One can
conveniently
choose
online
material
based on the
child’s
capabilities and
also
make
the experience
exceedingly
challenging as the
student
makes
progress.
Online
materials
are created
by software experts keeping in mind all the possible contingencies that may arise during the
reading
sessions.
For example
, if a young
student
is
learning
to read English as a second language, there are websites which offer pages with links to dictionaries
so
that they can look up the meaning in their native language. Such functionalities
make
the
learning
process more convenient for both the
student
and the teacher.
On the other hand
, there are
some
who want to
go with
the traditional printed
materials
like
books
or newspaper to enhance a
child’s
reading
skills
. One of the cogent reasons could be the proven history of this method.
Except for
some
dyslexic
students
, almost nobody
so
far has cited
books
as the reason for their
learning
disabilities. Physical
materials
such as
books
do not have the side effects such as eye strain caused by the electronic gadgets.
Also
,
given
the
negative
effects, it
is justified
for parents and teachers to be apprehensive about introducing technology to
students
earlier than it is
absolutely
necessary.
For instance
,
reading
from
books
has never caused sore eyes or neck stiffness,
but
reading
from a PC or a mobile phone can
certainly
cause these health hazards.
In my personal opinion, a pragmatic
rather
than a
hard
-nosed approach is the most efficient approach.
Rather
than shunning
online
material
or the printed
material
, a
good
blend of both should
be utilized
to provide an effective
learning
experience to the
child
.