I was reading an article about one Headmistress’s view that education has become so focused on getting children through exams that the very passion or enjoyment for the subject has been lost.

Full article here.

In education surely we should be focused on engaging children’s minds and encouraging them to question whilst also learning the skills to apply the knowledge? Not to simply learn strategies to pass exams. We should be allowing our educators the freedom to inspire their pupils, not to be constrained to the teaching of skills and content to meet targets.

Education is a gift for a lifetime. The skills learnt need to be ones that can be applied throughout their life, not just to pass another hurdle in the education system. The ability to assimilate information, to question, to extract relevant material and apply it in a variety of settings are skills that are needed throughout life. The passing of exams is a natural by product of that. To simply teach content and strategies that hit targets is denying our children the value of a real education.

Do you have kids ages 3 – 8? Do you teach in a primary/elementary school? Are you a carer for young children? Then we’d like to hear from you!

Do you and your child love books? Are you interested in literacy? Are you keen to see children engaged with reading? Are you interested in new technologies that could help children learning to read? Then we need your help.

We are looking for a number of parents/carers/teachers to join our review panel to trial our newly launched children’s ebooks. Click here to see the books available.

We will give you access to all of the books on wizz-e.com for free. No cost. No risk to you. In return all we ask is for your/your child’s thoughts.

If you are interested in being part of this review panel then email melanie@ybc.tv with the subject title ‘wizz-e’ and she will send you a login account and password to get access.

This offer is closing shortly. So act NOW and give your child free access to a fantastic product that will support their reading! Can you afford to miss out? Email melanie now.

Recent articles in the press report that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking at creating paperless classrooms by introducing digital textbooks. One report here.

Although budgets may be driving Mr Schwarzenegger’s current decision could this be the start of using technology to a greater extent in education? Can ebooks comfortably sit side by side with traditional media whether in the form of a textbook or fiction? Indeed, can using this technology enhance a student’s learning?

Forward thinking teachers will no doubt be exploring how technology can develop learning experiences for their pupils. They will know that learning is not transformed simply by the use of technology, but by how it is used creatively. This is where teachers can bring their greatest skills to the table, the application of the tools available to enhance learning. So whether it be ebooks or other media, students have a greater opportunity to learn when a variety of methods are employed to engage them.

I was reflecting the other day on the differences between my own education and that of my children. My memories are of blackboards and chalk, the teacher at the front talking at us as we furiously took notes, glued to the desk until it was time for lunch. I can remember very little of the content.

Whereas, in my own children’s education they are engaged in multi-sensory experiences. When they learn about a topic they create art, they create video, they create music, they use computers. They put their learning into different contexts which appeals to their different learning styles. Using a multi-sensory approach embeds their learning at a much deeper level.

But most importantly they are having fun. When they come home from school and can’t wait to tell me about what they have been doing it reinforces the learning yet again.

So for me the future of education has to be about finding different methods to engage children in learning, finding multiple ways to reinforce the message, using multiple tools to keep their attention. When their life outside school is a bombardment of multi-sensory experiences their education within school has to mirror that to keep their attention. Engaging our youngest minds, both in and out of school, by using a variety of formats and content has to make for a richer learning experience. What do you think?