The Director of Operations at Alpha Beta Education Centres, Dr. Naomi Adjepong, has urged parents to ensure strict supervision of their children’s activities online.
She said while introducing children to the internet and digital tools exposes them to numerous opportunities, it is important to ensure that children do not find themselves consuming content that is detrimental to them.
Speaking on EdTech Monday segment on the Citi Breakfast Show, Dr. Adjepong said parents and educators alike must generally plan and introduce only content they believe will be helpful to children.
“As parents and educators, there are many things online that offer opportunities for children to engage, but with all of these things, supervision is absolutely key. An educator needs to think about what a child can benefit from these tools, and it also has to do with how the teacher uses these tools,” she said.
Responding to a question about how digital tools provide a rich learning environment for young learners, she noted that children tend to engage more with interactive educational materials.
She also noted that content with pictures and videos tends to capture the attention of young learners.
“For whatever is being done, there has to be a clear objective for each and every digital experience. Teachers would use a lot of digital content, which has pictures and videos, to be able to enhance the children’s learning experience.”
“A parent has to separate what is education and what is entertainment. Supervision is key, so parents need to decide if they want to give a child a phone to go on an educational app or for entertainment and if so, what is the content of that videos. And it is therefore important for parents to control the amount of time they spend on the screen, but we should also be sure of what exactly they are consuming,” she added.
EdTech Monday is a platform for EdTech Entrepreneurs, Education stakeholders, and Government representatives to facilitate critical conversations on the use of technology for teaching and learning.
The show is an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation’s Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT, and part of the Foundation’s strategy to find solutions to Africa’s youth employment by closing the gap in access to quality education, and advancing the integration of technology in education policies and practices across Africa.
EdTech Monday is handled on behalf of the Mastercard Foundation by MEST.
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MEST offers Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training, internal seed funding, and a network of hubs providing incubation for technology startups in Africa.
Founded in Ghana in 2008, MEST provides critical skills training, funding, and support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs. Hubs are located in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya.
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