All About IT for Young Children
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Don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think that educational games are really fun in a sense to the child.
As the child gets more addicted to these games, the questions get repetitive and the child gets bored.
Pen and Paper is still the way to go, unless you want to start your child on some basic computer programming and be the next Ding Wen. -
The best time to start IT is NOW.
Computers have already become an integral part of our lives.
I might have mistaken but I sensed that somewhere between pg 2-3, there were some confusions equating IT to computer games.
From even a very young age, we can show our children how we use computers in our life. Showing them how we use email or web cam is a good start. I chat with my family via webcam whenever I go on business trips.
Build up a list of good children’s website and visit with them from time to time. In fact, I frequently involve kiddo in our meal planning. We would visit allrecipe.com and he would help me select the recipes. Designing and printing invitation cards are also good activities to begin with.
Kiddo also got to use my digital cam. At the end of our outings, it would be his job to download the photos from the cam to the PC. Iguess it is all these little things that made him comfortable at operating computers.
Kiddo was first exposed to ‘formal IT education’ at P1 as part of the school’s curriculum. By P2, he was already proficient in using Word and Powerpoint. This has come in useful in upper primary. His projects are quite heavy and typically require submission of 2 drafts before the final report. All these require the use of word processors. Being able to type fast is a naturally an advantage.
In fact, in his current school, Ask and Learn is the chosen e-learning platform and being comfortable with using a computer definitely helps when attempting the timed assessments.
So, help your kids get acquainted with your home PC. They will need to use it someday.
Cheers!
Padre -
I used Jumpstart Typing when I was young to learn typing. Though it’s not the most interesting game around, it builds a good foundation. I can proudly say that I type faster than my colleagues & am more familiar with the keyboard than them. I can also type from a printed document without looking at my screen or keyboard.
It’s a good basic skill to start off from young. I started learning to type at P3 and my mum was very fussy about the way I type. She insisted that I had to use the correct fingers for the different alphabets so that I can type by feeling, not looking at the keyboard. I’m glad she did that, cos I’m able to do work more efficiently. -
I have Disney learning's adventure in typing with timon n pumba. got it from carrfour 2 for 10$. sometimes ago.... :lol: but my 6yr old can type now. for her age she is good. I think so....
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In the Dec 09 holidays, I embarked on a computer project with my son.
Instead of buying a new computer, we decided to assemble one with DIY parts and learn about the inner workings of the system.
In the end, we managed to have fun during a weekend and the computer worked beautifully (phew !!). We had another father-and-son pair with us so it was good bonding and learning for everyone. -
THis is a delayed post on an old topic. I agree with Mrs Wong’s message about typing using the correct fingerings as it helps in the long run i.e. you don’t need to look and peck to type.
My dd just went for an intermediate typing course conducted by a Mr Chia (Little typist trainer) at the nearby Community Centre. She had learnt basic typing at school and wanted to learn to type faster. She found the 2 day course fun as the teacher was quite engaging. The kids had little electronic keyboards which counted the number of words typed and accuracy. My dd was so motivated to "beat" her score and I was surprised on the progress.
BTW, I’m not related or connected to Mr Chia. My dd came home and told me that the teacher was showing them yo yo tricks and other things to enliven the teaching. So, it’d be a good class for children to attend. Have fun and learn something. -
no need to be so kancheong about IT at such a young age. In every primary school there is always a class on IT. The things they learn there is enough for them to appreciate what is IT.
When the child is in mid primary, you can introduce Lego Mindstorm to them. It’s a Lego robotic set where you build the robot and program it to move. So the child learn something about programming concepts.
Of course, for the really kiasu parents, there are robotic competitions where the child pit their skills against others in coming up with programs for robots to play football, or go on a search and rescue mission or even to find it’s way in a maze. These programs are not simple. -
Guppy,
Can you please tell me which community centre it was where your child took the typing class?
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