Education Corner: Time to embrace technology

Many adults are more afraid of technology than children. Instant communication is here to stay, so it is important to spend time providing guidance to our children on how to use it responsibly. Technology provides way more positives than negatives.

Technology makes it easier for us to stay in contact with our children than 30 years ago. With today’s phones, you can track your child’s location in real-time, instantly knowing if they are where they said they would be. Also, today’s phones and devices have settings that parents or guardians can use to limit what their children do on them.

We are also able to stay in contact with family members who may live in a different city, state, or country. You can share pictures and be part of their lives like we have never been able to experience.

You no longer have to wait for your pictures to be developed; we can see them in seconds. We can use this technology to expand our children’s education. Taking time and having them tell you about the pictures on your phone from past experiences helps them build their recall memory. Those images can also be used to predict what could happen next.

Phones can also help kids who are developing reading skills. Having your children use text messaging supports their reading and writing skills. You should choose to disable speech-to-text on their devices for the greatest gain. There are other programs you can have them use on their personal devices that allow them to learn and improve their math, reading, and writing skills as well. This is not the traditional way we often think of learning, but some children don’t always learn the traditional way, therefore, we have to embrace that there are other methods of building understanding.

Technology will only continue to evolve, so as parents and grandparents, it is our responsibility to guide our youth in using it responsibly.

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Scott Smith has been in education for the past 43 years. Smith currently lives with his wife in Mosier and serves on the Board of Decoding Dyslexia of Oregon.