Source: News 18
Change in curriculum, good and bad online practice should be part of the curriculum, say parents and teachers as long hours of online teaching make children vulnerable to cyber bullying and abuse.
Inappropriate content to sexual abuse – children learning online have to fight more than just long hours of screentime. Over 1.5 billion children and young people have been affected by school closures worldwide, says UNICEF. Spending more time on virtual platforms can leave children vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and grooming, as predators look to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, added UNICEF.
Indian students and teachers too are working to ensure the safety of children as reopening of physical schools for all kids is not in sight soon. Since online learning is here to stay, academicians want policymakers to ensure the cyber safety of kids is a priority.
Bengaluru-based Martin Henry, whose son studies in class 5 at a CISCE-affiliated school, “Children spend a lot of time on the internet and the kind of content they browse online are way out of parents’ imaginations.”
“I personally feel that cyber safety should be a priority. It is not only the school’s responsibility alone, but the parents should also be equally part of it,” he adds. At home, he is trying to make online classes safer for his son by ensuring parental control, a secured WiFi network, blocking suspicious sites, limiting the number of websites visited per day, and keeping a strict schedule.
Even on safe sites, many children have to face bullying but in digital space, crashing of unknown people into a class are not one of instances. Pranav Sudhir Kashyap, a class 12 student of CBSE-affiliated CMR National Public School, Bengaluru told news18.com that he and his friends have seen instances of cyberbullying. “Students have to be protected against cyberbullying as well. I think it is essential for schools to reach out to students and motivate them to be frank about their feelings and experiences. Only then will online schooling become secure and possibly the new norm.”
When it comes to online classes taught by the schools they “have also set their own identification systems to allow only the students that are enrolled. In this manner, teaching is uninterrupted.”
Good online practices need to be part of the curriculum
Just like teaching good touch and bad touch has been streamlining, we need to mainstream hygenic digital habits in kids, said Nirmala Menon, CEO, and founder of Interweave Consulting.
“Children should be taught to recognise what is acceptable and not in online texting and conversations and that no one, whether from peers, staff or faculty can cross boundaries,” she says.
“Both teachers and parents should be involved in teaching the students and at the same time, depending on the age of the child, s/he must be appropriately empowered and equipped to confidently call out bad experiences without any guilt”, adds Menon.
Meghna Yadav, Head of Training and Development at KLAY Preschools and Daycare feels that students too should be trained about internet safety and “the training of good, bad, and ugly starts as soon as digital exposure starts for very young children.” Yadav explains that the way parents talk about healthy food habits with their children, they should talk about a healthy digital diet with their children as well.
“Children need to be taught about digital resilience which includes the risks that can be found online, what to do if something goes wrong, putting multiple checks and digital blocks are some of the steps to make it safe,” adds Yadav. “Open conversations in the family regarding real-life incidents of cybercrime are important. Entertainment websites, social media, mobile, and video games need to be consumed in a very limited quantity,” she said.
Source: New indian express
Child authors from Bengaluru speak about their books written during the lockdown period
BENGALURU: If we asked you to use your imagination and picture an author of four fantasy novels, what would you see? Would it be an ageing man or a woman hunched over a desk?
We often associate accomplished authors with age and experience. But today, young authors are changing the dynamics of the publishing world.
Fifteen-year-old Rakshan Pandian had the intense desire to write during the lockdown in 2020. His debut novel Chronaethion, a high fantasy novel, is for children of 12 years and above. The book is an immersive, adventure fantasy novel that follows a banished prince, princess and their guardians through a time-distorted land, guided by a mysterious boy.
Rakshan, a grade 10 student from Inventure Academy, describes the book as ‘magical literature’. “It was all my imagination and was very spontaneous,” he says when asked about the creative process behind his writing. A fan Brandon Sanderson and William Shakespeare’s work, Rakshan says that his grandfather inspired him to write the book.
Why did he picked fantasy and what were the challenges he faced? “I was able to fully immerse myself in fantasy and use my imagination. The editing process was a little strenuous,” he shares.
Rakshan surprised his family with his creative prowess. His mother Rajeshwari says that she was taken aback at first. “Rakshan is an avid reader,” she says, adding, “But, when it came to writing, we had to force him to write anything more than a sentence right from kindergarten. This (book) came as a surprise to all of us.”
Seven-year-old Jiya Gangadhar, studying at Ekya Schools, JP Nagar, is the author of a children’s book L is for Lockdown - Jiya’s Journal of Lockdown Lessons. It’s a creative non-fiction piece, transcribed from the diary she kept during the pandemic, where she wrote about the experiences and challenges she faced.
“When the lockdown was announced, we started our online classes. I had a lot of time to spare as I was at home; I started to write all my experiences in a diary. When my book was published and I saw it on Amazon, it was the happiest moment for me,” says Jiya.
“We were happy to see a book authored by one of our students. Jiya had imbibed a good habit of writing in her diary and the effort of her mother to recognise her passion for writing is really appreciated,” says Sreepriya Unnikrishnan, principal, Ekya School.
Speaking about young authors, Upamanyu Dhar, a literature enthusiast, says, “India has a pool of very talented authors. It is heartening to see young authors make a name for themselves. The world
needs more books written by young people.”
Source: The Hans India
Looking at the current COVID-19 scenario and the third wave looming large, online classes are expected to continue. It's been 18 months since the pandemic struck, bringing about a paradigm shift in the learning space. As the schools remain closed, educational institutions have adapted to this change in conforming to the online mode of education ensuring that students' learning is not hampered. However, the most challenging part of online classes is to make sure that the classes are effective and students are attentive.
To make the online classes more interactive and interesting, new and improvised strategies need to be employed. The idea is to get the attention of the students, keep them motivated, engaged and also participate. Besides teaching skills, teachers have to use their creativity and adopt strategies that will help set students up for success. Being in a home environment and surrounded by potential distractions, keeping students engaged, motivated, and interested in their learning can be one of the biggest challenges. The goal is to make teaching fun, reciprocating, and inspiring using various innovative strategies.
Have expert speaker sessions: Attending continuous online classes can be challenging as it involves a lot of screen time and often diverts the focus as students feel tired, lose interest and miss attending the classes. They may be present before the screen but their attention can be somewhere else. To keep their interest going and break the monotonous chain, bringing in expert speakers occasionally can be motivational. Experts from diverse fields interact with students and share their experiences.
Develop multiple learning options: Including activities in lessons makes class sessions engaging and interesting for students. Storytelling, puzzles, quiz, role plays, debates capture students' attention and keep them effectively engaged in learning.
Make your presentation appealing: Educators need to use presentations that are creative, appealing and easy to understand. Simple presentations can be made interesting by adding animated explainer videos, short animations, illustrations, graphs, pictures, clip arts, etc. This will engage the students better and make understanding concepts easier.
Provide interactive and co-curricular activities: Organizing activities such as breakfast clubs, lunch clubs for the entire class during the weekends will help students to unwind, engage socially and make the learning more fun and enjoyable.
Make your students feel valued: Getting to know your students, addressing every child by his/her name, checking in periodically, listening to them - their interests, needs, challenges, goals, encouraging them, giving positive feedback prove helpful and make the students feel valued. Additionally, giving affirmations and awarding their work with stars and badges will keep them motivated in finishing their tasks.
(The author is Founder & MD, Ekya Schools and Provost, CMR University)