DID you realise that the vast majority of children today always have a device in their hands — be it a smartphone or tablet.
As soon as they wake up from sleep to the time they go to bed, these mobile devices are with them all the time, feeding them with things they like and making them happy. These children are the Generation Alpha, those born after 2010.
While some of us may say that too much exposure to mobile devices to the young may cause harm to them, health-wise, we also need to accept the fact that the Generation Alpha are the most technologically infused children in the history of mankind.
They were born with smartphones, tablets, fast broadband, applications and all things touch screen. And these technologies are part of their nature and they may not be able to live without them.
These children don’t have to learn about technology as they have grown up with it. They know how to search for the cartoons they like online or the YouTube videos they want to watch.
The big OLED TV on the wall and satellite TV shows are not interesting enough for them as they would rather watch shows on demand or stream their favourite movies or television series to their personal devices.
They are not afraid of technology and would unhesitatingly try new things that are tech-related.
While we, the Gen X and Y, were struggling and reluctant to use online services like online banking, online shopping, music and movie streaming when they were made available, the Generation Alpha’s main way of banking and shopping will be online, and buying things will be through online platforms as the preferred option.
Music and movies are always streamed. They do not know what a CD is, what more a VHS.
Naturally, the Generation Alpha will be far smarter and efficient than the generation before them, just like we are before the generation before us.
So how do we ensure that the Generation Alpha will thrive and become the most technologically-advanced generation.
Firstly, it’s the way they consume education. We have to make it easy and natural for them. Generation Alpha, since they were small, consumed information from their personal devices in the form of videos and apps, and I feel this should be continued as they enter school.
The days of textbooks should be replaced with tablets. Generation Alpha has been consuming information since they were toddlers via mobile devices and should continue the trend when they start schooling and that is the ideal way of making them enjoy the learning process.
Also, these devices are getting cheaper and may cost just a few hundred ringgit if they are purchased on a large scale and with some subsidy from the government, just like the current school textbook scheme.
The curriculum can still be maintained with a slight tweak to the content to suit the current trend. It’s just the method of delivery that requires change — from textbooks to apps format.
I am sure that it will be more fun, engaging and effective for the Generation Alpha to learn this way as they are used to touch screen devices and apps since they were toddlers.
New technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can be incorporated into lessons like Science, History, Geography and many more.
By using tablets, students, for instance, can learn about how the heart functions with AR method where they can explore the heart, go through the veins and arteries from all sides. These would make learning fun and more effective.
In the long run, it will be more economical to teach subjects and cover the syllabus if they are done in an app format, and it will also be easier for the Education Ministry to tweak, change and even update the syllabus, without having to print millions of textbooks.
And by using tablets as the new learning platform, new subjects that matter to the students can be introduced like cyber threats, social media, cyber bullying, online transactions, Internet of Things, etc.
The Generation Alpha is already good at using devices and navigating the Internet, but skills like understanding what online threats are, scams, characteristics of paedophiles, the correct way to transact online, etc, need to be taught.
The issue of carrying heavy bags to school would be automatically addressed as there would be no more need for textbooks when everything is in app format and saved in the clouds.
Sekolah Seri Puteri in Cyberjaya uses iPad and teachers there found it an eye-opener and an innovative way to teach their students. This has resulted in the teachers becoming more creative in their teaching methods using Apple’s Pages, Keynote, iMovie and other software programmes and applications.
The writer is Tech Editor of The New Straits Times and has 25 years’ experience covering and writing technology stuff in the consumer, enterprise, telecommunications and emerging technology space