Children's Computer Education in India

Why is computer education for young children a growing concern?

Over the past few years, computers have become a vastly popular household item. The luxury of emailing messages as opposed to charging up the phone bill is more appealing. Checking news, weather, and sports via the Internet is a convenience that many are taking advantage of.Computers offer substantial benefits to young children and their development, and to families as a whole. At the right age, a computer is a wonderful thing that every child deserves to have. Accordingly, if a family can afford a computer without sacrificing other important, traditional childhood experiences, then this environment should contain a computer set-up that can be accessed as easily as books and other playthings and integrated in the family's day-to-day activities in a natural way.

The actual benefit of a computer to a child depends primarily on:

• The quality of parental involvement
• The quality of educational software that the child is using
• Following developmentally appropriate practices in the way the child uses the computer
• Achieving a balanced role for the computer in the child's life as one important element in the mix of quality learning and play opportunities

Our children's lives are already getting influenced by technology – and this is just the beginning. Computers and Internet are here to stay and software titles targeting young children continue to increase. Computer science has become a compulsory subject in Indian schools. Today, We find computers in use everywhere, whether we go to reserve a train ticket or to a Bank. This is because it is faster and helps us complete our work without mistakes/errors. So parents too have realized the need to help their children develop strong computer skills.

Computers benefit the development of fundamental skills...

Good educational software enables children to develop and practice a broad range skills. It can help them learn, for example, about letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and rhythm. Good software can also help children develop their understanding of cause and effect, higher order problem solving, procedural thinking, and creative expression. Today, the wide range of multimedia available for kids in India is really amazing.

Emotional skills: By using a computer children develop self-confidence and self-esteem as they master computer skills and use the computer to make things happen. This also gives them a reason to smile!

Social skills: In the classroom setting or in the home when their friends or parents are available, children often prefer working with one or two partners over working alone, which leads to the development of social skills.

Computers benefit children with special needs...

Computers have proven extremely beneficial to kids with certain speech, audio, and motor limitations. Kids with special needs can use alternative input and output devices (assistive technologies) to interact with computers and do things that they normally could not accomplish independently. They benefit especially from having access to an on-demand, patient tutor that allows them to work at their own pace. What they achieve through using a computer enhances their self-esteem and provides them with a greater sense of control and engagement with the world. The internet provides them with the best of knowledge for their treatments and they can be in touch with doctors or friends through the internet, in India or Abroad. Also, the internet can later help them earn their means of livelihood.

What are the disadvantages of computers for young children?

Computers are very engaging and can exercise a strong "holding power" on children as well as adults. They really seem to mesmerize children. Since we do not yet understand the impact of this power, we need to monitor the amount of time a child spends before a computer.

If the software is not age-appropriate, children are likely to become frustrated and associate a computer with failure.

Kids with access to software that is not age appropriate may be exposed to such negative influences as violence, strong language, and over-stimulation from fast-action graphics.

Frequent and prolonged computer sessions may pose physical health risks for children. The most frequently cited are visual strain, harmful effects of radiation, and posture and skeletal problems. In the case of normal usage and normal operating conditions, however, research has shown that computer monitors are safe and do not compromise the health of our eyes and that computer monitors emit little or no harmful radiation. What does seem to pose a hazard is the strain placed on a child's posture and skeletal structure if she consistently uses a computer set-up designed for an adult.

For Surfing the Internet, parental involvement & control is a must.

How do the benefits and drawbacks compare?

Overall, the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks. And, the fact is, actively involved parents can control most of the drawbacks. This puts even greater responsibility on parents to be vigilant and conservative in their judgment about their children's computer usage. A regular and constant watch is very necessary, especially regarding the internet. Although cyber laws in India are trying to regulate the content within Indian sites, the Internet hold no barriers since it is a World Wide Web. Parents could install  parental control tools to prevent children from going to undesirable sites.

Just what is children's computer education.

Years ago, computer literacy was defined in terms of specific knowledge of computer technology and terminology. Today, it is regarded more as a continuum of awareness, skills, experience, and attitudes based on the age and capabilities of the individual child. 

1.An awareness of what the computer can do – that it is a tool for learning and finding out about things, and for expressing and creating things.

2.An awareness of ideas and behavior that are a part of the computer culture, such as knowledge of safe behavior on the Internet.

3.Basic operational skills learned by immersion in a variety of software programs.

4.A body of successful experiences that over time develop within a child an intuitive feel for dealing with new things that he encounters in a computer environment. Typical examples are how to navigate a new program and how to "trouble-shoot" when something isn't working.

5.An attitude of discovery, mastery, purposefulness, and pleasure in using computers.