Digital classrooms: Are our children learning better, or differently?

Synopsis: Join us for a five-part limited-edition podcast series this November by The Straits Times where we discuss the challenges of raising kids in a world that’s always plugged in.

When MOE fast tracked their plan to provide students with their own personal learning devices because of the Covid-19 pandemic, classrooms in Singapore schools shifted a lot of their lessons online.

While teachers grappled with brushing up their skills to effectively integrate online tools into their lessons, many parents also had to deal with managing the use of these devices at home.

In this episode, Host Elisha Tushara is joined by Professor May Lim, Associate Vice President of Lifelong Learning at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), who is also a mother of two.

Two strong themes surfaced during this discussion was whether this has resulted in a generation of students who lack engaging with complex and long texts, and whether they should be taught intentionality when learning online.

Highlights (click/tap above):

0:00 Intro 

4:26 Is digital learning necessary for lower primary pupils?

5:59 Pen and paper or tablets: Which is better?

7:55 Using gaming to learn, with the right intentions

11:15 Not about the screen duration, but the screen activity

15:45 No smartphones in schools, effective in the long run?

19:58 Good digital habits: Eye breaks, multitasking myths 

23:40 Nurturing a generation of hasty readers

27:28 Home-school conflict

Read more ST Screen Timeout articles: https://str.sg/screentimeout 

Host: Elisha Tushara (elisha@sph.com.sg)

Read Elisha’s articles: https://str.sg/5VVJ

Follow Elisha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/94WA

Produced and edited by: Studio+65 and Fa’izah Sani

Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Amelia Teng

Follow Screens Down, Look Up limited series every Monday (Nov 2 - 30):

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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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