The digital landscape is fast-evolving and the advent of technology is certainly here to stay. With each passing day, new technological advancements continue to emerge, and it is becoming increasingly likely that majority of the earth’s jobs will be replaced by digital systems and Artificial Intelligence. As a matter of fact, statistics indicate that 60 to 70 per cent of career paths will be replaced by generative AI over the next decade.
As a parent, it is important you equip your ward with the right digital skills to ensure that they develop proper analytical and critical thinking skills, and remain relevant with the emergence of new innovations.
Holding insightful conversations with your ward about technology, computer languages, digital systems, AI and everything in between is a vital way to start. Your child may not develop an interest in developing the right tech skills until he or she knows what is at stake for him or her and how much of an impact technology is making on our society. Enforce digital literacy within your home; encourage his or her curiosity and ensure you are readily available to answer certain questions your ward may have about technology.
Enroll your ward in code camps and programmes that introduce them to basic concepts in various aspects of technology. Grant him or her access to educative resources that are age appropriate and highly informative. Find internet resources that set up foundational knowledge on key Windows environment tools like Word and Excel, and computer languages such as Python and R for your ward.
One of the major benefits of providing your ward with these learning tools is that it aids brain development and improves thinking capacity, which will certainly begin to reflect in your ward’s academic pursuits among other key areas if properly managed.
Staying involved throughout the learning process is highly important. It is one thing to set him or her on the right path, but holding his or her hands and making regular accounts for his or her progress is very crucial – more so for younger age groups.
Find ways to learn together and complete simple projects with him or her. It will go a long way in continually reinforcing his or her interest. If possible, supply him or her regularly with projects; based on his or her level of learning that put his or her knowledge to test. It will continuously keep him or her on his or her toes, and help him or her to find creative ways to solve analytical problems.
It will help to find a friend in your child’s peer group who shares a similar interest. Learning new concepts can be fun, but learning with friends can be even more rewarding for your ward. Find out if there are coding clubs or tech clubs at your ward’s primary or secondary school, and ensure he or she is a part of it. Get in touch with parents in your neighbourhood and parents of some of your child’s closest friends and try to convince them to get on board with you in the learning process with their own wards. This could lead to the formation of a healthy study group.
