Many of us grew up watching TV. It was great and probably sucked when we were told that we were watching too much TV or that too much TV was not good for us. Well, this is true but only half way.
Research findings are showing that children who are interacting with interactive digital media such a tablet PC’s such as the iPad, smart phones and games such as the Nintendo Wii. In an interesting article on the impact of new digital technology on education, some interesting perspectives emerge that may make that Nintendo Wii the perfect Christmas gift for a child.
You see children learn better when they are engaged. TV does not do this very well because it is a very passive form of digital interaction. But for a child who is playing a simple game on say an iPad, the two-way interaction becomes a learning experience. Psycho-motor skills (the skills that enable hand-eye coordination) are also built and developed in this way.
As children grow, they may take on more complex games and other digital media that now begin developing their higher reasoning functions as well as problem solving skills. It’s also a fact that grownups can indeed also learn from interacting with these gadgets, that is, if they don’t spend all their time playing Angry Birds, Mafia Wars or Farmville.
