Learning Aids for Elementary Students Back in the Day and Now

Technological advances made in the past 30 years have changed how the world shops, communicates and works. But just as significant, modern technology has vastly affected education and how parents now help their kids with their homework and growing academically.

Learning Then

Rewind to before the 1990s, and parents helped their children with homework and learning much differently. No internet meant that kids used the library, magazines, encyclopedias, atlas, and dictionaries to look up information. This may be shocking to some, but these were actual printed books. In fact, many families kept a current set of twenty-four or more encyclopedias at home that kids used for book reports, essays, and more. In addition, parents purchased workbooks and activity books if children needed more help with math practice, reading, and spelling. 

Having volumes of encyclopedias and reference books in the home might sound unusual.  But this period in learning and teaching had its advantages. Information was reliable. There was no need to wonder about an internet connection to look up information. And, parents trusted the details printed from tried-and-true sources in these books were factual and accurate.

Learning Now

But, the invention of personal computers, tablets, mobile phones, and the internet changed families’ lives drastically. Impressive technological leaps now allow parents work options like never before. With the internet, parents work from home and call and video conference with clients and employers thousands of miles away. Communication and sharing work and information is instantaneous with email, file sharing, and virtual workrooms. With these innovations for business, it did not take long to see the advantages technology could have on education.

Gone are the days of numerous heavy tomes of reference books on bookshelves and trips to the library to find resources for reports. Now kids who need to do a report on NASA, a country, or an event in history look on the internet and find a huge amount of information, including articles, virtual encyclopedia entries, and even take virtual tours. And worksheets that kids previously completed for practice now are available digitally. The digital worksheets still provide the same valuable learning exercises, but now they are bright, colorful, and interactive. That means kids receive feedback as they work on the digital page.

Educational Apps

Parents today, just like those in the past, desire to help their kids do their very best academically. And now, with the use of educational apps, this is accomplished with the click of a button. Learning apps for kids have fun games, videos, and worksheets in digital format. And like their print encyclopedia counterparts of yesteryear, these digital resources are reliable and developed by teachers, writers, and subject matter experts.

The Kids Academy: Gifted and Talented App is one such resource. The app, developed for kids ages two to ten, provides fun learning games for kids. The app achieves a learn-play balance with games, activities, and educational materials aligned with Pre-K New York State Next Generation Learning Standards or Common Core State Standards for grades K-3. The app is comprehensive and easy to use for both parent and child.

The Talented and Gifted app provides instructional games and activities for all core subjects taught from Pre-K to Grade 3 such as:

• English Language Arts (includes phonics)
• Math (Levels Pre-K to Grade 3)
• Reading and Comprehension (Grades K--3
• Social Studies (Grades K—3)
• World Around Us (Social Studies for Pre-K)
• Science (Grades K—3)

And the app includes Art activities for Pre-K and Chess instruction for different grade levels.

Each curriculum consists of chapters containing lessons with various activities:

• Interactive worksheets
• Interactive quizzes
• Games
• Videos (nursery rhymes, educational cartoons, and worksheet explanations)
  
  

In all, there are over 4000 auto-scored activities in the app. And recently, a motivational and entertaining reward feature has been added. Kids collect stars and points to cash in and dress-up Eddie the Elephant with cool accessories.  

Benefits

This fun kids app provides an engaging and cheerful online learning environment for kids that:

• Is age-appropriate
• Covers all major subjects
• Is motivational
• Accomplishes a learn-play balance

And parents benefit with weekly progress reports that show their child’s performance and advancement through the curriculum. Parents easily see what areas and skills their kids excel in and where more practice is needed.

Learning Then and Now

Learning has changed since the 1990s. Effective and dependable strategies from the past now exist in a digital format that is fun, engaging and convenient in a fast-paced world. Learning apps for kids provide parents with numerous instructional options for their kids that didn’t exist when they were young.