Learning’s not like it was when I was a kid! We had books – usually smelling slightly of dust and age. There were libraries, with more books. There was the news at the cinema. And, there were the BBC schools’ programmes. These were the highlight of the week.
Visual images were generally static and mostly black and white. Early on, even the television (which not everyone had) was black and white. We did not have videos.
Modern children are surrounded by rapidly moving images, sounds and electronic stimuli from a very early age. Increasingly, education is accessed via a computer and parents can start their toddlers learning with the use of http://www.learningonline.org . This is a system which goes on right through primary school.
The older generation, brought up with books, may feel that the young are missing out on the pleasures of reading. And they may be right. Reading certainly stimulates the imagination better than anything. But, particularly for pre-school children, videos, video games, films, etc., are recognised and very much more exciting.
Learning online videos are a useful aid for the thoughtful parent, being under their control and much more stimulating than the brain-numbing television. The main concern is, of course, that they will replace human interaction and actual physical activity, both of which are essential to a child’s development.
Contrary to what some of the older generation would like to believe, parents and teachers are no more out of touch or lazy than their predecessors. There is every chance that learning videos and similar teaching aids will produce equally bright, lively children and ones, moreover, who have actually enjoyed learning.