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Last year in the UK, 91% of all adults over the age of 16 responded that they had recently used the internet, and a whopping 99% of 16 to 44-year olds reported being an internet user.
Interestingly, an even more positive statistic is that, each year, an increasing number of adults over the age of 75 are reporting to be active internet users – growing to almost 45% last year.
Our internet usage, as well as the number of activities we undertake online, will not dissipate any time soon. Whatever our age, we have all noticed a marked shift towards online transactions and interactions in light of COVID-19. Many universities have confirmed to students that their next academic year will begin with entirely virtual lessons, for instance, and many adults are using the internet for the first time to order food deliveries or manage their finances in lieu of going to the bank.
With respect to online learning, people of all ages have sought to refine their skills or learn something new in recent months. In fact, searches for ‘online learning’ reached their peak in April this year. Several charities and organisations aimed at supporting the elderly during these uncertain times have been equally quick to get on board with this rising trend, knowing themselves how online learning can benefit elderly adults by increasing their computer literacy, allowing them to pass on their experience, and helping combat the loneliness that many older adults feel.
In fact, charity Age UK has recently created a “University of the Third Age” (U3A) programme, designed entirely to help put elderly, isolated individuals virtually in touch with adults of all ages so they can acquire a new skill or share information with others. Other organisations and charities are equally doing all they can to make online learning as accessible as possible for adults of every age. 8Billionminds very much seeks to replicate this attitude by making its platform as accessible as possible – regardless of age or subject of interest. The fact 8BM developers are working on making the website design as simplistic and straightforward as they can, to cater for all age ranges, is a testament to its ease of access commitment.
Everybody has information or a skill they can share. The elderly, with their informed wisdom and experience, more than most. When more than three-in-five elderly respondents to a recent Merrill Lynch survey confirmed that they were actively seeking out new educational opportunities, it is evident that there is a demand there for a service like 8BM. As we see a marked shift towards the older population becoming active internet users, it is fortunate that online platforms like 8Billionminds are here to serve their educational needs. Age really is just a number when it comes to online learning.
Author
Lloyd Ross
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Coronavirus has fundamentally changed the way both we and future generations will acquire information. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), over 1.2 billion children who were once learning within a classroom environment are now undertaking lessons virtually or, sadly, out of education for the foreseeable future. The prestigious University of Cambridge has announced that all its lectures are to go entirely online for the 2020-2021 academic year, raising questions among today’s youth as to what exactly their tuition fees are going towards – and will undoubtedly allow cheaper online-learning platforms to compete for its market share. Disabled students and alumni at the university have criticised the institution on social media in recent weeks for the fact their requests for online learning options, to overcome building inaccessibility issues, had been continually rejected and only by way of a global pandemic has the institution moved towards the 21st century. It therefore seems this pandemic is set to become the biggest catalyst for educational change in a generation. But what exactly might those changes be?
Firstly, many people – myself included – have utilised confinement to their homes as a chance to undertake online classes to upskill themselves, either while furloughed or waiting for the jobs market to reopen. With unemployment reaching 40 million in the United States alone, many are now using their time to proactively add new skills and qualifications to their CV to become that ‘standout candidate’ in an increasingly competitive employment market. Some online learning platforms have recorded, last month alone, a 360% increase in the number of students enrolling on their courses as they seek to expand their skillset. The combination of having no alternative means to learn except online, alongside more free time, undoubtedly means that more individuals will continue to make time to acquire a skill or learn something new in the months ahead.
Secondly, even educational activities that once required physical interaction have now entered the digital age. For example, some schools in Lebanon, according to the WEF, have moved their Physical Education classes to online platforms altogether. Students are required to film themselves exercising by way of creating ‘Personal Trainer’ videos for their peers, showcasing their unique dance moves or warm-ups, and subsequently must use video editing software to professionalise them. This PE-ICT crossover is certainly here to stay, as parents acknowledged their children had not only met their exercise requirements but had also learned about video formatting and editing in the process. This is definitely something they would not have otherwise been able to do whilst simply running around a track. Seen as a win-win by Lebanese teachers, students, and parents alike, it is hard to envisage such ingenuity disappearing from lesson plans.
As children return to school, the digital element which they have grown used to over the last several months will not dissipate to ‘business as usual’ any time soon. Governments across the world are already investing in cloud-based software which will undoubtedly make remote online learning more accessible, if not compulsory. To end on a note of positivity, it is actually ‘poorer’ nations that are utilising this pandemic to get their children online. Again, whilst the WEF have said the cost of online learning platforms run the risk of leaving less-affluent students behind, thanks to the increased presence of free-to-use online forums to share and exchange knowledge, such as 8Billionminds, and free-to-use software like Google Hangouts to exchange ideas, there are many reasons to be hopeful that this digitisation of education as a result of COVID-19 will be positively affect children the world over.
Thanks to the WEF for its March 2020 Report on COVID’s impact on Global Education for the statistical information included in this post.
Author
Lloyd Ross
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Wellbeing can be defined in many ways, but broadly speaking, our life satisfaction and feelings which derive from the realisation of potential and our daily functioning, mark a global understanding of good mental wellbeing.
In 2008 the NEF (New Economics Foundation) produced a document as a result of a mental capital and wellbeing project, which sets out 5 actions to improve everyone’s mental wellbeing through life. They are:
As for the final point, volunteering is a great opportunity for people to give. It enriches our communities in so many ways, as well as contributing to our own personal growth. On average 1 in 5 people in employment volunteered in 2018.
The positive messages, that building our confidence and self esteem reinforces in ourselves, champions the concept of volunteering as a practical way of contributing to our communities.
Research shows that those with high self-esteem predominantly focus on growth and improvement rather than their counterparts who focus on making mistakes. Being in a volunteering setting where you can learn and develop both yourself and your skills also helps boasts the sense of achievement you feel, which again reinforces the high self-esteem many positive people feel.
Finally, volunteering is also a way of finding a sense of identity. Whether it is by putting yourself in a new environment or exploring new interests or strengthening interests close to your heart, it really can generate a sense of place and togetherness. 8Billionminds echoes that. Made up of a team of more than 20 volunteers it is gratifying that we are all working with the ethos that, behind the global learning platform we are building, we believe in the strength of live learning and focusing on people’s growth and improvement above all else.
Author
Anna-Maria Amato
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The importance of reading cannot be overstated. It underpins access to education, ‘if you can read, you can learn anything’.
Even though it is a skill that we have been learning in our masses since the popularisation of printing it is a skill that does not come naturally to everyone.
Globally 14% of the world’s population cannot read or write. In the UK, the National Literacy Trust reports that 1 in 5 children leave primary school unable to read or write properly.
Technology can support reading skills in many ways.
Firstly, there are the obvious ways that assistive technologies (such as text to speech) can support the skill-based challenges associated with reading. These challenges are sounding out words, developing fluency and developing comprehension.
Secondly, technology can help to develop an interest and motivation to read. There are many ways that this is achieved but one way is simply by providing a variety of platforms on which a person can access and read a book. In doing so, truth can be found in Serafini’s statement that ‘there is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.’ For many people who are reluctant readers, the right book is an e-reader or an iPad.
Assistive technologies on electronic readers can create an immersive environment where you can read and listen to the words simultaneously alongside real-time highlighting of the text. This follow along captures and prolongs attention spans and of course improves fluency and comprehension of the text.
E-readers also provide the potent alchemy of
This combination can simplify the reading process not just for people with dyslexia but for others who struggle to read. The consequence is that people are likely to spend more time reading. Generally, increased time spent on reading will result in increased skill levels.
The connection of reading devices to the internet offers an additional way that technology can stimulate interest in reading. The internet offers access to a community of readers which in turn can promote awareness of a particular book and by extension interest in reading.
Goodreads is a well-known online site that does this. Its tag is ‘Meet your next favourite book’. There is provision on this site for book reviews, to log the books that you have read and generally to converse about the world of characters in novels that you are reading or want to read.
Digitalbooktalk offers something similar. It has been described as ‘trailers for books’. You can watch short videos recommending popular books and you can submit your own.
The National Literacy Trust’s 2020 survey indicated that 53% of children enjoy reading ‘very much’ or ‘quite a lot’. One of the reasons that children may not enjoy books is because their reading skills are limited and thus too is the type of story they can access. When a child falls behind their peers they may be stuck with rudimentary texts which are unlikely to invoke interest or excitement, whilst their peers have gone on to read fantastical tales of wizards and zombies and never-ending beanstalks.
A child may fall behind if they fail to grasp phonics, the association of the correct sound(s) with the correct letter(s). Synthetic phonics is by far the most widely used approach to teach reading and writing. A child is taught to produce each individual sound in a word and then blend them together to sound out the word. For some this connection becomes an easy automatic process. For others the recollection remains fragmented or delayed and it must be practised again and again and again. Fortunately, there are many apps which can help a child (or adult) to do this.
Once a person accomplishes the basic skills of reading: sounding out words, fluency, and comprehension, they are on their way to becoming an independent reader. For some, this will only be possible with the use of technology.
The inclusion of technology in our personal and professional lives is widespread. Sometimes it may feel intrusive and extraneous but assistive technologies for reading is one area where technology can actually be essential for some.
references
https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/4-inspired-tech-solutions-for-reluctant-readers
https://www.digitalbooktalk.net/
https://www.educationalappstore.com/best-apps/phonics-apps-for-kids
https://www.literacytrust.org.uk
Author
Jinaka Ugochukwu
