Page 6 - SENeXtra Sept 2021

The future of education and why a one
. . . ,
size fits all approach Isn t best

The impact of lockdowns It i for those who need it, which really helps
The past year has been a difficult one — in letting children take charge of the
for many — especially for children. E ,_g ‘T activity themselves. And, through the
Lockdown learning and disruptions ‘ _-~ _ .n , l , reward of earning stars and ticks for
to routines have meant many have V '- * 1 ‘ accuracyin answering,A| can beagreat
fallen behind in their education. In fact, "_:_ by \, motivating factor in making children
teachers have said pupils are as much V A 42, want to succeed.
as three-months behind where they ‘ #4.’, V’ :.
should be. " IQ .‘ When you consider the impact of the

. 5’ '~ “ ' past year, the future of EdTech is set to
Parents and teachers have both 5;‘ ‘ ‘ V be huge and we will need to integrate
struggled with what the pandemic has ', ~ online personalised methodologies
thrown our way, and many who have I with traditional offline programs. We're
children with special educational needs “I ' ’ seeing more schools adopting online
and disabilities (SEND) have expressed ' ' ‘ programs and we predict that children
concerns about being letdown with the different and for this reason, a one will need to take ownership of their
difficulties of multiple lockdowns. size fits all approach to education isn’t learning too.

always the best.
Not only that, but the impact on mental Children are able to grow with these
health is also huge. Research suggests The approach assumes that all pupils programs as they adapt to their learning
that 83% of young people who have a learn in the same way, at the same and they also have a role to play in
pre-existing mental health need have speed. This isn’t the case. While it helping to replace costly tutors or in-
said that coronavirus has made their is important to cover the syllabus, person after school learning centres,
condition worse, and many children curriculums should be tailored to each which aren’t always the best option
who were ‘just about coping’ before person in order for them to get the for everyone.
lockdown are now struggling. Studies best possible education and chance
show that many mental health problems of success in the future. EdTech is nothing to be frightened of,
in young people present themselves in fact it is the opposite. Embracing
before they turn 14, yet children with Something I firmly believe in is that technology which works for an
special educational mental health learning should be fun, challenging individual in a fun and engaging way
needs are one of the largest groups and rewarding — but without being is one of the best ways to help boost
to be excluded from school. It is an overwhelming. Encouraging children educational results.
understatement to say that this has to do a little each day, with a strong
had an overwhelming impact on focus, is much betterthan getting them Javier Arroyo, Co-founder of Smartick,
their learning. to sit down once a week for hours on an innovative, artificial intelligence

end without their full attention. powered online maths program for
Recognising the individual children aged four to 14.
This is why it is important we take a Technology has a huge role to play in
look at how we’re teaching. It is vital this, particularly when you introduce uk.smartickmethod.com
we recognise that each individual is Artificial Intelligence (Al) which can help facebook.com/Smartick

with adaptive learning. Picking up areas twit'ter.com/Smartick

' 1 of strength and weakness and ensuring
; A children focus on where they need to -
_‘ L improve in a fun and often gamified way
’ helps get results. This is something I
' ' have seen first-hand.
b Embracing technology ‘~, \7- K
- . ‘ . \ Online learning programs which are ‘ a..
» ' \, .',~ -*3; - .,ll”‘ short, engaging and motivating, is the ’ , ’ :
as? T’ keY to a child's success. The lessons
.. . ~ should be just the right length to keep _
them interested, and also engaging ,
. 1 through the use of fun activities, bright E a . \
go - -v. _,3f.t' colours and characters which help '1 ,
' ' ,,’,}j’j."' bring the work to life. There could be p 24’ ’ £
% ‘ the option to have questions read aloud ‘J _