The Learning Success Blog

Is your smart phone making you less smart?

According to a survey of 3600 people our digital devices like smartphones, tablets, and computers are degrading our ability to remember. They are giving us “digital amnesia”.

The survey by Panda Security found, for example, that over 82 percent of parents wouldn’t be able to remember their children’s phone number if they had to. 

See the survey report here.

Today’s entrepreneurs are starting businesses at a young age, and some have managed to establish their own companies while they’re still in primary school.

There’s Maya Penn, who successfully launched a sustainable jewellery business called Maya’s Ideas when she was just eight years old.

Then there’s seven-year-old Ryan, who reportedly made $31 million online due to the success of his YouTube channel RyanToys Review. These kids prove that age doesn’t equal success as they were able to turn their ideas into thriving businesses.

If your child is thinking about launching their own business venture, you’ll need to teach them how to properly plan and manage it so their efforts will be rewarded in the future.

Moreover, they’ll need to develop certain skills in order to make it in the competitive business world. Here’s a guide to teach children about entrepreneurship.

As an educator who specialised in teaching children to read, I tried lots of different methods. Some worked with some children and some worked with others but there wasn’t one that I could say was super effective.

For 3 years I ran a reading group before school which we called Early Birds for the children who needed more help with literacy. We staffed the program with parents and volunteers and every morning before school we would see up to 15 or 16 children for a twenty-minute lesson, one on one. And when we did that, we started to see the children make progress in their reading. 

Since most learning is now moving into the digital age, teaching your kids about cybersecurity is a must. Here are some very real reasons why!

Identity Theft

Over 1 million children had their identities stolen, and that number is growing exponentially, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research survey. Children are often specifically targeted by hackers and identity thieves, since kids tend to have clear credit records compared to adults.

Once criminals obtain enough information to open up a bank account in your child’s name, they go on to rack up mountains of debt. To prevent this from happening to your child, it’s critical that they are taught basic cybersecurity protocols that prevent identity theft by not talking to strangers online or giving out sensitive personal information via email or text.

Malware and Viruses

Australians are enamoured with video games and a recent survey has shown that more than two thirds of the population are avid gamers. While some people believe that gaming is just a shallow way to pass the time, 60 percent of those who were polled say that playing video games can be beneficial for students.

And over 50 percent said that their children use games for school purposes. Apart from being an interactive and fun way to learn, video games can also have surprising benefits for kids as they can pick up positive values and develop new skills from gaming.

Here are the valuable lessons your child can learn from playing video games.

Something had to be done!

So, with a vote of 92-3 the Alabama state parliament enacted the Alabama Literacy Act beginning in 2020 to ensure that every child was reading at grade level by Year 3.

They nominated a task force to recommend a comprehensive core reading program and assessments to be used by local schools and that job fell to Tim Solley.

Solley is a kindly, bespectacled, grey-haired man who looks like he could be your kid’s soccer coach. In fact, he is a leading educational advocate and the Assistant Superintendent of the Madison School District which comprises 17 different schools.

Solley takes up the story:

A lack of financial literacy can have major consequences that last a lifetime, yet around 50% of Australians struggle with financial literacy as reported in a Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The problem is more pronounced in women than in men.

In the survey, 50% of men obtained a 5/5 score when asked five basic financial questions, while only 35% of women achieve this score. Financial literacy is not something that should be left until after school or university, since many Australians will have to make decisions on aspects such as student loans when they are young.

How can you help your child build a good financial base so they can be aware of the consequences of issues like the type of loans they take or the importance of paying taxes when they are due?

With millions of Australian kids back in school, learning has been kicked into high gear as the country’s children try to make up for any lost time in the classroom. While experts have reiterated the importance of classroom learning in a child’s education, there is also plenty of learning opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting.

For years, studies have shown the benefits of play to a child’s development and provide a great platform for encouraging learning and bonding at home. From developing their financial skills at home to encouraging the growth of their social skills, here is how parents can use role play and games to teach their child key life skills and support their classroom learning.

Can you get your struggling students to achieve 4 times the reading growth you would normally expect from 2 months of teaching?

One group of primary and early high school students did last year.

Read how in the article below, reproduced from The Science of Learning Blog.

In a world where financial literacy is trending, Australia is leading the list of countries that need to ramp up financial education and encourage family involvement in the learning process. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey revealed that almost 50 percent of Australian households struggle with poor financial literacy.

Those with low financial literacy were shown to have worse financial health, were more likely to experience financial stress, and had a lower likelihood of saving. Yet, financial education involves much more than how to spend their money. Ethical finance centres on not just how to spend your money, but knowing whether your financial decisions are responsible ones.

The best way to combat this is to provide ample opportunities for your child to learn about ethical financial decision as soon as possible so that it becomes the new norm.