Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Travel
Activity break in Rhône-Alps
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Get smart – touch screens aid literacy SmartphoneS and tablet computers can encourage poor pre-school children to read, a new report says. Youngsters are more likely to enjoy looking at a book and be reading at the right level for their age if they have access to the new technology, it found. the new study, by Britain’s national Literacy trust and education firm pearson suggests there are benefits to young children using both print and a touch screen, compared to reading physical books alone. the findings, based on a poll of around 1,000 parents of three to fiveyear-olds, show that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to have access to touch screens – for example through tablet computers – than their richer peers. But of those children with access to touch screens, pre-schoolers from lower socio-economic backgrounds are twice as likely to look at stories using this technology than those from more privileged homes (16 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent). It goes on to say that children were more likely to enjoy reading if they used both books and a touch screen than reading books alone (77.4 per cent compared to 70.8 per cent). the study concludes: ‘technology offers a route into reading for disad-
by alison kershaw
vantaged three to five-year-old children. of children who have a touch screen at home, children of lower socio-economic status are twice as likely to look at stories daily. ‘We also found that poorer children who use both books and touch screens to look at stories are less likely to perform below the expected standard for their age than if they only look at books.’ the study also viewed parents’ reading habits and found that the more a mum or dad enjoys reading, the more they think their child enjoys the activity. ‘the more often parents read either print or using a touch screen, the more likely children are to look at or read print-based stories,’ it found. It added: ‘the majority of parents think they are very good readers (75.6 per cent) and the more skilled parents say they are at reading, the better their children’s communication and language outcomes at age five.’ nLt director Jonathan Douglas said: ‘technology is playing an increasingly crucial role in all our lives and the ways in which children are learning are changing fast. It is important we keep abreast of these changes and their impact on children’s education.’
‘Technology offers a route into reading’
IT’S ELLENDA KENNY: An Taoiseach Enda Kenny delighted well-wishers looking for the obligatory selfie yesterday as he arrived in Manchester for the start of his St Patrick’s Day engagements. Mr Kenny was persuaded to pose by fellow Mayo man barman Fabian Bohan-Taghian, who served him a coffee at a café near Manchester Town Hall. The Taoiseach moves on to London today and Washington later in the week
Keep Dublin tidy – Please recycle this Metro Herald when you are finished with it