Technology in the 21st century is accompanying us at every step – be it at the professional stage, where more and more people work in the office at the computer, preparing documents, presentations, creating movies or music, or in everyday life – using social media is an integral part of the day to almost all of us. Technology also plays a role at every stage of education, be it elementary, high school or college. During lessons, teachers more and more often implement digital tools, for example, they use multimedia presentations, screen films or use educational games, thus activating the class to take an active part in the lesson.
The digital world has also affected one of the youngest groups – preschool children. Many children can use a smartphone before they can talk or even walk. I can confirm this myself with my own experience – my youngest brother, who was not yet able to speak fluently and clearly, was able to check the weather forecast for the next day on his mother’s phone.
Nowadays, probably everyone knows how many negative consequences can be caused by the misuse or abuse of 21st century gadgets. However, it does not have to be this way! Technology can do a lot of good to kids’ lives – of course, if used properly, if you show your child the valuable features of modern gadgets. Parents and kindergarten teachers can support each other with various digital tools that help to educate the skills necessary for children in the future.
One such useful digital material can be interactive books – be it in the form of an e-book or a separate application. Many such materials can be found on the web, but it is not always easy to find. That’s why the ABI Books project partners are searching for such books and creating a digital library that will contain them.
Often, kindergarten teachers and parents have their own ideas for creating such books, but they lack the knowledge and skills to do so. Here, too, the ABI Books project will come in handy, as the partners will also start working on tutorials for caregivers of pre-school children, thanks to which everyone will be able to learn how to create their own interactive digital books.
As an older brother of a preschool child and as an elementary school math teacher, I strongly encourage you to follow the progress of the ABI Books project . Getting to know its results will bring many benefits to us, the caretakers of children, and the youngest themselves.
Jakub Karch, ARTeria Foundation