Are your kids future ready?
Collaborative learning and digital literacy are hot topics in many educational spheres, and for good reason. Children who learn and develop an understanding of these skills and technologies earlier in their lives tend to learn them more effectively, and are able to use them more consistently in the world around them. This leads to many more, as well as much better opportunities for students, particularly as they transition into young adults, and begin to enter the workforce.
What are the benefits?
The benefits of learning coding and programming early are twofold. First off, students who are digitally literate have much higher employment prospects then those who aren't. This is because, as the world becomes more reliant on digital technologies, those who are digitally literate are more efficient at navigating the requirements of the modern work environment then those who aren't, and their employment mobility will reflect this.
Second, as with learning a second language, there are numerous cognitive benefits that come from mastering the rigours of learning coding and programming. It opens up new ways of thinking, and teaches students to process visual space in different dimensions than what they may normally be taught. It also stengthens processes in key areas of the brain that are responsible for critical thinking, spacial organization, and memory retention.
Lastly, creative and formal writing skills are enhanced through collaborative learning practices, as writing in collaboration with peers of different backgrounds and perspectives often helps students frame their own ideas and sentiments better. Furthermore, both the cooperative and competitive sides of collaborative learning have been proven to improve both understanding and retention, as students learn to feed off each other's creativity and persistence in a number of different ways.