Nowadays, most of the households have technological devices such as smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops. Kids in the present scenario are more likely to spend their time with technological devices rather than with books and outdoor games.
We are seeing continuously that innovations in technology enhance learning and it makes classrooms without boundaries .
Kids must be having the knowledge of computers, in order to learn many more things with them in the future. So, it’s your responsibility as a teacher or a parent, to engage your kids with computers at the earliest possible. Here is a list of 10 great online tools you can engage your kindergartners with, on a computer in a right way to explore. These tools will provide you with all the necessary knowledge that is required for accessing a computer and also train you for safe internet usage.
ABCya:
ABCya provides various computer games for kids. Let me tell you about a basic software it provides. Children use different computer devices every day. Some devices are used to input information, while others are to output information from our computers. Computer Input and Output Devices is an interactive software that teaches and tests kids on the input and output devices of a computer. There are many such apps on the website. Make it engaging with your kids and students.
Mouse Skills:
Tidy the Classroom is an interactive web application that will teach your kids about the usage of the mouse. Single click, Double click, Drag and Drop functionalities, etc. are taught interactively with illustrations. Bees & Honey is another similar application that will teach your kids all about the active mouse movements.
Key Board usage:
This tool makes use of an interactive animated video to teach your kids about the usage of mouse and keyboard. It also offers a small test at the end of the video, to assess their learning. Kids can easily learn through the useful tips explained here. They also get to know about the usage of the Space Bar, Enter key and all keyboard letters & numbers.
Computer Parts:
This is an awesome video tool that will teach your kids about various computer parts like keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. It also explains the usage of those parts and tests your kids to recognize them in an interactive way.
Find the Technology:
Find the Technology is an advanced learning web application for kindergarteners. It is a massive web room full of technology things, and your task will be to find out the technological devices available in it. You need to click on the thing whose name is displayed on the screen. This can be is a beneficial app for kids.
Organize the Technology:
This interactive web application includes many things like recognizing a technological device, naming it and matching it by dragging the word into the box provided in front of the device. This tool provides multiple benefits for kids.
These are the tools that will provide knowledge about computer parts, usage and practice for your kids.
After getting this basic knowledge, they can explore the web; before that there are some precautions, safety tips and few terminologies they need to know. Let’s learn some tools which will train how to use the internet safely.
Webonauts- Computer Safety Training:
The Webonauts Internet Academy empowers kids to make responsible and respectful decisions in their online interactions. Assuming the role of a Webonaut, kids explore a series of missions that teach key issues of web safety and digital citizenship. Kids will surely love this virtual interactive software and it will let them know everything about computer safety in an interactively engaging way.
Surf Swell Island:
The Surf Swell Island is an interactive web application that will teach your kids about Internet safety in a an interactive question-based manner. While kids play a quiz, it’ll explain them the safety precautions they should take while dealing with online friends. It also explains the symbols and abbreviations used.
CyberQuoll:
Watch the Quoll cousins as they experience the pitfalls and triumphs of being cyber smart on the internet. In six fun cartoon adventures, they give helpful hints and tips for staying cyber safe.
To ensure safe Internet browsing and access to your kids, you can exercise some search and safety preferences to limit or have control of their access on the Internet..
Google Safe search preferences:
Google safe search preferences will provide you the search preferences and priorities. If you turn on the safe search , it will filter the sexually explicit content, which is unsuitable for a certain age group, from your search results. You can also enable voice search options for your searches.
We hope these tools will help you engage your kids with computer and internet usage. Nowadays, technology helps children to become smarter at very young age, so make sure your child is aware of all the technological aspects and is accustomed to their use. Share your personal views in the comment box.