صورة : تانيا سباسوجيفيتش
By Tanja Spasojevic,
General Manager of Ora, the Nursery of the Future
Without question, technology has caused deep transformation in social
structures, and the rapidly evolving education landscape has not been
spared by its impact.
Community needs and social behaviour in all areas of public and
private lives have changed dramatically brought about by cutting-edge
innovations over the years, and so has the learning profile of
students of all ages.
As such, it is necessary more than ever to revisit educational methods
to keep teaching relevant and redesign curriculums that objectively
prepare young learners for what we call “the future” of learning.
However, whilst intelligent tools continue to drive change, the future
of learning should not be solely dependent on them and should go
beyond harnessing their full potential.
Future of Learning: The Foundation
This principle is at the heart of Ora’s pioneer mission. We focus on a
new approach to early childhood education that is an amalgamation of
technologies and key interpersonal skills for kids to feel empowered,
fulfilled and happy as they grow up. We expose children early on to
concepts that are typically introduced at later ages.
At Ora, we raise children’s early awareness of current events in all
sectors of society and bring their attention to technologies such as
3D printing, coding and robotics. Being nested in the epicentre of
Dubai’s – if not the world’s - most futuristic hub, it is not hard to
find great examples of the latest innovations and ultra-modern
projects where children can witness the future in the making.
Exploration and Discovery
From our experience, the youngest generation shows great familiarity
with digital technology and children’s natural inclination to learn
new things by exploring. This is the base of our methods.
Technology brings a new kind of independence and creativity that,
being responsibly monitored by adults, can be a great accelerator of
children’s implicit learning in many areas of development such as
numeracy and literacy.
Exposing children to technology, with meaningful teaching purposes,
develops early learning of new ideas and enhances natural
understanding of concepts-- giving them developmental advantages when
compared to students who have not been exposed to them yet.
New digital tools also bring along new ways of thinking and connecting
not only ideas but people and communities on a global level.
Presently, we are living in the 4th Industrial Revolution, and we can
see already how they have positively impacted our generation in
physical, digital and biological worlds.
From an educational perspective, emerging technologies such as
artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and the Internet
of Things (IoT) are the newest allies of early years education. They
can even be instrumental in supporting inclusion for children of
determination and strengthening education equity in disadvantaged
countries.
This does not mean, however, that technology will replace the role of
parents and teachers. In fact, quite the opposite, especially when it
comes to very young children, where emotional, social and
communication skills are being deeply nurtured.
Present and future technologies and their social, economic, cultural
and environmental potential for new generations is undoubtedly
tremendous. We can only anticipate with enthusiasm how humanity will
transform and, at Ora, we couldn’t be more excited for our children.
For now, the urgency is to modernise educational models, expose
children to contemporary experiences, foster their talents and nurture
their inquisitiveness and interest in creation and innovation. They
will need these skills to live the future we are preparing for them
and to become the adults who will continue to pave the way for
generations to come.
