Gone are the days when knowledge was limited to classrooms and lecture notes. Thanks to the internet, education is now accessible to a larger group of people who actively seek it and educational websites play a key role in providing relevant and updated information.There are mainly two kinds of Educational websites:

(1) – provides information about entrance exams, courses, and career guidance.

(2) – provides educational materials and information.

Listed here are 40 top educational websites that can help a student hone their skills and update their knowledge bank.

Access Here More Than 1000+ FREE Educational Apps

1) Jagranjosh.com

JagranJosh is a website that offers educational information on Banking, Civil Services, MBA Entrance, SSC, etc. and is known for simplifying test preparation. It is also a rich repository of CBSE, JEE, IAS-PCS, SSC study materials. Students can prepare well for their exams by downloading Previous Year’s Question Papers or they can ask or answer questions on their interactive forum. Current affairs and general knowledge quiz provide information in a fun way.

2) Shiksha.com

Shiksha.com provides complete guidance for MBA, MS, Engineering, Fashion designing and a variety of courses available in various colleges of India. It also has a forum that allows students to post career-related questions and receive answers from experts through a community known as Shiksha Cafe. The website also offers guidance and mock tests to prepare for courses abroad. It has a list of courses offered abroad, countries offering these courses and application process for the same. View here

3) Aglasem.com

Aglasem(next semester in Hindi) is a student’s guidance portal that offers study material, class notes, sample papers and more for students of CBSE and ICSE board. The website also offers guidance for national, state and college level entrance exams and also provides admission updates, preparation, query solving. Aglasem also provides recruitment updates and aids in the preparation of Government jobs, bank jobs, teacher eligibility test, railways recruitment etc.

4) Caclubindia.com

This is an exclusive website that caters to commerce, accounts and finance students by providing innovative online coaching facility. The website offers guidance for professional courses like CA, CS, ICWA and also has many useful articles on subjects like Audit, Income Tax, Corporate Law, Accounts, etc. The interactive CCI forum is extremely useful to students to get expert answers to their questions directly from the experts.

5) Meritnation.com

Meritnation offers study materials designed specifically for the students of Class 1 to 12. Its Smart study feature offers videos, study materials, and textbook solutions for students. The website acts as a platform for live classes and online coaching for students of classes 4-12. The website’s Homework Help is popular for providing solutions for queries and doubts. MeritNation’s mobile app for Android and iOS users is available for download.

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6) Indiastudychannel.com

lndiastudychannel.com offers guidance to students on the selection of suitable college, course, school, etc. The website provides previous years question papers and has useful articles and practice tests that can help them prepare for the tests and improve their skills. Their active discussion forum provides answers and also aims at improving English Language skills of students.

7) Pagalguy.com

Pagalguy.com focuses on the field of MBA, Banking, UPSC, Engineering, and SSC. The website provides guidance on competitive exams, courses and entrance exams. Students can prepare for CAT, JEE, SSC and IBPS exams with PaGaLGuY’s free learning app – Prepathon. It also has a forum where students can post queries and receive answers from the experts.

8) Minglebox.com

Minglebox.com provides complete information on various exams like CAT, MAT, CLAT, GRE, GMAT, etc. It also offers information on a range of topics including Study in India, study abroad, Distance education, college admissions and more. You can download ebooks and study materials for free and also take free mock tests to evaluate and improve your skills.

9) Educationobserver.com

Education observer features mock tests, recruitment exam guides, admissions, scholarships etc. and also provide news related to career and job search. Education observers’ interactive forum is a great platform to ask questions and receive expert answers.

10) Admission News

Admission News provides information regarding entrance exams, application dates, admission notices, scholarships and various career avenues. The website offers dedicated career counseling service and career-related info in fields like library science, fashion technology, biotechnology, engineering, law etc.

11) StudyNation 360

StudyNation has a wealth of information on courses provided abroad and aims to facilitate application and admissions to foreign institutes. It provides a range of information on exam and admission preparation. The website also offers support for securing education loans and promises to bridge the gap between universities and students.

12) India Education

This website features up to date news related to education and provides information on career choices, distance education, guidelines for online education etc. Students can download ebooks, find updated information on entrance tests, and receive expert answers on Ask an expert discussion forum.

13) Indiaedu

Indiaedu offers complete guidance on education, career choices etc and has extensive information on entrance exams, distance education, and education loan. The website also has a comprehensive list of career courses in countries like the US, UK, Australia and Canada.

14) Dimdima

Dimdima is an online children’s magazine that makes learning fun. It features information on topics related to sports, ecology, science etc. This unique website caters to school students; craft and activities, book buzz, poetry corner and more add to the fun quotient.

15) Youngbuzz

Youngbuzz offers online career counseling and academic guidance which are of great help to a student who has to make the crucial decision of which career path to choose. The website’s “Online Career Counseling Test” has helped many young aspirants narrow down their career preference. YoungBuzz has a wealth of information about entrance tests, and the best colleges and universities in India and abroad.

16) India Education Stat

This website provides students with statistical information on literacy rate, educational infrastructure, distance education, research, and development within India’s education arena.

17) Room 108

Room 108 features a range of educational games for students on subjects like Science, Maths, English and Social Studies. It also offers puzzles, worksheets and stories for fun learning. Primary school teachers find the website as an excellent source for creating assignments.

18) Indiaedunews

Indiaedunews is a unique website that helps students make informed decisions by providing the latest information on the education sector in both India and abroad. Students can find a wealth of information on important institutions, courses offered, career options and entrance exams. The website also offers career counseling, information on vocation and distance education and online tests.

19) edHelper.com

edHelper is yet another website that offers a range of interactive educational materials for primary school teachers. It features bulletin board ideas, handwriting, cursive writing, social studies, geography, and other subjects including science, maths, English and social studies. edHelper also has downloadable coloring pages, puzzles, worksheets and stories for fun learning.

20) Kids Web India

Kids Web India features nursery rhymes, jokes, games, tongue twisters, stories, poems and riddles for kids. It has an exclusive Parents and Teachers desk and mothers corner that provides useful and exclusive information.

21) eSiksha

eSiksa offers valuable information regarding career opportunities and academics in India and abroad. Students can also find mock test papers, career and distance education guidance, astrological analysis, relax zone, quiz zone and more.

22) Scholastic

Scholastic is a website well known for its unique educational tools that give children access to a great number of books, easily downloadable videos and a variety of games.

23) Indiabix.com

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IndiaBix is a great website for students who want to improve their Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability, and Reasoning skills. The website also provides placement papers, body language tips, HR and technical interview tips and much more. 39. Britannica Britannica is a great website for children who are looking to improve their knowledge in areas such as Science & Technology, Arts & Entertainment, History & Society, Travel & Geography, and much more.

24) Britannica

Britannica is a great website for children who are looking to improve their knowledge in areas such as Science & Technology, Arts & Entertainment, History & Society, Travel & Geography, and much more.

25) Enchanted Learning

Enchanted learning is a website created exclusively for children and is aimed at maximizing their learning abilities and creativity. The website covers a range of topics including geography, astronomy, inventors, explorers and more. It also has Coloring Pages, Games, and more that can be used by teachers for assignments or to supplement their lesson plans.

26) Coursera

Coursera is keen to make education accessible to everyone. It offers free courses online from world’s top-class universities such as the University of Michigan, Princeton University, etc. Lectures are in series in the form of 15-minute long clips.

27) Udacity

Udacity, founded by 4 Stanford roboticists is a free education website which is free for brainy types. It offers 11 courses related to science and maths and is free of prerequisites, deadlines, quizzes and other school stuffs which are irritating.

28) Open culture

Open culture offers an amazing collection of 400 courses online for free from Ivy League Universities such as UCLA, Stanford, Oxford and Columbia University. It offers a complete range of courses from science and art to economics and maths.

29) Learnist

Learnist, an interactive medium providing educational contents and teaching materials which are grouped into boards

30) Mentormob

MentorMob is just as similar to YouTube as in this users can create learning playlists from top rated websites. It is also a community where members can share and rank each other’s learning playlists.

31) Memrise

Memrise, an education website providing stress-free learning based on 3 pillars namely science, community and fun. This is based on scientific methods to implant new information.

32) edX.org

edX offers free courses mainly designed for interactive learning via web, provided by Harvard, Barkley, MIT, Georgetown, University of Washington, Boston University, Kyoto University, Karolinska Institute and many more.

33) Scitable

Scitable, a free personal learning tool and science library focused on genetic- the study of evolution, variation and the rich density of living organisms.

34) Open2study

Open2study offers free and high-quality education online. With this, you can study the subjects with its real value. These subjects are provided by Australian Institutions and are taught by experts and academics.

35) Open YALE Courses

Open YALE Courses offers free and open access to various introductory courses which are taught by scholars and notable teachers at Yale University. And moreover, all lectures are available in audio, video and in text transcript formats.

36) academicearth.org

Academic Earth offers a wide range of academic options to student from traditional to current day studies and also provides online degree courses from economics and accounting to engineering. In addition to this, it also has collaboration with many reputed colleges like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, Stanford University and so on…

37) archive.org

Internet Archive is one of the finest websites providing free and accessible knowledge making your learning process easier. It is a genuine website that stores the original education material from several top rated websites.

38) bigthink.com

With Big Think, students can create their own distinct ideology as it offers several options on one subject. The articles in it were written by the experts which are further refined by the website’s editorial team there by providing authentic material to the students.

39) brightstorm.com

Brightstorm is one of the best platforms for high school scholars for reference. They offer help in every subjects from science to mathematics, history and various other subjects. They have arranged the topics in such a way that you can crack the competitive exams devoid of too much effort.

40) cosmolearning.org

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As compared to other websites, CosmoLearning not only provides academic learning to students but also provides skill-based learning. Students can refer the provided material or else can enrol themselves in any of the 58 courses. This website includes mainly 3 options: courses, educational materials and documentaries and the subjects are divided into 2 sections namely academic and extra-curricular subjects.

Every child is unique and they learn and develop at different rates and in different ways”- Beverley Hughes

Every child deserves the best possible start in their learning life. Early Year Foundation Stage(EYFS) provides support to children and helps to fully utilize their potential. Most children develop and learn during their early years. And the experiences they have between birth and age five have a remarkable impact on their future life.

Every child deserves a secure, good, safe and happy childhood. EYFS sets the standards for learning, growth, development and care of children from birth to five years old.

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12 EYFS Activities For Children

There are seven areas of learning and development by which a child develop skills, gain knowledge and demonstrate their understanding. Usually children develop three areas first. Those areas are

1. Physical development

2. Personal, social and emotional development

3. Communication and language

Proper development of these areas are essential for healthy growth and to have a better future learning. As children grow, they need to develop in four specific areas. And those areas are literacy, mathematics, expressive arts and science, and understanding the world.

All these seven areas help to plan the child’s learning and activities. It is the responsibility of teachers in supporting and teaching children according to their unique needs.

A separate curriculum is designed for child in primary and secondary schools. Hence it is most suitable for young children only. It is designed in a very flexible manner so that staff can change it according to the unique needs and interests of the child. In EYFS framework, children learn by playing and exploring both indoors and outdoors. Each child develop their own skills according to their creativity, imagination and critical thinking.

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How can Parents help their Child in Learning?

Learning and development actually begin at home itself. All the fun activities that are done at home have a vital role in the growth and development of the child. Learning done at home will have a long lasting effect on the child during their progress to schools. Even when the child is too young and unable to talk, never ignore them. Try to talk to them so that they could learn and understand new words, ideas and thus give them a motivation to speak. As a young learner, we should care to have at least some time with our child. Parents can do the following activities with their children:

  1. Sing and tell nursery rhymes
  2. Tell them about numbers, colors, letters and words when we go out
  3. Allow them an opportunity to cut out and stick pictures from magazines
  4. When we go out for supermarket tell them about different packaging shapes
  5. Show them how to plant seeds and water it
  6. Cook or bake together
  7. Explore the park and give them an opportunity to mingle with other children
  8. Try to read and share stories from good books

All these activities can greatly help children in their growth. It is better to seek some professional for knowing about different activities and books the child may enjoy at different ages. If the parents work together with caretakers or professionals, one will get a better result in their child’s development. They should exchange information and discuss things together that can provide benefits to the child. There should be a proper check and thus prepare a brief summary done by parents and teachers regarding the progress of the child at each age. This summary can help in the future learning and development of the child.

Whether you’re a new or experienced teacher, these 12 effective classroom management tips will help you run your class smoothly and will also help to create a positive learning environment for your students.

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1) Stick to the Rules but don’t be too Strict

Rules and routines help to communicate and also establish the kind of behaviour and discipline you expect from your students. Stick to the rules you create but make sure that the classroom environment does not become too strict and rigid that students feel suffocated.

2) Deal with Misbehaving Students Personally

Ask a misbehaving student to talk to you in person and speak to the student in a calm demeanour. Try to be a friend to them but be firm with what behaviours you would and wouldn’t accept. When you truly get to understand them you might often be able to recognise patterns or issues the child tries to mask up with his/her mischievous behaviour

3) Keep Calm and Carry On

It is important to have control over your emotions to have better control of your classroom. A teacher who loses his/her temper and yells at the students often lose the battle. If a situation gets unruly, try standing in silence and look at your students. This will alert them to a change in your demeanour and will make them aware that something they did was not right. When everyone falls silent you can resume your lessons.

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4) Connect with your Students on a Daily Basis

An important classroom management tips is to greet your students every morning and at the beginning of class to connect with them on a daily basis and also to set the tone for the day.

5) Build Positive Relationships

To help a student be his absolute best, it is important to wear their shoes and walk a mile in them from time to time. This will help you look at things from the student’s perspective and be empathetic with them. Support them by encouraging them not only in academics but also with their extracurricular activities. This will help build a trusting and honest teacher-student relationship.

6) Reach out to the Parents

While you support a child from school, parents should also be considered as active contributors to a child’s growth. Make sure to not only address the drawbacks but also highlight the positive qualities of the child to his/her parents.

7) Be Interactive and Friendly

Interact with your students and speak to them in simple terms to help them be more comfortable in the classroom. Communicating and engaging them in conversations will boost their confidence and interest in studies.

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8) Change your Teaching Style from Time to Time

classroom management strategy is to adopt multiple instruction methods or styles. Students often lose interest when the lessons are conducted in a mundane manner. Following a singular mode of teaching often leads to a boring classroom session and disengaged students. You can disrupt this routine and keep your students engaged by frequently varying your instruction style.

9) Keep Students Engaged and Involved

It is a challenging task, but if you gain mastery over this your students are less likely to misbehave. Having an engaging classroom session will make the students actively participate in the lessons or task at hand and will prevent their mind from wandering.

10) Keep them Busy

Following up on the point above, you can create engaging classroom sessions by tightening up time management and by staying organized. This will greatly improve classroom culture as well as teaching and learning time.

11) Motivate Students to Work Hard using Rewards

A simple reward system can be a great motivator. The reward could be something that adheres to your school’s policies. It is also important to remind students that help is always available when they need it. Remind them that they don’t have to battle it out alone. Encourage students to ask questions to receive timely advice.

Class Room Activity Apps

12) Show that you Care
A teacher’s attitude can easily rub off on their students and most often in the wrong way. Make sure to leave your emotional baggage outside of the classroom. If you are feeling any negative emotions like anger, sadness or boredom, make sure that you do not show it to your students. A bad emotion spreads as fast as the flu and your students should be the last one to catch it. As an educator, it is important for you to show that you are happy and excited about the lessons you are going to teach.

“Teachers who use technology frequently to support learning in their classrooms report greater benefits to student learning, engagement and skills from technology than teachers who spend less time using technology to support learning”- “Educators, Technology and 21st Century Skills: Dispelling Five Myths”

Technology has dramatically changed the field of education over the past few decades. Teachers have a great role to play in a child’s education. It is found that 50% of the teacher’s time is spending on managing behaviour and not on delivering instructions. Each and every second is precious to them as they have only limited time to spare.

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School apps can make the job of teacher a bit easier. The following are the 10 school apps for teachers which is useful to teachers as well as students:

1. Too Noisy

Too Noisy is an app which helps us to control the student chatter existing in the classroom in real-time. This app stored with right level of noise and an alarm starts ringing when the class rises above that particular level. This is a useful app which helps the teachers to manage the classroom properly.

2. Remind101

Remind101 is a free app which is specifically designed for teachers. With the help of this app, teachers are able to send announcements and notices to students as well as parents. One of the greatest benefits of using this app is teachers do not need to show their personal details or contact number for communicating with parents and students. Teachers are not able to get access to the personal details of recipients. The real strength of this app is its emphasis on privacy.

3.ClassDojo

ClassDojo is an app which helps teachers improve their behaviour in classroom easily and quickly. It also generates and apprehends data on behavior which teachers can share with both teachers and administrators. Using this app, one can give feedback, encouragement and thus view report on the student’s behaviour. 

4.GradeBook Pro  

GradeBook Pro is an app which helps to manage the class. This app will help the teachers to check attendance and to record evolution of student’s performance throughout the course. One of the greatest disadvantages of this app is that it is not free to use.

5.Teachers Assistant Pro 2 

Teachers Assistant Pro 2 is an app better than GradeBook Pro. It offers a range of function which assists in managing the classroom. This app helps to see real transformation of students behavior. Students personal information such as address, health conditions and their details about siblings is available in this app. These features will be useful to teachers for facilitating feedback reports to parents. 

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6.Educreations  

Educreation is an app which enables the teachers to draw and can thus share those creations of students in real-time. By adding audio to those creations, it becomes a teaching tool. 

7.Podcast  

Podcast is an app which allows access to thousands of podcasts or audio recordings. With the help of this app, teachers can create their own station to upload audio lessons which are suitable for students to download. The greatest advantage of using podcasts is that students can listen to this audio when they want and as many times as they want without any restrictions. This app is available only for Apple iOS but apps like podcast is available for Android as well. 

8.TED  

TED is a special kind of app which presents talks given by some of inspiring personalities all over the world from almost every field. This app offers all those conferences for free. 

9.Math Formulas  

Math Formulas give us a group of mathematical formulas from algebra, matrices, geometry, trigonometry etc. which are difficult to memorize. This app is available on Android, but similar apps are available on Apple products as well. 

10.ExamTime  

ExamTime with the help of this app, teachers can share resources, work on group projects and organize debates. It also allows to create multiple resources such as Flashcards, Quiz Maker, Interactive Notes and Mind Maps. The motive behind this app is to improve class participation, brainstorming and concentration power. 

All the above 10 school apps are beneficial as well as useful to both students and teachers. Teachers are able to do their task of teaching easier with this app. Also school apps make learning interesting for students.

 

Today schools seek technology for improving their communication and involvement with parents. Use of student information system and parent portal features complements home school communication and thus keeps parents involved in every activities of the school. Student information system is a software which helps to store data on each student’s performance. This system has been widely used by schools.

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Parent portal helps parents to log in to the system for seeing child’s data, tracking attendance, read teacher’s comments on child’s performance, and thus able to contact teachers for expressing their concerns and questions. By providing access to student information system, a sense of responsibility is created between parents and schools about student learning. School authorities should give proper awareness to parents about how the data in the system help to improve studies of their child. If proper education and training is not attributed to parents about the effective use of student information system, parent portal would never aid in student learning. Parent portal helps to foster and improve parental involvement.

Reasons for using Parent Portal

Out of concern, parents use the portal for checking the academic performance of their child. Specifically they use the portal for checking or monitoring their child’s grades and not for checking child’s attendance or checking teacher’s comments about behavior, class performance etc. Parents will have a feeling that it is their responsibility to check out those details.

Reasons Indicating How it Contributes to School-Home Communication:

Parent perceived parent portal as an excellent medium of school home communication without completely replacing traditional way of communication via phone calls, email and progress reports. Among other communication methods which schools offer, parent portal is the most used and preferred one for parents. It was found that there is improvement in communication between parents and teachers with the usage of parent portal. And mainly it is done with the help of e-mail correspondence set up in the portal.

How do Parents use Data from Parent Portal

Mostly parents use the portal to know about their child’s grades. Such information will be useful to parents as they are able to know and thus be aware of their child’s progress in schools. With the help of parent portals, parents could also keep up a proper communication with the child on their performance in schools and behavior. Parent portal helps to change the attitude of students towards school and thus show a huge improvement in their studies. Parents can check the data and understand their child’s grade for each submitted assignment. But without proper training, some parents are unable to get access to the data stored in the portal.

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Parent portal usage help parents to improve their involvement as the child progresses to higher grades. It also helps parents to increase involvement and thus take extra care in their child’s schooling. The only thing to be noted is that parents should have proper understanding about features and usage of the portal. Training given by school authorities can help to best use and thus lead the child to a meaningful and learning centered environment

Parent portal can indirectly improve the parent’s involvement in their child’s education. It is used in a proper and meaningful way to support their child’s education. Also, it helps to bridge the communication gap between the home and school. Parents are able to get a meaningful data on child’s progress. By using internet based student information system parent portals, education and behavior of students can greatly be improved. Apart from these benefits, it helps to make sure safety of children as well.

"Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools…our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years."- Thomas Edison

Technology has revolutionized education for the better. Apps are now everywhere! Introduction of school apps has greatly made the life of students and teachers easier. School apps now play an important part in managing, organizing and monitoring activities in the classroom. They are particularly useful for early year foundation stage (EYFS)

But are school apps vital for modern education? Here are some benefits of using school apps:

  • Teachers are able to Share their Ideas and Resources Online

Teachers are able to connect with people all around the world within minutes, find shortcomings, correct it and thus improve students’ quality. If they want to share learning materials, they can use school apps’ sharing features. By using parent apps, teachers can communicate with parents regarding students’ academic improvement and other activities.

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  • Students are able to Cultivate Research Skills at a Young Age

Apps allow students to explore freely. Their innate curiosity is thus encouraged. By exploring using school apps, students become capable of finding solutions and clear their doubts themselves. This skill can be helpful for in future.

  • Create a Good Rapport between Parents and Teachers

School apps help create a good rapport between parents and teachers as they will be provided with up-to-date information regarding school policies, extracurricular activities, school happenings etc Apps can provide extra information such as bus routes, maps etc.

School apps can also integrate student information systems such as teacher comments, grades and school attendance. They are especially useful for distance and online education as it would be easy for them to submit assignments via mobile.

  • Easy Access of Information

With the evolution of innovative apps on smartphones, people are now able to connect to the internet universe without a personal computer or laptop. Hence, information can be easily accessed on-the-go

  • More Scope for Communication

With the help of school apps, parents are able to get notification regarding school activities. They will get information regarding urgent announcements, school events and thus keep track of important dates. Alerts can also be sent via apps. Teachers are able to answer the queries of students instantly.

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  • Forms a Stepping Stone to Self-Education

Students are able to form a creative and productive approach towards learning with the help of school apps. This later helps them in the process of self-education in future. They will be self-motivated to improve their performance through the usage of school apps.

School apps are inexpensive, easy to use, and improve student learning capacity. They have completely revolutionized today's educational sector. In fact, in this fast paced world, school apps are vital for students to keep up the changes happening around them.

We all have seen that over the last decade, apps have been gradually changing the way we live our lives. They have massively influenced how we perform our day to day activities. There are apps for entertainment, communication, management, business, and much more.

It is unjust to totally neglect using this when the scope of incorporating technology into education is huge and the benefits are tremendous. Many schools are already promoting a number of apps that acts as an additional supplement to the main teaching material. In future, apps can become the primary course material in imparting education in schools.

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Apps are found to be more engaging for parents and students alike

parents and students to engage in educational activities. Using these apps, any updates can be intimated to parents and students in real-time.

  • How school apps are engaging to parents

Parents can check student’s progress reports, read teacher’s comments, ask queries, get informed on any upcoming meetings or events, know about fee dues, track the school bus, etc.

  • How school apps are engaging to students

Students can get instant updates on notifications and announcements, exam results, course details, time schedules, etc. They will no more miss to do their assignments or homework, as an alert or reminder can be set to student’s who fail to submit their assignment before a certain time. They can also check their individual performance over the terms, ask queries, or share concerns. This is especially beneficial to students who are overly shy to talk.

Student attendance can be monitored with smart cards and smart apps so that the record is accurate and safe. With the advent of educational apps, a new trend has developed in distance education viz. online learning, where a student can attend a lecture or meeting without having the need for his/her physical presence at the venue.

Better Distribution of Information

School apps win again when it comes to the reach it has in providing information compared to any other method. Though it is possible to provide the same information via the school’s website, using mobile devices have  advantage due to its portability. Mobile devices are very popular and are owned by of parents and even most of the students. So apps are far better options with respect to a school’s website for access.

Another advantage of using apps is that additional information in the form of documents, images, video, podcasts, etc can be given as supplement study material to the students.

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Reliable and Fast Communication

In the current world scenario, most of the working parents are under a lot of pressure from managing their professional and family life. There is never enough time to do all the things. As a result, adequately monitoring their children’s academic development is very difficult.

Now, with the help of proper school apps, parents will never again need to do a compromise in this matter. They can keep themselves updated with the latest happenings in school via push notifications and get real-time student progress card reports.

Apps can be used to communicate with the teacher and get suggestions and directions. It is also possible to get reminders and alerts on due dates and school events.

Improved Social Involvement

Apps can help in making the whole process a bit more social and convenient. It will keep the communication live 24/7, and not just during the school hours. Manuscripts can be shared to all and at once. There can be discussions held for organizing activities and taking decisions.School apps are a great way to promote social interaction between students, parents and teachers.

Once smart phones were considered a luxury for adults. Now smart phone apps have gained wide popularity due to its usefulness. The advent of smart apps revolutionized the life of every people. People find it very convenient to fulfill their necessity with a single click.

Learning can be made fun for children with the introduction of Smart apps for preschoolers. People often wonder whether kids should be given smart phones.

The benefits of using smart phones for kids listed below answers this Question:

1. It is an Added Dimension of Learning

Smart apps can develop the learning capacity of kids. It is an additional way of learning apart from traditional methods of learning from books. Students are able to access a lot of learning resources from smart phones in the form of encyclopedia, dictionaries, educational app, flash cards etc. Parents can guide their child for using such smart apps. For new information, the application can be regularly updated. It is very handy and convenient to use.

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2. For Keeping in Touch and Locating them

By installing Global Positioning System in the device, one can easily locate the whereabouts of the child. Whenever the child uses smart phone apps, parents would be able to locate the child. If they go beyond the allowed distance, it will be notified to respective parents.

A child as young as young as one year can learn to swipe and press the screen. When the device produces funny sounds, animations, sights etc. it captures the attention of your child and they become curious. The child easily engages in activities and smart phone apps can hold their concentration longer.

Educational apps can help children develop skills from hand-eye co-ordination to learning ABC’s, maths and problem solving.

Here is a list of educational apps which is organized according to specific skills and learning that parents can teach your child:

1. Hand-eye Co-Ordination

When the child touches or swipes the screen of a smart device, something happens in the tablet or smart phone immediately. This entertains the child, which impels him or her to do more. Gradually he learns to touch and recognize different objects and what happens when he touches that particular object. This develops the hand-eye coordination of the child. This skill is very much necessary for the child in order to perform day to day activities ranging from simple to complex. It can be highly useful for sports.

a. Balloon Pops

 Children will have ample fun while popping balloons. They can be popped by touching them when they appear on the screen. There will be a funny sound when it is popped.

b. Slide and Spin

This app can develop children’s motor skills such as turning, sliding, spinning and pushing of a button. While doing these motions, children will be able to reveal multicolored objects. For each image, our voice can be recorded.

c. Toddler Fun

This app includes four mini games that entertain your little ones whenever he touches the smartphone or tablet. The child can make colorful stars burst and explode fireworks. When a child becomes expert, he would be able to draw freely and connect objects.

2. Learning Shapes

When a child learns shapes, he learns the basic observation skills to know what looks alike and different. Learning shape is the stepping stone to learn alphabets. Hence learning shape is very much vital in a child’s education.

a. Toddler Shapes

This app lets children to play with shapes by putting shapes in the corresponding hole. Basic shapes including square, triangle, circle and star are used for this. To put a head start for basic learning in older children, alphabets and numerical models can be introduced in the app.

b. Laugh and Learn Colors Music Show for Baby

Babies can learn about colors and shapes through fun animations, interactions, sounds, dancing of shapes etc through this app. There are two different levels for growing babies.

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3. Puzzles

Puzzles can learn and stimulate the brain of little ones. With these apps, problem-solving skills can be inculcated.

a. Puzzingo

Puzzingo is an android app which helps kids to learn puzzles. Vocabulary, memory and cognitive skills of children can be improved using this app.

b. Animal puzzle

It is more like jigsaw puzzles. The difficulty level can be increased when their expertise increases.

4. Nursery Rhymes

Teaching nursery rhyme is an excellent way to increase the vocabulary and language skills of children. Memory skills can also be developed using this app.

a. Learn Music

Playing music has so many benefits to the brain. Language discrimination,development and other mental benefits can be acquired using this app.

b. Kids Piano Lite

Children can play the piano and know the basics of music with the help of this app. For making new tunes there will be songs, games and exercises.

There are benefits as well as drawbacks for smart apps. Smart apps can provide entertainment, fun, growth and development for the child. But at the same time it has many defects. Children cannot get the comfort of using stuffed dolls from smart apps. If children are obsessed with smart devices, they will get distracted from physical environment and get detached from relationships.

One of the seven areas of learning in EYFS relates to the physical development of the child. Teaching your children to follow healthy ways and healthy habits in life is really important.

Training your child- What are the areas to focus on?

Don’t restrict yourself on putting your effort only in making them learn how to brush their teeth or wash their hands before eating and doing the other daily routines.  Also guide them in maintaining cleanliness during every day activities. That is what EYFS focuses on.

Explain to them why he/she is expected to follow this and that. Create awareness in the child. Let them understand that what they are doing doesn’t merely constrain itself to mimicking elders. This will make your efforts easier and your toddler will surprise you with better adherence to your instructions.

Read Also: Special Education Needs for Children [EYFS]

What to do and what not to do?

1. Teach Right. Teach Slow.

Give them clear and precise directions. Don’t give them confusing or hasty instructions and demand them to repeat when you’re done. Show them how to do it a multiple number of times.

2. Be Patient

Be patient and wait for improvements or results. Don’t get frustrated. This could take matters to the emotional side. Show the same amount of care and concern every time you deal with your child. Showing irritability can inhibit your child from seeking help from you anymore. Even if the child had repeated what you’ve taught once or twice previously, do not expect that he/she will do it right every time.

3. Give Treats

Motivate your child by offering a small and cheap treat, a chocolate or a coin to put in the piggy bank for a day of finishing their routines well.

4. Make Yourselves an Example to Follow

It is really annoying when the kids are required to follow a set of instructions and they watch you doing exactly the opposite. It will be really a struggle for them to understand the values you are trying to inculcate if you are not giving it any respect yourselves.  Keep yourselves and your surroundings clean; as well as your floors, cupboards, toilet, kitchen etc.

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5. Encourage Participation

Encourage them to participate in doing chores, cleaning up, and tidying. Give them simple tasks like taking their dishes to the kitchen after eating or taking their used clothes to the laundry basket.

6. Monitor and Make Changes

Teaching is not merely giving confined sets of instructions to follow. You have to monitor your child’s progress continuously. You should be at their service when they need external help until they gain some sort of mastery over it. Notice what they do right and what they do not. Praise them for what they deserve. Do revisions of your mode of approach if required. If a specific way is too difficult for your child, devise a better way that your child finds easier to follow.

 

School inspections improve the quality and standard of schools. Hence it is the responsibility of each one of us to take care of our valuable schools and maintain its worthiness.

Dubai government have taken an initiative to improve the quality of private schools, known as Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). The KHDA inspection use four -point scale to rate the schools.

The four levels in the scale are as follows:

  • Outstanding
  • Good
  • Acceptable
  • unsatisfactory

KHDA publishes the rating of each inspected schools in its website. The rating of each school helps parents in deciding the school for their children. This obviously improves the standard of the school.

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Why school inspection matters?

          School inspection is the process of monitoring and evaluating the academic performance and development of schools. The inspecting team inspects qualification and fitness of staff, provision and appliances of instructions, health and recreation activities, discipline among students, infrastructure, fee structure, attendance, subjects taught and examination results. They also look for personal development, welfare and behaviour, moral, cultural and spiritual growth of the children.

The inspection team assess quality of teaching based on their observation. To make the inspection beneficial, a proper relationship should be maintained between school authorities and the inspection team.

Here are some reasons why inspecting schools is necessary:

  • To grant approval from government:

Schools are inspected with respect of their pupil’s enrolment, number, teacher’s qualification, infrastructure, equipment, curriculum etc. If they meet all these necessities according to the requirement, then government nods approval.

  • To inspect for operational improvement:

The inspection team takes details about staffs, student population, school finance, academic programmes, co-curricular activities, health and sanitary aspects in the school. Based on this record, they call a meeting with school authorities to improve the operation of school.

  • To inspect the school’s programme recognition:

This is conducted to recognize and approve various academic performances. The team inspect in terms of quality, quantity, staffing and equipments which are used to present students effectively.

  • To inspect school if there is any situational demand:

Here the school is not inspected for measuring the productivity but for evaluating the specific case or situation. Such inspection is essential when there is any crisis.

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Inspections Evaluates and Sustains Quality

More inspection improves the standard of the school as the inspecting team focus on the development of the school. The suggestion put forth by inspection team is practical and accurate. Credibility and respectability of the inspection team is very much essential. Without proper inspection, no school will undergo development. Hence regular inspection is necessary for a school.