CAIRO: Conventionally, before Egyptian students sit for their thanawya amma exams, outings and time spent watching TV and usining computers is automatically cut down, if not eliminated altogether.
Seen by parents as entertainment tools equivalent to video games; this categorization of computers is explained by the dominant pattern of usage. However, this perception is starting to change.
A recent study conducted by Redshift Research on behalf of Intel has shown that 81 percent of Egyptian parents surveyed perceive the proficient use of a PC to be an integral part of a child’s development.
The study also found that 78 percent of Egyptian parents surveyed provided their children with access to a PC at home as they believed PCs should be integrated into education.
“Parents play an instrumental role in helping their children become true digital citizens. The collaboration of public and private sector has already achieved great strides in driving digital knowledge in Egypt, Rola Zaarour, Corporate Communications Manager, Intel Middle East Turkey and Africa, told Daily News Egypt.
“There is also a reverse-learning that happens at home, where parents rely on their teenage children to teach them how to use PCs, how to upload content and so on, she said.
The study, conducted on an EMEA level (Europe, Middle East and Africa) surveyed 220 Egyptian parents over a two-week period in May 2009.
It aimed at assessing the PC (personal computer) usage habits of youngsters and to assess the role parents play in enabling their children to have PC and internet access.
“We looked at the active role that schools have in encouraging digital awareness and education. We were also interested in looking at how Egyptian parents view technology and its importance in developing their children’s future, Zaarour said.
Comparing the digital habits of people in different parts of EMEA, The results of the study came to the surprise of the researchers as they found that emerging markets have a “real appetite and competitive drive to achieve digital leadership, as opposed to the assumption that mature markets have the lead in digital awareness and knowledge.
“Egypt ranked among the top in terms of people who embrace digital activities as part of family life. We also found similarities in what youth use the PC for, such as social networking and content consumption and creation. Not surprisingly, youth in Egypt were just as savvy as their European counterparts in terms of the way they create and upload videos and photos, Zaarour said.
According to the parents surveyed, children are starting to embrace the emergence of social networking, positioning them well for the future in terms of developing and maintaining a network which they viewed as a useful skill for both personal and professional development.
“The benefits don’t end there; as such, connectivity helps children of all ages in the development of creativity, initiative and organizational skills, the study said.
According to Zaarour, the results are encouraging as it showed strong support from parents in driving the digital revolution via their children, the digital citizens of the future.
“We hope that we do the same study a few years down the line to assess any differences; the survey also showed that people expect authorities to play a more active role in terms of enabling digital infrastructure, she said.
However, Kamal Hussein, head of educational and psychological studies center at the Faculty of Kindergarten Education at Cairo University, says that although computers can help develop the informational and mental skills of a child they may destroy others.
“Computers are an important source for knowledge and developing imagination of children, but it can harm their physical, social and psychological growth, Hussein told Daily News Egypt.
“Computers shouldn’t be introduced to children as a toy that they can substitute real playing with, but as a serious educational tool for learning that is used in habitual times, he added.
Computers for education
Surprisingly, school work is almost as significant in terms of usage. Out of the parents surveyed, 68 percent said their children use a PC to assist them with homework and that the life skills developed through a computer and the internet go beyond the purely academic
One of the conclusions that the researchers reached is that all markets believe strongly that the government should take a more active role in supporting PC penetration and connectivity at schools.
An initiative launched by Link Development serves as a supporting tool to this growing phenomenon.
After several schools closed due to swine flu counter-measures, they came up with a mechanism called “v-class , through which students and teachers can proceed with their classes online while staying at home.
The new initiative offers real time audio and video conferencing, document sharing, meeting and participation management tools, attendance and presence tracking tools, all in a user-friendly interface.
“In schools, as e-learning and PC knowledge become more and more prevalent topics at Parent Teacher Association meetings, parents endorsing technology and PC usage will be part and parcel of achieving an all-round education for Egyptian students, Zaarour said.
“One of the basic functions of a teacher is to participate, guide, monitor, notice and evaluate which are all absent in computers even when using video conferencing so electronic education can’t substitute real education; especially for children, Hussein said.
Education for special needs’ children
Safaa Mohamed, a teacher at Child Education and Development Center, says that computers can cut a long way short for children with special needs, especially, autism.
“According to the age of the child and his abilities, they start using pictures and sounds, they start learning simple skills such as colors and basic math and as they develop they get to learn more complicated skills such as typing, she told Daily News Egypt.
“Using certain computer applications, autism children can learn a lot of things in a much easier way and in a shorter time than traditional methods, she added.
According to Mohamed, there are two types of parents; one group realize how important computers can be for their children that the may become their professional career in the future.
“The other group, we use with them family guidance to inform and educate them about the subject, she said.
When to introduce PCs?
According to the study, there’s certainly ambiguity as to when it’s right to first introduce a child to PCs.
Twenty-five percent of Egyptian parents surveyed believe their child should have access to a PC by the age of five, “indicating a perception that PCs are such a part of modern life that it would be counter-intuitive to omit them as a learning tool, even at a young age, according to the study.
Almost half of the parents surveyed (49 percent) feel that a child should have access to a PC by the age of eight, suggesting that early school-age is a key time for the development of these skills and should go hand-in-hand with curricular activities.
“It is clear, however, that by the time the average Egyptian child enters high school, their parents feel that he or she should be familiar with a computer, said the study.
According to Hussein, parents must decide when and whether to present computers to their children as a gaming tool or to provide them with special educational software.
“Also software companies must specify the age category of their programs to help parents, he said.
