The edtech space has blown up in recent years.
Hundreds of amazing apps tailored to different needs and wants have helped make learning more accessible for everyone. (You can read more about some of the educational apps available on the market on our Table of Contents
The VAK learning style dictates that there are 3 main ways in which we all learn.
These are (VAK), Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic learning.
Visual: a visual learner thrives and absorbs information more effectively through observation and visual cues, including videos and diagrams.
Auditory: an auditory learner tends to sit back and listen. Formulating their own ideas and understanding through listening to others discuss thoughts. Auditory learners are likely to engage and benefit from debates, podcasts and lectures.
Kinesthetic: a kinesthetic learner develops understanding through motion. They like to get their hands dirty and are likely to respond well to the use of props and physical tasks that supplements learning. Kinesthetic learners are well suited to activity based games.
That said, with today’s interactive apps, parents have more tools and resources than ever before to meet the diverse learning-style needs of their children, both inside and outside the classroom.
KidSmart, a leading English grammar learning app for kids breaks down just how parents can utilise educational apps to understand how best their child learns and how they can benefit:
1. Improves Engagement with learning material
Interactive apps provide myriads of opportunities to make learning more fun and enjoyable, especially when it comes to teaching the same things in new ways. For instance, they can deliver lessons through gamification, utilising other online learning resources and even taking students on virtual field trips.
This stokes their interest and encourages a more active participation in the learning process, which visual and kinesthetic learners may struggle to achieve in a traditional classroom setting.
2. Promotes Individual Learning
Today’s education apps allow kids to learn faster and more of what they enjoy.
Students can learn at their own pace, while having access to a broad range of resources to conduct research and review difficult concepts. They can engage with material more than once as well as with material they most enjoy working with.
Auditory learners can listen to prompts while visual learners can rewatch videos.
What’s more, these apps can be the ideal learning platform for struggling or disabled students.
It’s not just the act of creating and doing on their own, which is pretty cool -- but also the feeling of independence and personal accomplishment.
Even at a tender age, such a feeling can be astonishingly powerful; beyond what words can express.
3. Enhances Classroom Performance
Visual and kinesthetic learners are more suited to interesting learning atmospheres, which can easily be created by mobile applications.
By interacting with these apps in and out of the classroom, they strengthen their skills execute projects and assignments with precision, which in turn, helps them secure better grades.
For instance, a student working on a project that involves vocabulary building can simply turn to his or her app to better understand words, their pronunciation, and proper context use.
4. Allows for More Creativity and Freedom of Expression
Children have big imaginations, oftentimes too big to be contained within the parameters of traditional schooling.
Where before they only had crayons and colored pencils to convey those ideas, they now have tablets and smartphones that they can use to express their creativity without limits.
More importantly, they can explore their imagination and can even turn such thoughts into reality.
For example, if they were able to create a 3D animation of their concept, you can send the design to a 3D printer to take on a physical form. What better way to inspire today’s young learners?
5. Access to Multicultural Education
Every day, kids interact with people, places, or items from other cultures. Mobile apps help deepen their understanding of these interactions, which results in them becoming more well rounded learners.
A good example is how learning about food from different cultures can help your children appreciate the value of diverse cultures.
6. Interactive in Nature
Perfect for Visual and Kinesthetic learners! Interactive apps for kids incorporate a wide range of attractive, engaging activities that support the development of their cognitive skills.
Following specific directions and sequencing activities is an ideal way to expand the various faculties of kinesthetic learners.
For instance, pairing animations while having them read or listen to a story can help them understand and recall the events in the story better .
7. Easy to Use
Nowadays, children are practically inseparable from their smartphones and tablets. For these students, the learning curve for using educational apps is virtually nonexistent.
Tap, pinch, swipe, drag, and drop – navigating these apps is pretty much second nature for today’s students.
This not only familiarizes them with basic facets of mobile devices, but serves as a solid foundation for them to become more tech-savvy.
The skills learned from interacting with apps have an attached creative form of expression that has become increasingly needed in today’s digital age.
For example, coding is a skill, while programming a video game is the expression.
8. Entertaining
One of the main reasons we have categorized visual and kinesthetic learners as a distinct learning group today is because to these people, learning was more of a passive, boring activity that they simply couldn't cope with. Not anymore with educational apps.
Lessons are now provided through games and other interactive activities, which makes learning an entertaining experience.
Scores, badges, and the prospect of getting real rewards excites students and instills in them a dogged determination to pass each level.
9. 24/7 Availability
This benefit applies to all types of learners. Unlike in school where students have to follow schedules and a set curriculum, apps are available round the clock.
Anywhere can be a classroom and learning occurs without much effort.
These apps also help reduce the need for voluminous paperwork and save children the burden of lugging heavy textbooks, workbooks, and writing materials to and from school all week.
10. Better Exam Preparation
With the research-based learning methodology of interactive apps, students can prepare better for promotional exams like the 11+ exam and CEM.
Practising questions and solving problems in a more interactive way has been known to result in faster learning and increased retention rate.
The games and activities also help children increase their problem-solving speed and improve accuracy, which will come in handy during timed examinations.
Identifying the approach that works best for your child is the most important thing you can do.
As a parent this might take a bit of trial and error. Some children may thrive when using past papers, some may benefit from the use of apps, while others may learn from practical work.
KidSmart is more than just a grammar app. It is an interactive platform that students can use to foster self-learning and enhance their knowledge in math, English, and 11+ skills in as little as 20 minutes a day.
The app integrates effective educational activities geared towards multi-sensory learning and a“hands-on” approach to build understanding. In addition to the benefits listed above, KidSmart also offers on-demand tutor support available anytime and optional services to book one-to-one lessons. Get started with your FREE trial today!