‘Tabs’ in 21st Century Classrooms

At present, the tablets are invading traditional classrooms, plus lightening the burden of school backpacks. In terms of education, tablets range from different prices, a mighty computer with simple controls.  They can be a powerful tool for learning and comprehension. The whiteboards have already taken the place of blackboards. Today the concept of ‘textbooks’ are used as primary resource in classrooms.

Many schools in the states have begun the use of tablets to put everything; e-learning courses, burden lightening, strengthening the technical skills, at ease. Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram, has come out with the novel way to help children digitally. The school has tied up with schoolskies.com, a web portal, which has launched a ‘books to bring’ project. The UP Government made the textbooks of government-run schools available online on the website www.scertup.co.in .  The online books have made it easy for the teaching and learning process. In the classroom, it’s going to allow teachers to personalize and give richer-activities to all of their students.

The recent Human Resource & Development (HRD) ministry held a meeting to review primary education which was headed by the HRD minister, Prakash Javadekar with a mission to promote more and better reading, plus to enhance technical skills. It has laid out some proposals to ensure a safe and healthy education, especially in concern of primary education.

There has been a long-standing demand of parents to lighten the burden of school bags.  The proposals were given by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to the HRD ministry in particular to follow a flexible timetable, install RO for water and also allow students to wear sports shoes.

The government is considering starting a pilot project to provide tablets in classrooms, mainly to the pupils studying in classes 4 to 8 in an effort to lighten the burden.

In attention to the health problems, Schoolchildren’s enrolled in primary education are at a greater risk in facing back problems. Daily they are overly stressed with heavy backpacks on their shoulder which not only stops their physical growth but also makes them psychologically weak. There is no doubt that outdoor and indoor games help in growth but the back burdened with the heavy load decreases their over-all growth. There are many reasons why school children have to load up their bag packs; no storage facilities provided to store their books at school, several textbooks per subject, and other necessities. The studies show that while carrying a heavy bag affects how a person walks for example changing the neck-head angle, and making the shoulders asymmetrical.

According to the University of California who recently conducted this survey using MRI scans to show that a typical backpack load places a heavy compression on the discs of the spine and increases the curvature of the lower spine. The heavy bags are taking a toll on student’s back.

"We see kids complaining of back problems, shoulder problems, we are seeing more Scoliosis in the teen age years," said Dr. Granville Simmons, Pediatrician.

In an attempt to determine a safe weight limit for the school backpack several studies have been done.  According to the Academy of American Pediatrics, the student’s backpacks should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of the child’s body weight. This means, for an elementary school child weighing 50 to 60 pounds, their backpack should never reach more than about 12 pounds maximum. Ideally, it should be less.

Back-pain in children should not be ignored if it arises due to the heavy burdensome. As the heavy back pack can cause the permanent deformity in spine.  It is important to expose the children of poorly wearing a bag pack. There must be primarily an educational approach to guide the children to properly wear the back pack. You should wear your back pack with straps over both shoulders, the bag should be light-weighted, avoid packaging unnecessary materials and books, place the heavy books closer to your back so that the weight will not be focused on the shoulders.

 In terms of education, tablets are fairly priced, a mighty computer with simple controls.  They can be a powerful tool for learning and comprehension. The whiteboards will take the place of blackboards. So the conclusion says that the tablets not only helps in enhancing t