Students and Today’s Gadgets

Children today are born with today’s advances in communication technology. With the world getting smaller and more accessible by the fingertips, is the youth getting a better perspective of our world? As students, are these technological gadgets providing them more access to information or at their worse, distractions from valuable study time? With laptops, tablets, music players and game consoles soliciting the youth’s attention more and more, what can we do to encourage students to hit the books instead of giving in to more technological stimulation?

Denying access to all technological gadgets in this day and age would not simply not work for students. Whether these gadgets will work for or against them is simply a matter of choice. For younger students, parents should help them make the right decision to spend their time productively by studying and finishing their homework before engaging to any form of entertainment.

Students should practice time management wherein they budget their time between school work and having fun. The principle also applies when using computers, game consoles and being online. Obviously, computer use can provide valuable help in getting homework, reports and research quickly and efficiently. Search engines can be an important tool in accessing information, images, data and reference materials. There are also loads of child-friendly softwares available with contents suitable for the young audience.

Computers exhibit the same efficiency with a simple click for users can enjoy online gaming and social networking. The downfall could be that students spend more time on these mundane activities than doing actual work assigned to them by their teachers and professors.

Time management could be the key when diving one’s time and attention. Students should be trained to budget their time and attention while prioritizing the most important task to the least necessary. Discipline should be taught and ingrained to students to finish their tasks first before they can afford to some downtime and relaxation. Moderation on gadget use can be negotiated depending on the task and frequency of use of the students

Family members can also show interest and engage to each other’s activities for bonding and some quality time. Such efforts can help the situation by making students feel that their lives are not in a vacuum and that their immediate family supports them just like their peers and friends would. Spending some family time together could reach greater understanding and tolerance especially when time management is being discussed among family members.

During family time, encourage students to get involve into active fun while pursuing hobbies or other interests like arts and sports. Such activities build character and develop innate talents while keeping body and mind busy. In pursuit of such endeavors also involves loads of opportunities to personally socialize with mentors and peers who shares such interests.

To make sure that these gadget turn out to be efficient tools for learning, parents should also take interest to the images, social networks, games and music their children are into for safety reasons. Unscrupulous individuals could easily take advantage of the access provided by online sites to entice children to activities that could put compromise their safety. By getting involved online, parents and guardian can monitor and take action to avert such incidence from happening.

These technological advances in communications are simply part of today’s challenges of rearing good students. Like a double-edge sword, exposure to technological inputs are good when taken in the right context. This can prove to be counter-productive when its use disrupts the daily routine of students that fortifies good study habits they will hopefully keep every school term.

What to do this summer?

Summer is the perfect season to be adventurous and spend time outdoors. Playing with game gadgets at the porch, however, does not count. It simply means getting up, flexing those limbs and pumping those muscles till sundown.

Kids and kids at heart can have lots of fun pedaling around the neighborhood or their favorite vacation spot on bicycles. Teen boys can bike to the extreme with BMX and mountain bikes while girls can ride in style with their character designed bikes. For smaller kids, there are two seater trikes and sidecars for toddlers, as well as trikes with push handles and canopies to safely keep the little ones on the move. There are also bikes that come with baskets for their toys and snacks. To keep on the safe side, bike riders should wear helmets and pads while biking.

Have fun while learning the art of effortless and effective swimming. By enrolling to a program, children, teens and adults can learn water safety and swimming basics and techniques from certified instructors. Swimming programs, as offered by Bert Lozada Swim School’s, may range from beginners to advanced levels. Learning this skill can surely add to the fun whenever there is water aside from being a sport and a life-saving one, too.

Outside the metro, trekking had become one of the major adventure sports. Veering away from the highways, the country is rich with dense forests, fascinating views, rolling terrain and dense rain forests that offers trekking opportunities for those willing to explore nature.
Popular trekking site can be found at Mt. Pulag in the Grand Cordillera, Mayon Volcano in Albay, Bicol, Mt. Halcon in Baco, Oriental Mindoro and Mount Banahaw in the the provinces of Davao del Sur and North Cotabato.

To start-off the journey, trekkers would need trail shoes, backpack, and equipments such as tents and food keepers. Good trekking shoes must not suffocate the feet nor feel warm inside. The pair should be durable enough to provide proper cushion against rough surfaces, protection from possible injuries and stability from slippery trails.

For out of the country expeditions, one can book the whole family or barkada to a trip to Spain. Offering beautiful scenery, holistic history and cultural experience, the Santiago de Compostela tour has a trail following the pilgrimage of the Way of St. James. Any of the 11 pilgrimage routes meet at the center of Santiago de Compostela, a landmark of Roman Catholicisma and considered as the third holiest land in Christendom.

Do not miss out the scenic views of mountains, coastlines, and green fields and Galician cuisine by checking out the tour package at the National Tourist Office of Spain.