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Kids can now look up facts on smartphones
Children should no longer be expected to learn facts in the classroom as they can now rely on smartphones as a “substantial” knowledge bank, it has been recently claimed. According to teachers, lessons should put a greater emphasis on broad skills such as independent research, interpreting evidence and critical thinking rather than learning dates, facts and figures by rote. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers warned that pupils risked being failed by a coalition overhaul of the curriculum that will emphasise the core knowledge that pupils should acquire at each key stage. It claimed that the move represented a throw-back to the 1950s and would “kill children’s creativity”. Jon Overton, a teacher from inner-London, said that smartphones - with full internet access - can by used by pupils to quickly search for facts. Addressing the union’s annual conference in Manchester, he gave the example of Mozart’s birthday, saying phones took less than a second to find the answer — January 27, 1756 — and a “wealth of related content to follow”. “We are no longer in an age where a substantial ‘fact bank’ in our heads is required,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. “What we need to equip our young people with are skills; interpersonal skills, enquiry skills, the ability to innovate. That is what universities are saying is lacking, that is what employers say is lacking; transferable skills that ultimately will make a difference in the life of a young person,” he added. —The Independent
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