With each passing day, it becomes more difficult to be a technophobe. Social media dominates public discourse, remote working is the new standard throughout the business world (set to remain popular even after regular office operation is freed from its COVID-19-based restrictions), and the steady expansion of automation continues unabated. Soon it won’t be enough to tolerate the digital world — for career purposes alone, it’ll be vital to embrace it.

This clearly indicates the importance of getting kids interested in technology. The development of relevant skills might seem like an inevitability, but that’s actually far from the truth: the ever-rising quality of user interfaces (particularly for smartphones) allows people to use sophisticated electronics without having much awareness of how they work. As things stand, it’s more important than ever to encourage children to look past the surface and develop an appreciation of how technology has been used (and can be used) to solve major problems.

In this post, we’re going to look at four tactics you can deploy when teaching a child to encourage that appreciation. In addition to improving their career prospects, it has a good chance of sparking an enduring passion within them that will never lose its significance.

Raise questions about how things work

The first tactic you can use to promote the significance of technology is very simple. Just start asking pointed questions about how technological systems work. We already touched upon the manner in which modern software obfuscates the nature of computer systems, for instance, so your task is to query that obfuscation.

“How does a computer work?” is a great open-ended question to open with. If it’s too broad to yield an answer, you can nudge things in the right direction with some gentle prompts. Ask if they know what a processor does, or how a touchscreen works, or how GPS tracking functions. Offer snippets of insight into these matters. What you’re trying to do is establish a core of curiosity from which they can branch out in all directions.

If necessary, you can get extremely basic and try to cover the foundational elements of modern technology. You could explain binary, for instance — how it operates and why it’s used — and parlay that into a discussion about simple circuits. If they’re highly stubborn about discussing such things, be strategic: wait until they express wonder about something relevant (and they will, sooner or later), then take that opportunity as a jumping-off point.

Invest in suitable computing equipment

Informed conjecture alone is certainly powerful stuff, but kids love to play and experiment, and taking advantage of that means having equipment they can mess around with. So what fits the bill here? Consider that an interest in technology is something to be explored steadily over time instead of indulged briefly before moving on. It’s a field of never-ending development, after all. There’s no plausible point at which technology will be out of discoveries to uncover.

Accordingly, while there’s definitely value in buying gimmicky toys, you should largely focus on computer platforms and customizable kits. Since you won’t have an unlimited budget, aim to squeeze maximum value from what you spend. Given that kids can be somewhat rough with their belongings, think about buying a used MacBook — Apple products are inevitably expensive, sure, but they’re simple to use and built to last. This used Mac buyer’s guide has some good pointers for buying a second-hand laptop.

Once that key element has been covered, think about the kits that could prove interesting. This is where products like the Raspberry Pi enter the picture, providing low-power programmable hardware that can be deployed in countless configurations to serve countless purposes. There are kits aimed specifically at kids that offer various learning routes. Who wouldn’t want to try building their own robot? It’s an easy way to grab attention, and relatively cheap too.

Explain how it pertains to other interests

Technology factors into every area, pursuit, and industry, and this grants you tremendous scope to extol its fascinations. Take something that kids are often into, for instance, like sport. There’s an entire field called sports technology concerning the use of technology to analyze, optimize and promote sport — and you can introduce it.

Talk about what wearable technology has done for professional athletes: how they can track their performances in great detail, giving them tremendous insight they can use to inform how they train and when they need to rest. Get them excited about what can be accomplished through a combination of dedication and technological application.

Another option is to talk about video games. If you don’t think you can get any traction talking about game engines and such, explain the thriving world of esports players looking for ways to improve through the use of high refresh rates and low-latency peripherals. Whatever topic you think of, there will inevitably be people devising fascinating methods for improving it. If you can advance that notion, you’ll cultivate a lasting sense of intrigue.

Arrange some compelling science parties

This may be a challenging time for social arrangements, with the world still suffering under a pandemic, but you don’t have to hold in-person events: you can arrange some online science parties, using the trusty platform of Zoom to supply entertaining and captivating experiments and demonstrations that can showcase various scientific principles, all whilst enabling closer connections with using tech.

Given that the scientific method is the root of technology, an interest in the former is naturally an interest in the latter. Be sure to take advantage of the budding excitement, though, by investing in equipment (as suggested earlier) and providing opportunities to engage in safe experiments. Focus on having fun at first: don’t worry so much about the exact lessons being learned. Once the interest in how things work has been seeded, you need only give it chances to bud.

Through drawing upon some or all of these suggestions, you can do much to encourage an interest in technology that’ll prove rewarding in complex and lifelong ways. Whether it’s the root of a career or simply an enduring hobby, it’s a rich and worthwhile pursuit that every child should have the chance to explore.

Happy teaching,

Laura

“Laura May is Digital Editor at Just Another Magazine. We write about beauty, fashion, lifestyle, relationships, travel, trends and anything else that matters to you. Name throwing you off? Don’t take it too seriously – we intend to stand out from the crowd.”