Which is the best device for a kid to use for study in this digital age?
One friend of mine asked me the other day, "which is the best device do you think is best suit my kid to read the digital textbooks that his school is going to introduce?"
"Why ask me? Ask the school. They should know after so many trials and test for 03 years?"
She replied, "because you are in this industry since early 90s, and I know you for 20 over years, I trust you. On top of that you are the expert on this, you are a book worm, you need to have brain food everyday, you read everyday since as a kid, you still read after all the Book Shops closed in Singapore. You love book, you worked as a book store retail assistant to get FREE access to all the books in the bookshop!!!"
She even begged,"please, I am very concern over my kids' eyesight, he need to study and going to spend 04 hours daily staring at those screen everyday for his next 15 years!"
Then I get it. She is one of those parents that understand too much of something is bad. Even a leisure hobby like electronic games. Old Chinese saying, ：小赌怡情，大赌》伤身伤心！！
I told her, get your kids a few reading gadgets, try them out for the best combination! There is no such thing as the best tool. Is about using the right gadget at the right time.
Get a Healthy Digital Lifestyle, stay in control is the best option in this digital era.
Every country that is always 01 or a few Casinos, how they do it? Without breaking the entire population's bank accounts? Control. Control and Discipline.
She ask how? As a parent, she has a kid 14 years old. Mine is only 18 months and 3 years old. I need her parenting advise more than anyone else!!! How am I going to advise her about smart parenting in this digital era?
Anyway, I advise her by giving real life example:
I use Photoshop to edit and correct all images file and photo files.
I use Illustrator for creating Logos and pattern, Dieline, Shape, graphics, vector drawings ....
I use Sketch Book on iPad to create digital drawings or digital arts, digital illustrations ....
At the end of the day, I use InDesign to combine all these logos, photos, illustrations, drawing into 01 piece of artwork, and create a Book or a Brochure. Export as PDF for some agency that need it on their website as interactive book.
Or I can export is as iBook or ePUB for some kindle, or E ink eReaders!
It is all about using the Right Tool for the Right job!
As a modern day parents, we should help our kids to explore and find the right tools, the right combination to survive in this digital age.
Do you want to be a programmer sweating away creating codes? or Do you want to be the specialist to get the right person to create the desirable codes, with the right game programmer, with the right Graphic GUI API guy and then magically engineer the Best and Most beautiful game of the century?
There is no magic. All these are about managing it, controlling it, visualising it, all about the RIGH TOOL at the RIGHT TIME at the RIGHT place.
"What is Wrong tool?", she ask... this time joking... as she is getting the answer ... (less stress).
There is no wrong tool. Modern day gadgets, can do wonders, all can be done on one small device in your palm.
"Wrong is when you are ignorant. You 'think' everything can be done on one device, and you own the World." Chinese saying is that, 井底之蛙。 Or Ah Q 精神。
Is about Choice.
Wrong choice paid the price, Right choice on the right path. Nobody knows they are on the wrong path until "the road end" and you have to make a U turn, back to square one and walk the right path - time wasted. And this time, is not about time, is about your kids' eyesight.
Using the wrong reading tool, your kids will be "silently and slowly' paying the price of eyesight deterioration, and can cost millions of dollars to fix a badly damaged eyesight.
On the wrong path is to dead end, as a caring and responsible parent, we owe them the guidance to the right path. Is your choice now, the world is going the path of digital age, the 4th revolution in modern history!
So I ended with this,
For Fox's sake, protect your children's eyesight with the right tool.
