GoalSay how digital tools make everyday tasks easier, and when paper is better.
New words
digital technology · tools that work with computers and the internettask · a job that needs to be doneapp · a program on a phone or tablet that does one jobnews · information about what is happening now
Explanation
Digital technology gives us many chances to learn, to search and to talk with people. It helps us follow the news, finish school projects and keep in touch with friends and relatives. Instead of walking to a library and looking along the shelves, you can search with a grown-up and find a fact in minutes. Instead of writing a letter and waiting days, you can send a message that arrives in moments. Each tool solves a problem: one brings far-away people closer, another saves time. But a digital tool is not always the best one. Sometimes paper and a pen are better. So first think about the task, and then choose the tool that fits it.
Task
Without a digital tool
With a digital tool
Find a fact
look through books on the shelves
search with a grown-up
Tell a relative far away how you are
write a letter and wait days
send a message or make a call
Check train times
go to the station and ask
look at the times online
Worked examples
Mariam and her friends make a school project about gardens. With their teacher they search for facts in minutes. Then they send messages to share out the work. The group finishes faster.
Seif’s family wants to travel to Alexandria by train. Instead of going to the station, his father looks at the train times online. The family saves time.
Hana wants to thank her grandmother, who loves paper. She writes a card by hand. For her uncle, who is far away, she sends a short message. She chooses the right tool for each person.
Class activity
Task swap. On paper, write five tasks from your week, such as finding a train time, thanking a relative or learning a fact. For each task write how you could do it without a digital tool and with one, and which is better and why. Compare your answers with a partner. Did you ever choose paper?
Practice
1
Name three tasks that digital tools make easier.
For example: finding a fact, following the news, keeping in touch with relatives, finishing a project.
2
Is a digital tool always the best choice? Give an example.
No. A card written by hand may be nicer for a grandmother who loves paper.
3
Which tool is best for asking a cousin who lives far away how he is today? Say the letter.
A, a phone message.
4
Name one school task where digital technology helps you.
Answers differ, for example searching for facts for a project.
