Some people believe online reading materials should only be used for a child to learn to read whereas others believe only printed material should be used. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Although

it is sometimes considered that teaching a little child to read should be done with the help of printed cards and books only, there are those who believe that learning to read online is of the same value, to say the least. In my opinion, increasing the toddler’s creativity and imagination with the help of printed resources should matter

first

, while the effect of online materials, being easily accessible in terms of time and money compared to books, could be disregarded. There is a widespread belief that one can can locate a great range of information, including some for educating little learners how to read, by using appropriate Internet sources at little to no cost. Rarely do people realise, though, that it is still required to spend a significant amount of money on hardware, software, Wi-Fi connection and various updates to access those materials online. Being expensive for the countryside residents, the home-based computer equipment and Internet connection are actively used by only 1/3 of the total number of residents in Russia, according to the latest surveys held and published in

AIF newspaper

Suggestion

the AIF newspaper

an AIF newspaper

AIF newspapers

at the beginning of 2020.

As a result

, for some the free sources of possible learning materials can still be out of reach.

On the other hand

, paper-based educational content can contribute to developing children’s imagination and creative skills at an early point, and I agree with that. Not only is comprehension stronger among little learners who read (or try to read) texts on paper thanks to the tactile experience, but that

also

allows the brain to create a 'mental map' of the entire text. Being comprehensible and tangible, a printed book is proven to educate more successfully compared to online sources, as the latest May ‘20 publication

in

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of

UCL Institute of Education illustrates. Young learners aged 3-5 demonstrated knowing twice more letters and figures after being educated with the help of printed books than those who used online sources. Despite people having different views, I am firmly convinced that using online materials is less advantageous in terms of educating children how to read than using the printed variants, which is illustrated to be more beneficial.