digital vs analog clocks
@macdingolinger (10386)
United States
July 8, 2009 11:17am CST
For years I have tried to teach the concept of time to students. It is becoming more and more difficult with the increased use of digital clocks vs analog time tellers! They do not seem to be able to "get it" as easy on a digital clock although they grew up with them. It should actually be easier I would think, because you can see that after "59" it rolls over an hour. But elasped time is a concept students today just do not get.... what do you think? Should we return to analogue clocks or stay with digital?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Youreyes4Today (2356)
• United States
8 Jul 09
Digital is apart of everthing now, even time clocks are going digital. But to learn the concept of how Time works I feel the student should learn the analog way first. Digital may seem to be easier to learn but with my girls it was easier for me to teach them with the analog clock than the digital. After they learned it, the digital concept was real easy for them, then.
1 person likes this
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
8 Jul 09
Thanks for the response! I am with you.. maybe a good combination of both?? it may be easier for younger ones if we don't totally discard the analogue, but keep both where they are accessible to them.
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@Youreyes4Today (2356)
• United States
8 Jul 09
For teaching purposes I would use the analog first then introduce the digital as showing the numbers that is being referred to.
Myself it was easier to teach the concept of time with the old clocks than with the new ditigal. After they learned that, it was just a walk into the digital.
Maybe keep the analogue clocks if nothing else for teaching purpose's to help the student understand the concept of time. Like the alphabet before the words are taught.
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@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
17 Jul 09
They are easy to see. However, it is not as easy to tell time, and especially elasped time!
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
16 Jul 09
i think our kids are getting the shaft these days with learning. but i may be wrong as most things are going digital plus computerised. i was shocked to learn that my grandkids, 15 yrs and 16 yrs, not only was never taught how to tell time without digital clocks but could not write cursive!!
i just wonder how many more things they arent learning or being taught at all. 
i just wonder how many more things they arent learning or being taught at all. 1 person likes this
@commanderxo (1494)
• Canada
9 Jul 09
No. Teach them the military's 24 hour clock instead, and see how they make out with that.
cdrxo
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
16 Jul 09
Hey... that might really work! It would make a lot more sense really!
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Jul 09
Hi macdlingolinger, I taught my child to tell the time by analog, but we are surrounded by digital. I ensure that he uses an analog watch. It can get a bit confusing as the number of the things that show the time in the house invariably show a slightly different time, the telephone shows whatever it wants after a powercut, the mobile has a digital time, as does the laptop, the analog alarm clock is invariably fast, so the house rule is that my watch shows the actual time, until the battery runs out.
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
17 Jul 09
Sounds like my daddy's watch! He always said, "The sun and the moon may vary... but my watch is right!" At least you found one clock to use as the standard to rule! You are right about everything having different times on them! That gets me too!
