Reducing Distractions on Digital Devices

Distractions are as old as time. Think back to high school when perhaps you were doodling on a pencil case or passing notes to friends. What is different is that the very tools that allow us to access such wonderful learning and communication opportunities, can also have the power to distract us. 

In the presentation below, you will find ideas and suggestions on helping students develop good work habits, practice self-tracking, and also provide suggestions for parental monitoring - IF it gets to that stage. We hope you find something of value for your family.

We also have a Padlet where we are collecting your great ideas! Please feel free to add a suggestion.

Parenting in the Digital Age - The Conversation Continues

Being the first group of people to parent the iPad generation certainly is an adventure.

On the one hand, we are amazed by their capabilities to navigate between applications, create movies, build websites and FaceTime their grandparents. On the other hand, we may feel anxious about buzzwords like 'screentime', 'game-addiction', 'distractions' and 'cyber bullying.'

Keep in mind that advances in technology have helped families in numerous ways. Here are some of our favourites:

• Communication - We can communicate quickly and easily with people around the globe via messages, email, FaceTime, FaceBook and instant messaging. In our international school setting, this is a huge benefit.
• Efficiency and Organisation - GPS has changed the nature of travel. We can find any address easily, even if we haven't been there before. We can use apps to organise our shopping list, to sell our used goods, and let's not forget do our banking.
• Learning - Now we can teach ourselves anything with the powers of YouTube, Pinterest and Google combined! Lost the rules to your board game? No problem! Need to change a tyre? Can do! Learning can be 24-7.
• Entertainment - It's only in the last few years that Netflix came into being! Developments in movie and video distribution, the gaming industry and the explosion of apps means there is a little something for everyone when it comes to entertainment.
• Medical - At the consumer end of the scale, fitness monitoring is now built into many devices, and made it easier to be aware of the need to keep exercising regularly. 

We are, however, realistic about the challenges facing parents too. We have put together a resource that has information, articles, and apps around common pressure points for parents. We have tried to provide a balanced perspective around some of these key issues so that you as parents can find an approach or strategy that best fits your parenting style.

We encourage you to keep the lines of communication open with your children. Inspired by the Key Jar, we have put together a list of questions that might help you begin some conversations with your child around some of these issues. Perhaps print them both off and mix them in together?

Common Sense Media has a lot of resources around parent concerns, so that is also a great source of information.

At the end of the day, each family is different, and you need to find the right combination of solutions to challenges that works for you. We hope these resources are a step in the right direction.

Please let us know any other resources you think might be useful, and we will do our best to add them.

A Beginner's Guide to Google Apps for Education

At a recent parent forum, we had requests for a workshop on Google Apps, so parents can understand what their child is doing at school and support them at home.

We focused on Google Docs, Google Drive and GMail. You can see a summary of what we spoke about in the presentation below.

We used the context of Favourite Restaurants in Singapore to show some of the features of docs. Check it out!

For more self-directed learning with Google Apps, try the Google Apps Learning Centre.

A Response to Recent News Articles on the OECD Report "Students, Computers and Learning: Making The Connection"

Many people have seen news articles about a new report from the OECD in recent days. A typical article and headline is this one from the BBC - “Computers 'do not improve' pupil results, says OECD” This headline is followed by the opening line: “Investing heavily in school computers and classroom technology does not improve pupils' performance, says a global study from the OECD.”

Firstly, I would always advise caution when looking at news headlines. The purpose of a headline is by its nature to grab attention, not to necessarily give a balanced viewpoint. Counterpoint the BBC’s headline and opening line with the OECD’s from their own press release:

New approach needed to deliver on technology’s potential in schools

Schools have yet to take advantage of the potential of technology in the classroom to tackle the digital divide and give every student the skills they need in today’s connected world, according to the first OECD PISA assessment of digital skills.

The full report - titled “Students, Computers and Learning: Making The Connection” can be found here.

Digging in to the BBC article and the report itself, shows very clearly that the intent of the OECD report is not to advocate that schools do not use computers with students, it is rather that educators need to get better at using computers to yield improvements.

“School systems need to find more effective ways to integrate technology into teaching and learning  to provide educators with learning environments that support 21st century pedagogies and provide children with the 21st century skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s world,” said Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills. “Technology is the only way to dramatically expand access to knowledge. To deliver on the promises technology holds, countries need to invest more effectively and ensure that teachers are at the forefront of designing and implementing this change.” Quote from OECD press release

“....Mr Schleicher says the findings of the report should not be used as an "excuse" not to use technology, but as a spur to finding a more effective approach.” Quote from BBC article

This is a sentiment that the College very much subscribes to and one that we believe we are robustly implementing. The College, and more importantly our teachers, are very reflective in their use of technology to support teaching and learning and are constantly looking for uses that show real value add over traditional approaches.

Something that the article does not do is to question the method that the report uses to measure educational success. The measure of educational success used is the OECDs PISA tests. There are reasons why we might question this as a baseline.

The first one is the assumption that the purpose of using computers in schools is to improve academic results in traditional science, english and maths tests. Certainly at UWCSEA, we have never stated that the purpose of using technology to enrich teaching and learning is about improving test results. Rather the stated aims of the original iLearn initiative were to “...seek to improve learning and develop skills through:

• Flexible Progression
• Critical Thinking
• Unhindered Innovation
• Collaborative Learning”

For a complete overview of the original initiative please see here. Please note that these outcomes are now embedded into the UWCSEA Profile.

The PISA tests simply do not measure these skills and qualities, so they are not a valid measure for many of the desired outcomes that technology use can bring to teaching and learning. Nor do they test digital skills, which are in themselves a desirable outcome and for many a requirement for future preparedness in our students.

Further to this, there are many noted academics who question the value of the PISA tests even for their own stated aims. One of the most well known and a frequent guest speaker for the Singapore Ministry of Education, is the American Professor Yong Zhao; Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon.

"PISA, the OECD’s triennial international assessment of 15 year olds in math, reading, and science, has become one of the most destructive forces in education today. It creates illusory models of excellence, romanticizes misery, glorifies educational authoritarianism, and most serious, directs the world’s attention to the past instead of pointing to the future."

For more information you can read Zhao’s blogposts here.

So in summary, the College has found that much of the press coverage of the research has been misleading. We are fully supportive of the recommendations in the original report, although we feel they have limited relevance to our situation. For a full discussion of the report it is also necessary to question the use of the PISA tests as a measure of educational success, particularly as regards the success of “21st century pedagogies.”

Parenting in the Digital Age

As parents, we all want what is best for our children. Kids are growing up in a digital age that is much different than the one we grew up in. Many parents are coming to grips with how they approach digital technology usage in their home. There are many approaches and every family and situation is unique. Parents have to decide what approach works best for them. There is no "one size fits all" method.

Technology brings many benefits to our lives.

One of the biggest benefits of technology is that it enables us to communicate very easily. Parents can keep in contact with their children via texts, phone or video calls. Many children regularly communicate using Skype with family members far away for free. Gone are the days of short, expensive, long distance calls to relatives. These same children are capturing photos and videos and sharing them with friends and family.

Technology has allowed us to have a window into the classroom that we have never had before. Teachers and students share photos, videos, work samples, voice recordings and many other things easily using technology. Big events like performances are often recorded or even live streamed so people who can't be at the event won't miss it.


Technology helps us with our efficiency and organization.
Not so long ago, trying to find someone else's location could be a very frustrating experience. Now when we are taking our children to something like a birthday party, we use the maps function on our phone to help us locate the address, and even get us there by guiding us every step of the way.

Shared calendars and to-do lists on our devices help to keep our schedules and lives organized. I know I feel less stressed about forgetting something when I have it written down on my phone. And if you haven't used the voice to text feature on your device recently, you should really try it out. I love it and I am excited about how it can help students in the classroom.

A little while ago, I found one of my favourite books online that is out of print and no longer in bookstores and had it delivered to my door. I didn't have to travel all that way to the little bookshop in Michigan - how is that for efficiency?

Technology provides entertainment.
Let's face it, we all use technology as a form of entertainment and that is a good thing. It might be your child building worlds in Minecraft or you playing a game of Scrabble. Never has it been so easy to rent a movie with the touch of a button or download an app that reinforces a concept a student has learned in an entertaining way.

Technology helps us learn.
When you want to find out about something, what is the first thing you and your family does? You Google it. It has become such an ingrained part of our lives that it is easy to take for granted. It wasn't that long ago where knowledge was stored in books and we had to use the card catalogue in the library as a starting point for our search. Memorizing information isn't the skill we value anymore; we value the ability to find and use information. And where do many teenagers look to find out about how to do something? YouTube has become the go to place to learn about something new.

But we aren't going to pretend that with all these benefits, there aren't any drawbacks to the technology. Parents have concerns about technology and their children. Screentime, inappropriate online content, digital distractions and cyber bullying are some of the issues that we sometimes hear when parents share their concerns.

Parents sometimes tell us that their children know more about the technology than they do and this worries them. Of course, this is not a new concern for parents. Every generation has a new technology that pushes against the previous generation. In 1815, educators had to fight to allow students to use paper and pencil instead of a slate. In 1941 at a principal's conference, there was resistance to students using the fountain pen because they would lose the ability to sharpen a pencil. There will always be new technology and, as parents, we can't put our head in the sand and make excuses that we don't know how it works.

The most important thing that you can do is be involved in your child's digital life.
Talk to them about what they are doing on the computer. Sit with them when they play that new game. Play it with them. Have conversations with your child about technology issues and concerns.

It is vital that you keep the lines of communication open.
We need to foster an environment in our homes where, if our children have a concern, they come and talk to us about it. Mistakes will be made. That is life. But we want kids to come to us so we can support them in learning from their mistakes.

One way to keep the lines of communication open is to regularly have conversations about technology related topics or situations with your family. Perhaps it could be a regular dinner time or family time conversation?

The topics for conversation can come from anyone in the family. Or you could choose a topic from some conversation starters we have prepared here.

You may also want to think about what style of parenting you may want to use when it comes to technology in your household. Here are three possible approaches.

1. Control Oriented Approaches - You as parents decide what happens.
You set the boundaries, rules and consequences. This doesn't mean that you can't have conversations with your child about issues. It just means that the child doesn't participate in the decision making process.

2. Conversational Approaches- Parents and children work together to decide what happens. Any boundaries, rules and consequences are discussed and set by both parents and children. You need to come to a consensus with your family about how to approach and respond to situations.

3. Disposition-Based Approaches - Children make the decisions with the coaching support of parents. 
In this approach, students are encouraged to make their own choices. Again, this doesn't mean that parents are not involved. Parents have conversations with their children about any issues and ask questions to provoke thinking and growth.

No matter which strategy you choose, here are some good question prompts when discussing an issue:
"Why do you want to do this?"
"What are your options?"
"What are the consequences of your actions?"
"How will your decision affect others?"
"Is this decision in your best interests in the long run?"

In each of the strategies above, the lines of communication are open between parents and children. The difference is who is the decision maker in the process - parents, parents and children, or children.

A fantastic resource for parents is Common Sense Media.  It is regularly updated and includes many helpful articles, videos and other resources

Below are some resources we have collated around some of the more common concerns for parents, with links to articles which provide different perspectives. There are also links grouped by parenting style, so you can find articles relevant to your parenting approach.

Learning to Manage Distractions

One of parents' biggest concerns around student use of technology is that of distractions. The same tool we use to create and learn, can be used to entertain and derail productivity.

So what are our options, as teachers? As parents?

We could create elaborate structures of control (blocking certain websites, turning off wifi etc), but that is only a temporary solution.

At UWCSEA, we prefer to educate students about distractions, with a view to creating informed citizens, who learn to manage their tendencies to get distracted. This is of course what all adults need to learn to do themselves...

This skill of self-management takes time to develop, and students need lots of opportunities to practice. They may well need frequent reminders throughout their schooling of techniques and approaches to reducing distractions, and this is where responsive teaching comes to the fore.

One of the ways we have begun to educate students about distractions is through the Personal and Social Education curriculum. Recently, I co-taught with a Grade 3 teacher, who was concerned her students were getting side-tracked with Google Chat, and who wanted some strategies for helping students remain focused during class.

When I walked around the room, I asked if I could borrow a few students' computers to show the class. Here's what we found:

Personalisation
Like adults, students in our Grade 3 class loved personalising their computers. The majority had chosen a desktop background of something they were interested in (Minecraft, soccer players, horses etc) and many had changed their Gmail backgrounds to have snow falling or animated gifs moving in the background at all times.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Movement and colour can attract attention, often away from what we should be focusing on. Think about visiting a news website, for example. Advertisements often contain moving elements, as these attract the eye - a deliberate attempt by the advertiser to get you to notice what they are selling.

If we choose to have moving elements on our Gmail backgrounds, or our desktop wallpaper (one of the options on a Mac is to have a new desktop background picture every 5 seconds), then we are making it much harder for us to concentrate on our school work.

Colours that help promote calm and thinking are greens and blues, so they were recommended to the students as colours they might like to choose for their desktop and Gmail backgrounds. We encourage personalisation, but we want to make students aware that their choices have an impact on their learning. Students went back to their computers and made changes they were comfortable with.

Chat
The ability to send and receive instant messages is a relatively new phenomenon for our Grade 3 students. Understandably, it's an exciting feature to explore. Many students have older brothers or sisters who like seeing their younger sibling online, and take the opportunity to check in. This puts the younger student in a bit of a conundrum - do I reply to my sibling, or stay focused on my school work?

In one of those serendipitous twists of fate, this exact scenario occurred while I was in the room, providing us with a perfect teachable moment.

We plugged in the computer of a student whose sibling had sent a G-Chat message, and asked the students what they could do in this sort of situation. There were lots of animated discussions in groups about this scenario, and we collected some of the responses and evaluated them as a class.

"We could turn our G-Chat to invisible, so noone knows we are online."
"So can people still send you messages when you're invisible?" we asked.
"Yes, they could."
"Have a think about how that might that affect your learning," we suggested.

"We could turn our G-Chat to busy, so people know we're working."
"So can people still send you messages when you're busy?" we asked.
"Yes, they could."
"Have a think about how that might that affect your learning," we suggested.

"We could sign out of G-Chat when we're at school."
"So can people still send you messages when you're signed out?" we asked.
"No, they couldn't."
"Have a think about how that might that affect your learning," we suggested.

We then sent students back to their desks to make a decision that would help them remain focused on their learning following the discussion with the class.

Documenting Thinking
The final piece of the puzzle was to document their thinking about distractions, and the changes they decided on for their laptops using a Quicktime Screen Recording, which we embedded in their Google Site (see below for details)