IN RESPONSE TO THIS SEGMENT ON "SCREEN TIME"
*First and Foremost, my views are my own and do not represent those of my employer*
We all understand how the media needs to edit for time.
Here’s what you didn’t get to see or hear and wish you could have…….
- The Voice of My Kids: technology is part of our world; we all know that. What my kids would have said: we use it when we need it and when we don’t, we don’t.
- The variety. Some kids were playing a math game but if you spanned out you would have seen kids coding, creating presentations, creating digital books, comics and doing research.
- The fact that I don't disagree with research and Glow Kids' author, Nicholas Kardaras' views. We all knwo too much of one thing is not a good thing. It's all about balance. I believe there is a place for technology in the classroom; in a specific, educational and creative way.
- Using technology allows us to communicate and interact with other classrooms around the world.
- It helps support our learning through educational games instead of always playing video games and I think the best quote from my student, “J” - "it gives us time now to learn how to use it responsibly so that as we get older, we have the tools and skills we need to use it appropriately and well."
- We are NOT a tech-dependent classroom. I (along with many other teachers) focus on teaching kids to recognize when they need technology and when they don’t.
- We teach safe online habits and how to avoid plagiarism.
- It’s all about BALANCE - we balance healthy living and active lifestyles with technology. We get outside. We play. We communicate in different ways. We learn in different ways.
- It gives some kids a voice that might not have one before. Whether that is producing work in learning-assisted technologies due to academic challenges or special needs, it’s allowing some kids to be part of our learning and conversations in a different way.
-My kids are learning how to communicate, collaborate, develop character, critical thinking and problem solving in all areas (technology is one piece of a VERY BIG pie)
-We practice mindfulness. We check in with ourselves. We talk about calming strategies and dealing with anxieties.
-We participate in national initiatives through our tech. We not only talk about anxieties and how to deal with them, but we share the importance of mental wellness through social media and help contribute to supporting mental health through "bell let’s talk."
- We are CREATORS. We are not always CONSUMERS. We are creating and publishing e-books, digital projects, videos, commercials, presentations - and we share it with others near and far.
- We teach online safety and being good humans online and offline.
- We talk about social media and how to keep ourselves safe online.
- We learn that what we do online affects our character offline. We believe in being kind and spreading kindness online and offline.
- We talk about healthy living options and our brains (where does our tech go at night? In our bedrooms? How does that affect our brains? Our sleep?
- We TEACH how to use it and HOW to live a balanced life with it.
- We use social media and class blogs to communicate with parents. Families get to have an inside look into our classroom and share in our learning experiences - there are no tall walls or curtains in our classroom - everyone is invited in through this media.
-You should know that WE BELIEVE that technology is ONE TOOL to get the job done. We believe it’s about balance. We don’t know what jobs will be waiting for us at the end of our grade 12 year. We know that they WILL INVOLVE critical thinking, collaboration, teamwork, problem solving and being good citizens.
These are just SOME OF THE THINGS that technology has helped us with. There’s so much more. Just because a child happens to be infront of a screen does not mean you should feel guilty. Monitoring and educating our children about how much is too much is very important conversation to have.
IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE.
Too much of anything is not a good thing. We know what happens when you eat too much candy…. and the same is true when you work too much. Things are off balanced and other things in your life fall short.
Technology is the same. Parents: reflect on how much time your child is getting. You know if it’s too much. Think about the age of your child and minutes infront of a screen. Teachers: don’t let one version of a story make you step back, feel guilty and drop the tech in your classroom. It’s ALL ABOUT BALANCE.
We have wonderful teachers across this province doing amazing things with their kids that (some) would be a bit more limitless without the use of technology.
Be Balanced. In all aspects.
- N
- N
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