“Technology giveth and
technology taketh away" wrote Neil Postman a number of years ago in his
book The End Of Education.
This is
both obvious and important for us to think about. The car has had huge benefits
but it also has brought pollution and created a sense of independence from each
other that walking to the shops or church did not create. It has also sped up
our world. And yet we wouldn't deny its benefits. We just need to think
carefully about what we lose with technology and how we can still achieve a
sense of patience, peace and community - and have cleaner cars for better air
quality.
What does computer
technology give and what does it take away? And how do we address the issues
created by what is taken away?
At MCS we acknowledge that
computer technology CAN:
-reduce
healthy communication between people
-create
another obsession for some people
-provide a
place for bullying and abuse
-enable
people to see and read material that is unhelpful or even dangerous
-help
children forget how to write manually
-stop
children thinking critically
-create a
consumer culture rather than a creative culture
Therefore, we have put in
place the following to help our learners grow in a more balanced way:
1. Providing safely
monitored communication channels within the school community. Edmodo is fully
monitored by staff, accessible to parents, and builds community between our
learners. Blogs are monitored by staff, accessible by parents, and encourage
staff-monitored comments from the outside world on student posts, therefore
building an audience for their writing.
2. Teaching children to Be
Still in a range of ways - through quiet reflection, individual silent
prayer, art, hands on independent activities that connect them with God, and
through having Technology Free Days regularly
3. Teaching children about
bullying and cyber safe and digital citizenship. Bullying happens sometimes
in any playground as children establish their own identities, and sometimes
this is unseen by the teachers. However, in cyberspace it can be even more
hidden. Having staff monitoring what is written on blogs and Edmodo can help
staff uncover things and have good conversations early, helping the children to
learn.
4. We have strong
restrictions in our school to keep children as safe as possible from
unsuitable material
5. We still teach children
to read and write and compute offline, and do handwriting
lessons.
6. We actively teach
children to think creatively and critically
7. We are trying to have
children do things on the computer/iPad that they couldn't normally do elsewhere. This is often
researching, often creative and often collaborative in ways that we could never
have done in the past
So, given
the new environment in which we live, we are excited about what technology
giveth, and genuinely seek to try to remediate in areas that technology taketh
away. Please read the Keeping Kiwi Kids Safer in Cyberspace brochures
sent home today.
We are
holding a Parent evening about Connecting through Tech on Wednesday 16th April.
Helen
Pearson
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