This is the main article for the Digitz Section of GEMS Family Magazine Issue 5. I have attempted to provide some guidance to parents on ways to use digital effectively over the summer and avoid the extremes of banning it altogether at one end and kids doing nothing else at the other!
Summer’s here, so let’s keep learning!
We shouldn’t allow
digital devices to dominate the summer months, but we can help our children to
embrace the unprecedented opportunities that now exist to maintain and extend
their learning in the digital world.
‘Summer Learning Loss’ is a well-recognised phenomenon and
it is important that we keep our children’s minds and bodies active over the
long holiday. Research shows that students
can lose up to two months’ learning each year and that the rate of weight gain
can increase by two or three times! Also, half the achievement gap in reading
can be attributed to summer learning loss, so it is vital that students keep on
reading throughout the break.
With an active, learning mindset, the summer holiday can
provide an opportunity for our young people to not only consolidate and extend
their school-based learning, but also further personalise their learning
journeys by pursuing interests that may not be covered in the curriculum. There
is a great opportunity to read new books and more texts by favourite and
similar authors, or explore new genres not yet discovered. An early trip to a
bookshop to stock up can work wonders! Family outings to museums, art
galleries, exhibitions, events and other attractions can all extend learning,
whilst enriching current interests and sowing the seeds of new ones. Summer
camps, clubs and programmes can also help to keep children engaged, as well as
maintaining a learning focus and familiar routine.
Of course, we all know our young ones love their TVs, gaming
consoles, tablets, phones and computers, and there is a risk that screen time
may increase significantly over the course of a long school break. We must be
careful not to let these devices become babysitters, dominating our children’s
activities and being their main or only learning tool or means of social
interaction. So balance is, as always, key and, as a rule of thumb, three hours
a day screen time should be seen as an upper limit, with a gap of at least an
hour before bed.
With all this in mind, how can we ensure that time spent on
devices is productive and contributes to our children’s learning and positive
development?
From academic revision and extension, to life skills and new
interests, here are ten ways to help our children keep on learning and hit the
ground running in September, coming back stronger than ever!
1. Learn to
Code
It has been said that coding is the new Rock’n’Roll! Just as
great musicians constantly work hard, create and strive to improve, coders and
programmers must display these important qualities if they are to be
successful.
We recommend:
http://www.codecademy.com/
- Codeacademy
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-to-learn-coding-online/
- list of other great coding sites
2. Learn to
Cook
In the age of fast food, take-aways and eating out, cooking
is often an under-rated life skill. And yet, we know how highly rated this
skill can be in social circles, as well as helping us to understood the
relationship between food and our health. We are what we eat! Cooking together
as a family also promotes quality interactions and develops mathematical and
literacy skills - with no small amount of creativity and innovation thrown in
for good measure. You don’t have to follow the recipe!
We recommend:
http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/apps/great-british-chefs-kids
- Cooking With Kids
3. Take a
‘MOOC’
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are now widely available
for K-12 students as well as adult learners. Why not take a MOOC yourself and
compare progress with your kids? It’s a great way to learn independent,
collaborative and online study skills, as well as the course content itself. By
definition, most MOOCS are free, although there may be a charge for a
certificate. We are living in competitive times, when universities, colleges
and employers are faced with a huge supply of candidates, all with similar
qualifications. So, a student having a range of MOOCs under their belt has a
great way to differentiate their applications.
Learn more about MOOCs:
http://www.kars4kids.org/blog/why-kids-should-mooc/
- Why kids should MOOC
We recommend:
http://www.moocs.co/K-12_MOOCs.html
- for a comprehensive list of course providers.
4. eBooks
Whilst there may be nothing quite so relaxing as sitting
down with a real book on holiday, there are also real benefits to students
stocking up their tablets or phones with their own holiday libraries. eBooks
are readily available anytime, anywhere, are often free, and they are easy to
carry around (on one device) if you are travelling over the summer. The only
real drawback is that they shouldn’t be read at bedtime, as there is a lot of
evidence to suggest that screen time in the hour before sleep can have a
serious impact on health.
There are many online book stores in addition to the
well-known Apple, Google and Amazon stores.
Also recommended:
http://www.ebooks.com/
- general site, so parents should monitor downloads
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-childrens-ebooks-online.htm
- list of sites providing free books for children – legally!
5. Visit a
museum – virtually!
Almost all of the most famous museums around the world have
fantastic websites and many have virtual tours available online. If you can’t
get there in real life, exploring these sites is a great way to consolidate,
revise and extend learning from school or explore new interests. It can also be
a fun family activity, especially if your children are lucky enough to be
visiting the museum in real life later as part of their summer itinerary.
Inspiration taken from these tours could lead to creations of models and other
art work at home.
We recommend:
http://www.si.edu/ - The
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC. The tagline is ‘Simply Amazing’ – and it
is!
http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/
- The J. Paul Getty Museum, including a great video playlist!
https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours.aspx
- The British Museum
http://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
- The Louvre, Paris
6. Social Media
As we know, many GEMS students will be travelling the world
this summer, perhaps exploring new shores or visiting relatives in their home
countries. In the past, this often meant losing touch with friends for up to
two whole months. Mobile video chat tools, such as Skype, and a whole range of
social media tools mean that students can stay connected with friends, sharing
their global experiences in real time.
For the older ones, they will do this naturally and already
have their ‘go to’ tools. We should encourage this connectedness, whilst
continuing the family dialogue of appropriate use and balance. For the younger
ones, keeping in touch through Skype (speaking and listening) and email
(reading and writing) is also valuable. For a review of safe social networks
for younger children, see:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/safe-chat-rooms-and-social-sites-for-kids#
- Review of social media sites for younger children
7. Gaming
Children and teens playing computer games often gets a bad
press, largely due to the fear of addiction or simply the view that it is not a
productive use of time. Of course, we
should be wary of too much time spent gaming and some games are more appropriate
and beneficial than others, but we should also be careful not to send the
message to our children that we disapprove of the activity. Indeed, there are significant
benefits to be realised from gaming.
When NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Barry
Wilmore visited GEMS schools in the UAE, a young student asked him: “What
should I do to become an astronaut?”
His reply? “Study hard, take a science or engineering degree
and play video games – lots of video games!”
Computer games and gaming apps have been shown to improve
key skills, such as resilience, critical thinking, problem-solving,
decision-making, global awareness, collaboration, communication and creativity.
Tests are currently being developed to assess such skills via online games and
these could form part of formal school assessments in the not too distant
future.
One of the most popular games around is Minecraft, a
creative, ‘open-world’ game, and parents whose children are into this should be
very pleased! The opportunities provided by Minecraft to learn the skills
mentioned above are impressive – and kids love it! There is a cost attached to
the full version but most people who have played the game would agree it
represents great value for money. Parents of younger students should get involved
in the activity and monitor their children, as not all content is suitable and
online interactions may be involved. Used appropriately, though, it is
fantastic!
For more, see:
8. Keep fit
with ‘Exergaming’
Gaming consoles such as Kinect for X-Box, PlaystationMove
and WiiFit can keep kids fit even if they are stuck in the house. It is
estimated that some of the games available, such as tennis, dancing and boxing,
provide equivalent cardio results to the same time spent on a treadmill and
with the added benefit of improving coordination. Even less energetic games,
such as bowling and golf, have been seen to have a positive impact on fitness. Apps
such as ‘Pop Flux’ for younger children can run on phones and tablets, using
the camera on the device as a sensor, and even be mirrored to a large screen
through an Apple TV, without the need for a console. My own boys (4 and 2) love
this!
9. School subscriptions
and digital content
Students will have been using a range of digital learning
content provided by their school, throughout the academic year. Much of this
content will continue to be accessible online throughout the summer so that
students can continue to explore and learn at their own pace. The children will
know what they have been using and should be encouraged, but not forced, to
keep using these resources. For younger children, it is recommended that
parents contact the school to ensure they know what is available. For GEMS
schools that now have access to the ‘MyLearning’ Virtual Environment, the
students will be to continue accessing great learning throughout the summer,
via the Content Library.
10. Explore new apps,
sites and media to keep on learning
There are literally thousands of great mobile apps and
websites for children to hone their skills in reading, writing, mathematics and
other traditional subjects. Choosing the most effective ones, however, can be a
challenge. Fortunately, help is at hand, with trustworthy review sites such as
Common Sense Media providing comprehensive lists of apps, websites and other
media, along with ratings for learning effectiveness and age recommendations.
Explore further here:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
- reviews of apps, sites and other media
They even have their own summer learning guide – enjoy!
Footnote: space prevented inclusion of many more
suggestions, such as learning a new language or how to write music and play an
instrument as part of a global orchestra! I would welcome suggestions from
students, parents and teachers if I have omitted your favourite site, app or
area of learning!
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