School days Communication breakdown A
DAVID BARRATT, deputy head and ICT teacher at The Paragon School discusses some of the pitfalls of communication technology
s an ICT teacher, a great deal of my time is spent extolling the virtues of ICT to children and showing them how technology can help
them, teaching them how important it is that they learn how to use it effectively. And that, of course, is how it should be. If
we don’t equip children with the necessary ICT skills they will not be able to function in the modern world. However, it’s also vital that children learn
about the flip side – the pitfalls and the dangers of ICT. We have become all too familiar with the potential threats from paedophiles lurking in online chat rooms, and clearly it is essential that children learn cyber safety and become ‘street-wise’ when let loose on the information superhighway. As they get older we must also prepare
them for the dangers of internet fraud, and then we need to teach them about the need for virus protection and firewalls, to guard against malevolent malware, worms and spyware. It’s a jungle out there . . . but there’s another, more insidious danger which we, whether parents or teachers, need to be aware of. Recent advances in communication
technology mean that we can ‘stay connected’, wherever we are, whenever we want. Great. We can communicate with people around the world with the click of a button. Great. We can interact with TV presenters, swap banter with radio DJs. Probably great. Texts, email, Twitter, Facebook – these new means of communication are becoming deeply imbedded in the way society works. Great?
There are numerous benefits to outdoor learning
Children are now born into a world of ICT
Our children are born into a world of ICT
and they embrace it wholeheartedly. They quickly become proficient at texting, as young children they create online avatars and chat via the internet while playing Xbox Live; as they get older, Facebook follows and Twitter beckons. Technology enables them to
communicate endlessly, while saying nothing. And all the while, they are forgetting how to communicate face-to- face. They are in danger of living ‘virtual’ lives. Many a teenager may be found shut away in their room, listening to their iPod, with the TV switched on in the background, ‘Facebooking’ on a laptop, while keeping an eye on incoming texts on their phone.
Virtual living In 1909, EM Forster wrote a prophetic story called The Machine Stops, in which humans live in isolation in a ‘cell’, where all their needs are provided by an omnipotent Machine, and are fearful of the outside world and first-hand experience. 100 years ago the story must have seemed fanciful. Now, I’m not so sure . . . Good schools provide children with
a breadth of experience, so that pupils can learn about the many benefits of technology and learn how to use it, but also have a wealth of opportunities to interact face-to-face with peers, whether this is presenting and debating ideas, tackling challenges together, or chatting through problems. These experiences are crucial if children are to learn how to communicate effectively ‘in the flesh’.
‘Outdoor learning’ are currently buzz
words in education. Thank goodness! The benefits of children learning outside while engaged in practical and meaningful tasks are well documented and it provides a wonderful antidote to the modern, screen-based world. Aside from the health benefits, outdoor learning provides opportunities for children to gain valuable social skills, enhance sensory and aesthetic awareness and develop problem-solving and team building skills. It also provides an opportunity for children to get extremely muddy – an experience which no child should be denied! As parents we must also take time to
encourage, coax (and if necessary, force!) our children to get outside and escape from the screens. The TV and the Playstation are great childminders and so it’s easy to take the line of least resistance. Sometimes children need reminding of the delights of playing football in the park at dusk, fishing in the stream, or kicking through leaves in the woods. And sometimes we adults need to be reminded to remind them. In this technological age where the extra-
ordinary is becoming almost commonplace, we must help our children rediscover the joys of the ordinary. SL
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www.mediaclash.co.uk Salisbury Life 63
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