CONTRIBUTORS Gaming – listen to PEGI!


This month, regular Education Today contributor MARK BENTLEY of London Grid for Learning examines the safeguarding issues around video games.


A few weeks ago I attended a talk given by Lorin LaFave from the Breck Foundation on the danger of grooming, which for her son took place via gaming. Many teachers will be aware of Breck Bednar, who was murdered after being groomed playing online video games. Of course gaming and playing games online doesn’t equate to grooming, but stories such as Breck’s show us it is worth knowing about and reflecting on the games that our young people play. At the start of the new term many of our students will have spent


time playing online or console games over Christmas and received new ones as presents. As teachers, we should always safeguard our students against grooming, and there are many places teachers can look to for support on this including Think You Know’s great online advice site. An often overlooked aspect of gaming however is the suitability of the games our young people play. Statistics show that of the top 10 best-selling computer games of


2015, over half were rated for players of 18 years or older. Anecdotal evidence however, would suggest that a staggeringly high proportion of young gamers, including at primary school, are playing games with an 18+ rating. Often parents are happy with this, and will say they purchased these


games as “other ones were too easy”. However it is important to be aware these ratings have nothing to do with difficulty. In the same way that an 18+ rating on a film is inappropriate for


young children due to the graphic violence or sexual content, 18 rated games should never be considered the norm for young children. While it is easy for schools to say that this decision is the


responsibility of the parents, teaching staff can play an important part in educating parents about the dangers and appropriateness of games. For example, do the parents at your school know what PEGI ratings


are? Devised by the Pan European Games Industry these ratings indicate the minimum ages games are suitable for, with the intention of helping consumers make informed purchasing choices. Although you will always see a PEGI rating on a physical product,


often purely online games do not have a rating. But it is important not to interpret a lack of a rating as a sign of universal suitability. Some of the most popular games played in our schools today involve pointless and sexual violence, a worrying trend for children to be exposed to. The key message to pass on to parents is to get involved, consider


the content of a game before purchasing it, and be aware of what games your children may be playing online. Remind parents that there is plenty of help online, for example NSPCC’s ShareAware game ratings, advice from Internet Matters on all manner of issues for parents navigating the online world of their children, and ratings for thousands of apps, games and networks on Common Sense Media. Equally there are a lot of positives to gaming; they can encourage


problem solving as well as creativity and an interest in highly valuable skills such as coding. As with any online behaviour the most important thing is knowledge: what are children playing, what does it involve and what are the potential dangers? Forearmed is always forewarned.


uwww.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children- safe/share-aware


uwww.internetmatters.org/advice/online-gaming/ uwww.commonsensemedia.org/ uwww.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/Online-grooming/ uwww.gaming.lgfl.net/ uwww.osparents.lgfl.net/


12 www.education-today.co.uk


Technology in the classroom


This month, regular Education Today STEM contributor KIRSTY BERTENSHAWtakes a look at technology in the classroom, and offers some pointers on getting the best out of it.


Technology in the classroom is an ongoing issue – what to buy, is it all necessary, and is it money well spent? Technology has come and gone in classrooms, as has funding, but here are my observations. When I began my teacher training nine years ago, interactive


whiteboards were the newest technology in the classroom – SMART boards and Prometheus interactive whiteboards. These were being installed in every school and were meant to revolutionise the learning environment. Now, most secondary schools I have come across have removed these whiteboards and returned to standard ones due to damage, changes in school layout and lack of money for upkeep. Also, with better internet connections, animations and videos are easily accessible using just a projector, which cost far less! Interestingly, primary schools seem to have kept the interactive whiteboards and mostly still use them. Data logging is a requirement of the national curriculum, and there are


some fantastic new technologies including dataloggers which can now record data without a netbook or laptop, and even wireless sensors. Of course, these come with a cost, and require maintenance and careful use. At a recent event, I came across iPad/iPhone sensors produced by a company called Instruments Direct Services Limited which have manufactured low cost sensors compatible with iPad 3 and iPhone 4, but not all newer models. These mobile sensors are a viable option for the classroom, and do plot graphs just like traditional data loggers. Alternatively, training on dataloggers schools already have is available. Netbooks, laptops and iPads have also appeared in classrooms, usually as


a set shared between a department. These are fantastic and avoid the need to booking a slot in a computer room, then waiting for all the PCs to boot up. However, there needs to be a budget for maintenance, which often does not exist. Laptops and netbooks suffer from wear and tear when passed between classes, batteries have a limited lifespan and keys are often victims of enthusiastic usage. An easy solution to this is not to provide netbooks or laptops at all. Most students carry the same functions in their pocket. In their smart phone! Students could be allowed to carry out research, produce animations and


videos, add special effects and make presentations… at their desk! There are mobile phone policies in some schools which currently limit this, and there is the concern that some students may not have a smart phone or data allowance to do this, but there are options to make this viable. Firstly, group work eliminates the need for a smart phone each. Monitored guest Wi-Fi access for students allows use of the school internet instead of data, which is more easily monitored for safety. Mobile phones can also access apps to support learning, including access to VLEs. A mobile phone camera can take photographs through an eyepiece of a microscope – no specialist equipment needed. This makes scientific drawings easier, adds proof for PAGs in the new GCSEs, and allows students to share their learning (and enthusiasm) with others. The last piece of technology in the classroom I would include as valuable


is a Virtual Learning Environment or VLE. These are not technically used in the classroom but as a complimentary resource. There are many VLEs in existence, some are whole school such as Frog, SAM learning or Moodle to name a few, and some are subject specific such as My Maths. All these VLEs allow students independence and control of their own learning, checking understanding and deepening learning.


uwww.inds.co.uk/education/ uwww.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/ WhyyoushoulduseaVirtualLearningEnvironment.aspx


January 2017


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