As we develop our effective use of Digital Learning in Opua School for teaching and learning activities and, more specifically our use of Google Docs for the older children and Apple iPads for the younger children, we want to endeavour to keep our parent community as informed and involved as possible. As a result, we will keep adding useful information, ideas and links to this page as we proceed and as it becomes available.
NOTE: If you are looking for our Online Home Learning activities, please click on the Our Rooms tab and scroll right to the Home Learning tab. All available learning activities are ‘housed’ there.
Introduction
Please click this link for an introduction document explaining why we are making these changes: Digital Learning at Opua School
Please click this link for a powerpoint version of this introduction: Powerpoint for Digital Learning at Opua School
In general, our philosophy is one of balance. We want our children to stay abreast of new learning, new technologies and new ways of accessing information and skills. However, we are still mindful that too much screen time could be damaging and we want to manage that time, seeing digital devices as tools. We are here to guide the children to choose the best tool. In terms of Screen time, the following link takes you to a document that has some useful tips on this topic:
In terms of some general good advice, have a look at our 10 Best suggestions for Managing Digital devices at home at the foot of this page and this one-page document from Network for Learning [N4L]:
What resources will we be using in school to support your children to be good digital citizens?
In Rooms 1 and 2, the children will be working through age appropriate modules to support their safety online. Some of these are called Hector’s World.
In Rooms 3, 4 and 5, the children will be continue to discuss digital citizenship in class and have a values based approach to online safety which we will be regularly referring to and teaching. We have a guide in Rooms 4 and 5 for this that is underpinned by our school’s AWHINA values.
Parent consultation meetings
Please see the powerpoint below which was the presentation given by our PLD providers to the Parent Consultation meeting on 11th August, 2016 . This powerpoint explains the thinking behind what we are trying to achieve: Powerpoint explaining rationale behind Digital Learning
This was the presentation given by our PLD providers to our second Parent Consultation Meeting on Tuesday, 30th August. The topic of this session was ‘Digital Citizenship & Online Safety‘.
A managed network
Our school is part of a countrywide ‘Managed Network’ with a number of robust, built in system tools and safeguards called N4L – Network for Learning. For general information about this N4L managed network, please go for a browse around their website: http://www.n4l.co.nz/
Keeping our children safe online
The Ministry of Education has supported the development of a ‘Netsafe Kit for schools’. I suggest a browse through at least the following pages:
www.netsafe.org.nz/the-kit/digital-citizenship
www.netsafe.org.nz/the-kit/schools-and-digital-citizenship
www.mylgp.org.nz and www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/super-digital-citizen
We have made Google searches and website access as safe as possible in school but you can do this at home also. Please watch the following videos for advice:
and… [ This one is excellent information for parents. There are many other tutorials about how to do this. Simply go to YouTube and type in ‘Open dns tutorials‘ ]
Also: How to set parent controls for online gaming: The following link is the Introduction – 01 – the first of 5 videos.
www.igea.net is a wealth of useful information about gaming to support parents.
MORE ADVICE and INFORMATION:
Here’s information about Digital Footprints that we create. It would be useful to show and discuss this with your children at home:
…and the THINK analogy related to online behaviours:
Please click on the useful links below for further good advice on keeping your children safe online:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/privacy-and-internet-safety
OUR TEN BEST SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGING DIGITAL LEARNING AT HOME:
- Show your children you are engaged and involved in their online learning;
- Establish agreed, shared rules when a device is purchased such as: parents always have the children’s updated passwords; all devices are put in an agreed location at an agreed time [especially – they are not in bedrooms and not being used after a certain time];
- Online friends should be treated [e.g. discussed and introduced] just like friends who visit your house;
- A parent should always be watched by the child as they do a ‘website history / sites visited’ check weekly;
- A child is told and understands why personal information should never be shared online;
- A child is supported and encouraged to lead a balanced life enjoying exciting and positive learning experiences in the digital world but also enjoying the physical world and traditional, active indoors and outdoors play;
- Don’t ‘bury your head in the sand’. The digital world is a reality and it is best to engage with it and go with your child every step of the way sharing the learning, discussing the issues and deciding on the best ways of reacting to online issues together instead of trying to be prohibitionist and over-protective.
- Know that a child between 5 and 18 is highly recommended to have an absolute maximum of 2 hours each day on a device.
- Use a timer to “prove” how long a child has been online. Take out the debate, emotion and arguments that commonly come with this topic.
- Be an adult “model”. Show that you also can put down your phone, turn off the computer and end your game when the agreed time limit has been reached.