Every parent now wonders whether it is safer to send their child to school when they have a cold or let them stay at home. The problem is that parents are being told that if a child develops a fever or cough to keep them away from school, self-isolate and get them tested for Covid-19.…
The Netflix film, The Social Dilemma, should be obligatory viewing for every parent. Innocently, perhaps, most of us allow our children to indulge in social media in order to keep contact with friends. The truth behind these networks is far more sinister. Firstly, the sites are addictive, to quote Dr Anna Lembke, at Stanford University…
A recent Forbes article celebrating World Teachers´Day highlighted the exceptional work done by teachers in this most difficult of times and the lengths that they have had to go through to ensure that children continue to learn. But with an ever decreasing line of young people wanting to join the profession and salaries that for…
The Coronavirus Act in the UK has given Ministers new powers to ensure schools offer pupils who are not in school the same lessons as those in class. As parts of the country move into their second phase of lockdown the government claims that it is “formalising pupils’ rights to remote learning”. But rather than…
The question of whether Pedagogy comes before Technology has been swept aside in the last six months as the latter has become a means to the end, rather than just an afterthought. While learning cannot take place without pedagogy, it can take place without technology. In the past technology was used under the premise that…
There has been a lot of negative discussion around social media, in particular following the documentary, The Social Dilemma. A survey by Plan International, based on conversations with over 14,000 girls across the world, revealed that 58% of them had been harassed, abused or discriminated online. Calls are now being made (yet again) for action…
A recent study – “The impact of screens on daily life during confinement” – backed by the EU, carried out by www.empantallados.com/GAD3 revealed that 50% of parents had bought a device during confinement to help with online classes. The report gave an x-ray view of the impact of technology in homes in Spain, where 75%…
The costs associated with maintaining a Covid-free environment were never budgeted for schools in 2020. Yet they are having to foot the bill for personal protective equipment, extra cleaning, more staff and also for the physical adaptations required for schools to be safe. One of the major issues lies with staffing costs. In the UK…
Hackers have no scruples. A few weeks ago we reported that hackers were now targeting the education sector. Just over a week ago the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Las Vegas reopened for the autumn term and was attacked by hackers three days later. Some computer systems were infected with a virus that prohibited…
A recent article from the BBC on research completed for the UK Safer Internet Centre identified that “children are at a risk of being groomed for sexual abuse because some schools are failing to adequately protect them from online harms”. As children are having to rely on the internet for home schooling as well as…