“I started attending 3D Design & Printing club this year, and it is actually much better than what I thought. It is more serious than other clubs I have been in before. I mean, we actually do stuff and print stuff. For this year, we tried to find problems in school and to solve them in groups. Mathew and I are in a small group and we are solving an iPad charging problem. Mr.D, who is our teacher, started with teaching us the steps of designing. We first should find a problem, then find a solution and make a design on paper. Next is the big part — making the prototype. We started off with cardboard. Our project was pretty complicated, so the first day all we did was measuring and calculating. The next class we started on cutting work, which is hard with the cardboard. Though it was hard, it was still worth it, as the prototype worked! Obviously, we had a little celebration. Next was the tech stuff, which I am better at as I did some printing before. We still had a major problem, our design was too big for the printer, which meant that it couldn’t be printed. We cut our design in two parts, printed it out and then glued the two pieces together. The rest worked out well, and the iPad charger is usable. We presented it to Ms Pamela, to use in her class. We are looking for more problems now, so if you have anything you know that can be printed, contact us or Mr.D.” Tiantian - Grade 6. “In the 3D Design & Printing after-school activity, we learned how to design objects. Olwen, Panduleni and I decided to make something to hold the HDMI cable for the smartboard or TV in our classes so that they were not just lying on the floor. We made it so that it can fit in the table by measuring and constructing a prototype out of cardboard to see how it would work. We then started the design on the computer. We used a website called Tinkercad. Tinkercad allows you to make 3D models. It was very difficult to do it because of the spacing and height but we figured it out. When the design was complete, we sent it to the printer. It sounds easy but it took a very very long time to make designs and print everything. We are now looking for a problem around the school that we can design a solution for and 3D print it. If you have an idea please email Mr.D. We really love 3D printing and it is fun to do. We think 3D printing I a great activity for kids to learn how to problem solve and work as a team.” Oliwia & Olwen - Grade 5.
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Some messages have been going around in a variety of formats; text or video and on different platforms. The videos, for example, scare children, encourage children to commit suicide or cut themselves among other things and in some cases, share extremist views. One of our Primary School students alerted us of a message he received from his sister (please see below). We would like to commend the sibling on doing the right thing - seeking to talk to him about the video. Our approach, as a school, is not just to block websites or ban iMessages, social media. Dialogue is important. Social media tools can be very beneficial when used appropriately. When misused, the results can be catastrophic. This week, a ‘Momo’ video caused a stir in Primary School. It has been talked about a lot on social media by concerned parents and teachers. While it turns out the ‘Momo’ video was a hoax, a lot of children saw the video and were affected by it. We speak with students about Digital Citizenship and how they should react to content found online. The Grade 3 students explore the Digital Passport, Grade 6 students take a Life Skills class where they explore the Digital Compass. These are interactive experiences created by Common Sense Media to teach Digital Citizenship Skills. Other classes talk about Digital Citizenship skills as and when it is necessary. For example, during the How The World Works Unit Of Inquiry, Grade 2 students discuss how technology has changed the way we communicate. This year, they had an open house where we discussed issues around technology use with parents. As a result of our discussions with students, they create a variety of media that promotes Digital Citizenship Skills. Below is a video we recorded in Grade 4 after discussing the ‘Momo’ and other videos found online. Although the ‘Momo’ video has been dismissed as a hoax, it has had a significant impact on some of our students at our school. Our focus is not on the ‘Momo’ video. We would like to address any other inappropriate videos and content found or shared online. As demonstrated by the sibling in the message at the beginning of this post, we encourage parents to have conversations with their children about talking to strangers in person or online. Talk about watching random videos sent or posted on digital platforms and what the implications could be. Set your own agreements and boundaries together as a family.
You may ban devices for your child or block certain websites but other platforms you don’t even know about may exist or come up tomorrow. Your children could be shown the videos or media by someone else who has access to a device. Rather teach your children to make a choice when watching digital media and ask the following questions: Who is the sender? Is this appropriate? Would my parents be ok with me watching this? What could the creator’s intentions be? Common Sense Media has written a post titled 13 Online Challenges Your Kid Already Knows About. Click here to read the article and pay attention to the ‘What to Do’ section of the post to find out how you can help your children navigate these platforms. Common Sense Media is an organisation that helps students, parents, and schools harness the power of media and technology in children’s lives. It reviews the most common apps, games, movies, and other media that children consume. Please get in touch with Mr. Danai Maramba (WIS Technology Coach) - [email protected] or your child’s respective principal (Secondary - Ms. Reiff - [email protected], Primary - Ms. Beth - [email protected]) if you have any questions or want to discuss this matter further. WIS will be hosting a parent information evening on the 27th March 2019 to talk with parents about their child(ren)’s use of technology and what to do to avoid technology being used in the wrong way. The way we communicate has changed over time. Our children know how to get a message across using a variety of tools and languages. Emojies help us express ourselves better and quickly. Acronyms are developed every day in order to type quickly (text message language). There comes a time when we all need to write a formal letter, signed and (or) posted. Some e-mails need to be formal. Grade 5 and 6 students have learned what a formal e-mail looks like. We discussed;
As you talk to your children about their use of social media, Commonsense Media has put together a list of some apps teens are using this year. Read about them HERE! to have a sense of what is happening. This is only a guide with the popular apps. Talk to your child, find out what they are using. Discuss the short and long term advantages and disadvantages of using these apps.
Dialogue is more important than banning. If you haven’t done so, subscribe to Family Online Safety Institute and Commonsense Media to stay updated on issues around digital media safely and use. Remember, nearly all other social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. Users need to be 16 years old to use WhatsApp.
While all the measures we can put in place can be hacked or a workaround can be found, Apple has tried to help. The latest operating system, which unfortunately will not work on very old devices, iOS 12, allows you to monitor and control screen time on your own device and on your children’s devices. The Washington Post’s Geoffrey A. Fowler takes you through the feature in the video below.
I have set screen time restrictions on my son’s device and have discussed the restrictions with him. He has queried certain restrictions and I have either explained them to him or adjusted the settings to suit his requests. I have had to set the restrictions physically on his device even though I have family sharing on. Note: it is important to have a discussion with your child about why you need to set and apply the restrictions and have their input like “Is an hour ok for you during the week for specific apps?” “Why do you think you need this much time for this app?” Set the boundaries that suit you and your child in order to maintain a good relationship, not a boundary that you have heard someone set at their house.
What I found important for me was that based on the settings I applied, my son cannot use his iPad from a certain time in the evening to a certain time in the morning. He is still not allowed to sleep with his device in his room though. I also removed the ability to sign out of his iTunes account or Apple ID (in-case he lets someone else sign into his device and install an app I would not approve of). Please keep in mind, all these settings are meant to guide him. They are not an ultimate solution that makes me feel covered and secure. For more information about screen time, you can read my article, How much Screen Time Is Ok For My Children from last week's Oryx. Our children are surrounded by screens everywhere. Everyone is talking about screen time and how it is bad for children. Shall we get rid of those screens? Most of the cars today have big screens with Apple Play/ Android Play and all kinds of things. When we drive, young children focus on these screens more than they look outside the window and enjoy the scenery. Shall we get rid of those nice cars? Shall we? Some parents entertain their children when they are at restaurants, in church or at an occasion by giving them their phones to play. Good or bad? Before we judge, what is screen time? Technology is a big part of teaching and learning at WIS. My blog posts show how we use technology at school and give tips on how to stay safe and cope with technology at home. Typically, we want our students to think of technology as a tool rather than a toy. We are big on content creation. We want students to be creators of content rather than consumers. We want them to use technology responsibly at home as digital citizens. How do we draw the boundaries? What is screen time? The article; How much screen time is ok for my kids by Common Sense media may help us understand what screen time is and how much is enough. Common Sense media is an organisation that empowers parents, teachers, and policymakers by providing unbiased information, trusted advice, and innovative tools to help them harness the power of media and technology as a positive force in all kids’ lives.
If you haven't done so, here is how you can subscribe to your child's class blog. When subscribed, you will get an e-mail notification each time there is a new post sharing student learning or informing you about your child's class. We encourage you to leave a comment on the post and engage us in conversations about our learning. Who knows, we may learn something from you or from your questions.
This guide has been adapted from Ms Veena's class.
Another way to help us take learning outside of the classroom is to connect us to an expert in the field. Send a link from one of our posts to an expert so that they can comment.
Google Docs and Storybird are two of my favorite tools to promote writing skills. They complement other traditional methods and approaches to writing that are taught in the classroom.
Google Docs allows students to write stories and insert their own images. The commenting feature in Google Docs creates opportunities for peer editing. Students can go through each other’s work and practise giving positive feedback to each other on the documents. Teachers can also give feedback as shown here, where Ms Kirstin gave feedback to one of her students to help correct their story;
Storybird allows students to create their own picture books based on artwork provided by the website’s illustrators. These can be long form or short form books. Books can be downloaded in pdf or e-pub format to be read on e-book readers or ordered in hardcover or softcover form. The website encourages students by sending challenges periodically.
Click here to read a news report written by a Year 4 (Grade 3) student in Ms Charne’s class. This was the first time Year 4 students used Google Docs. Below is a story written by a Year 5 (Grade 4) student in Ms Viviana’s class using storybird.com. The website challenged the students to write a fairytale, giving them guidelines and restrictions.
Writing skills continue to develop all the way to Secondary school as students learn and practise new skills. Both tools allow us to publish student writing. They encourage students to be creators of content, not just consumers. Ask your child about storybird.com. If they don’t have an account, create one with them. Order hardcover books for them. Let them see that they too can write books and self publish.
Smartphones are now a necessity and the general trend is that students are getting their own phones earlier, for example, as early as Year 3, at least as far as I know. My son has asked me when he will have his own phone and I told him I haven’t even started considering that. The decision of when your child gets a phone is entirely yours to make. We do however, ask all students to bring a device to school as part of our BYOD program from Year 5 upwards. This opens up opportunities and gives students access to different apps and websites. Here are the steps we have taken to ensure that the devices are used appropriately and teach Digital Citizenship skills;
It has come to our attention that some students have social media accounts. In some cases the students mention that hey have either created the accounts with their parents or that parents are well aware of their accounts. Although this is part of our discussions with students after earning their Digital Passport, we would like to let parents know that most social media tools require users to be at least 13 years and older. Here are some links from Common Sense Media that can help show parents what they need to know about some of the social media tools out there including age limits; Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat, Youtube, Wats App. Common Sense Media often reviews all the latest games, apps and movies to help parents keep up to date with trends and online safety. Subscribe to their newsletters, or follow them on social media to always get their updates. Digital Citizenship skills are not something that should only be left for the school to teach. They should be taught at home too. Most of the incidences around the misuse use of social media have occurred at home, after school hours. We urge all parents to be vigilant. A good cover is essential for a student’s or any other device. It can save lots of money in repairs and device replacement. In addition, every device should have a screen protector (the plastic film that is attached to a device’s screen). This provides extra protection from most cracks.
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