laptop program in grades seven and eight. We're currently working on our
own materials for Digital Citizenship, and I might share some drafts of
those later.
Middle School Laptops: How to Set Limits at Home
*Suggestions from ASL Parents for ASL Parents*
Throughout the school day in the Seventh and Eighth Grades, students use
MacBook computers. One class might be writing, another researching, anothe=
r
accessing Athena (online academic content), and another making presentation=
s
or movies or even music.
Within the ASL environment, there are a lot of rules to be followed. Stude=
nts
are not allowed to use iChat<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ichat.htm=
l>,
or play games, or watch movies for fun in class or out of class. Doing so
results in a laptop strike, and three strikes produces a white slip, or
confiscation of the computer. In some cases, it has resulted in a loss of
privileges, the computer staying at school, or disciplinary proceedings.
Internet use and misuse is taken seriously, and Internet histories and
=93cookies=94 are spot checked to verify where the students have been voyag=
ing
online. Evidence of inappropriate communications or sites, or any
indication of cyber-bullying is immediately reported to the Principal and
Assistant Principal, who then speak directly to parents.
At home, many parents also make rules about the computer use. It is no fun
at all, parents tell us, to have your kids =93use the computer for hours an=
d
hours and hours=94 instead of interacting with the family. It is also
frustrating to see homework become a mix of socializing with friends,
playing games, watching YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/>, surfing the web
and maybe writing the paper that is soon due. Having kids =93privately=94
playing online can raise a range of other concerns and safety issues.
These are all very real concerns, and every year we hear from parents who
make individual family decisions about the =93rules=94 for computer use at =
home.
Here are some of the best we=92ve heard this year:
1) *The computer can only be used in the kitchen, or the family room o=
r
the living room when mother or father is present.* It may not be used
privately in the child=92s bedroom or other rooms in the home. This is the
most common rule created by ASL parents, and it recommended as the best way
to remain aware of how much students are using the computers, and what they
are using them for. This rule is perfectly reasonable and common among ASL
families-- it=92s definitely not =93cruel or unusual.=94
2) *Recreational computer use should be limited. *Computers can be
used for relaxing in a number of ways=97the latest way in my home is leavin=
g
on the live web cam on Old Faithful in Yellowstone National
Park<http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm>(to spot
passing wildlife and the geyser).
However, mixing recreation (chatting with friends, visiting fan sites,
watching videos) can distract from getting work done and result in less
effective studying. Every family has to decide what the limits are for
recreational computer use (30-60 minutes a night in some families) and
whether or not it can be done during homework time. Many families only
allow the recreational use AFTER homework is done (not before or during).
3) *Set a nightly time limit for all computer use.* =93We finally put
our foot down,=94 one parent told us. =93We now ban all computer use after=
9:30
p.m. They get turned off no matter what.=94 For other families, the limit
might be 8 p.m. or 10 p.m.=97the really important thing is that there is a
limit, and that family time is just as important as computer time.
4) *Checking Internet History and Cookies is recommended.* Another to=
p
recommendation from ASL parents is to tell children in advance that their
Internet browsing history and cookies will be occasionally checked, and tha=
t
is a condition of using the computer at home. The advance warning should
also review what type of sites are not to be visited by the children, and
what type of consequences there could be if such sites show up in the
history files. Typically, reviewing the information has to be done every
two weeks, in front of the child, on a random basis. This review will help
parents identify what sites are the most popular, as well as what sites are
being visited =93away from school=94 and =93away from home.=94 Note, howev=
er, that
some misleading information may appear (such as =93Adult Friend Finder=94
traces, simply from visiting a Facebook page).
5) *Knowing about iChat, social networking pages and Twitter is
recommended.* Some parents will insist on knowing their children=92s
passwords for email accounts or online sites like
Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/>that may be used.
Others parents will create their own Facebook accounts, and insist on being
=93friended=94 by their children as a way of being mostly aware of what is
occurring on the site. It is well known that Middle School students can
begin the process of broadening their social connections with other student=
s
online, and many experts (such as Michael
Thompson<http://www.michaelthompson-phd.com/>and Perry
Aftab <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/biographies/parry/index.html>)
advise against =93cold turkey=94 banning of appropriately used social tools=
, but
that doesn=92t mean that a parent needs to be kept out of the loop. Many
parents of Middle School students will choose to put limits on how much
privacy their kids can expect and have.
6) *Ask for help if needed.* We hear interesting stories about how
=93the school says I have to use the laptop every night for four hours=94 a=
nd
=93the school says you can=92t put limits on my computer use.=94 As noted =
at the
start, ASL has many limits on computer use at school, and we=92re happy to
accommodate requests for help on these issues. Last year, the software
=93white list=94 was designed and implemented to increase the focused acade=
mic
use of the laptops. By request, we can enable Apple Parental Controls (to
limit software use, see below) or install K9 Internet
Protection<http://www1.k9webprotection.com/>software for parents with
concerns about inappropriate online content.
7) *Prepare for the Future.* The last recommendation we hear from
parents is that the issues posed by computer use (either with school
laptops, or home PCs, or computer use at a friend=92s house) are the beginn=
ing
of an interesting series of parenting challenges that don=92t stop for awhi=
le.
As one parent noted, =93Once the computer things were worked out in Middle
School, the stage was set for new challenges in High School: dating,
drinking, staying out at night, driving and a whole range of issues where w=
e
had to be clear about the family rules.=94
In our home, we=92ve implemented our own versions of all of the
recommendations above when our children use the three laptops we already
own.
Thanks!
Jim Heynderickx
Director of Technology
American School in London
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