Nick Shaw
The UK government has committed to investing £3.5 million in technology to help schools adopt the new IT curriculum in 2015. While this technology investment is welcome, the rapid advancement of connected classrooms and e-learning has left many teachers struggling to keep up.
In fact, a recent research report by Microsoft found that teachers are increasingly finding themselves out of their depth when it comes to the new IT curriculum: 68 percent of primary and secondary teachers are concerned that their pupils have a better understanding of computing than they do. With computing now a compulsory part of the national curriculum, and the UK government pushing for more tablet-based learning, are teachers being given enough support when it comes to protecting their pupils in the online world?
The rise of e-learning in the classroom
It’s no surprise that children are increasingly bringing the internet into their daily lives. A recent report by Childwise found that children spend an average of six hours a day in front of screens, so it seems natural that these screens have found their way into the classroom. From smartphones to social networking, children today are not only naturals when it comes to the latest advances in technology, they’re not afraid of them either.
Today’s internet accessibility paired with the fearless nature of children online creates certain safety concerns for pupils when browsing in a classroom environment – unless the correct barriers are in place to mitigate these risks. Research by Norton found that 52 percent of children in the UK have experienced what they class as a “negative experience” online. Even more worryingly, nearly a third (30 percent) said they had suffered a “serious” negative experience. This included invitations to meet online “friends” in real life and exposure to indecent pictures.
“E-safety education remains a grey area in schools and that is putting teachers in a tricky situation”
While the internet is undoubtedly a great tool to aid children’s learning, it is fraught with risk. So who is responsible for ensuring children are secure and, more importantly, cannot access and/or be targeted with inappropriate content when using internet-connected devices in the classroom?
E-safety in the classroom
E-safety education remains a grey area in schools and that is putting teachers in a tricky situation when it comes to meeting the tech/IT guidelines of the new curriculum whilst keeping children safe on these connected devices. Until a time comes when a unified approach to e-safety education is adopted, it’s important that teachers take responsibility for installing a culture of online safety education. If you’re unsure how to go about doing this, these are good ways to start:
Nick Shaw is general manager at Norton UK & Nordics.
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