BORN TO SURF
As Information and Communication Technology is becoming an integral component of
the school curriculum, the internet will be used more and more as a first port of call
for children researching homework and school projects. Will Robins looks at how
children can use the internet to learn both safely and productively
Today’s children are developing within a
fully-fledged digital environment. There is
no doubt that the web is likely to be the
first place they go to for information.
The likes of Wikipedia seem here to stay.
But are we doing enough to prepare our children
for abundant, free and instant information?
“We have to get away from this idea that children
have a mystical, and mythological, ability to use new
technologies in a meaningful way,” says Angela
McFarlane, professor of education and director of
learning technology at Bristol University: “Kids will
sit and appear to be [engaged], but sit down and
talk to them and it becomes clear that they are just
randomly clicking on things.”
Fortunately, there are easy ways for parents to safely
introduce their children to online research and learning
at home. For example, SOS Children has launched
a special Wikipedia for schools. Andrew Cates is
chief executive the charity points out that computers
still work with the broadband unplugged:
“What I do with my primary school aged children,
is to help them look things up on their own PC on
a copy of the Schools Wikipedia. Show the child
how to open an index file in a browser and then
give them free reign to explore off-line.”
The Wikipedia Selection for Schools was created in
response to widespread worries about the reliability
of the online encyclopaedia. Working in conjunction
with Wikipedia, the charity took material from the
Wikipedia site which was then double-checked by
charity workers. The most up-to-date version has
the content of a 20 volume encyclopaedia with
articles on over 5500 topics.
“Wikipedia for Schools has millions of users,
including many schools and teachers and has only
ever had a couple of very minor errors pointed out,”
says Cates, “It used a selection process to identify
the most reliable versions of articles on Wikipedia
and has been read by volunteers.”
The next challenge is to discover the best use of the
information found on online sources. Leaving behind
the now seemingly painstaking process of writing out
from a book, a copy-paste generation is in danger of
learning little from research tasks apart from an
ability to research online.
So, the key perhaps is to find ways for children to
do something practical with the information.
“That would be my single call,” says McFarlane.
“I would like to see schools use these technologies
to give kids an authentic purpose for creating
something.” McFarlane believes the modernisation
of primary education must not merely involve
importing technologies into the classroom, but also
an evolution of teaching. That means moving away
from handing in lists of facts – now overly abundanton the net – and towards creative processes
using those facts.
One way of fostering authentic creativity is through
collaborative learning. Children will be able to
create their own mini-Wikipedias or ‘wikis’. Wikis
are shared files that any member of a class or
project can contribute to via a school network or
online from home.
“I would like to see schools use these
technologies to give kids an authentic
purpose for creating something”
McFarlane believes contribution to a shared project,
(such as www.jointhepod.org.uk where children can
work together on green projects) that extends
beyond the classroom, or even the school, offsets
the isolating effect computers can have.
“In a recent study there were two things that were
helped children to feel they are part of a bigger
project. One of these is a map which shows which
other schools are participating…The other was that
children could take pictures and share them online
with parents and other children. Those things made
the children feel they were doing something of value
outside of their own front door.”
Children will grow up bombarded by information,
bad and good. But online resources like Wikipedia
are not the beginning nor will they be the end of the
story. Children must become confident and
discerning contributors themselves and the earlier
we educate them, the simpler this new world will be
for them … and us!
THE WEB IS LIKELY
TO BE THE FIRST
PLACE CHILDREN
NOW GO TO FOR
INFORMATION
Online learning resources:
schools-wikipedia.org
www.nextgenerationlearning.org.uk
www.sparklebox.co.uk – Thousands of free
downloadable resources to help literacy,
numeracy and other more creative topics
www.google.co.uk/schools – The Google UK
Schools site offers free resources on numerous
subjects
www.primaryresources.co.uk – Free lesson
plans and activity ideas that can be used if your
child is unable to attend school
www.languagesonline.org.uk – Ideas and
techniques to learn French, German, Spanish
Discerning learners
Rather than shy away from the realities of the
internet skills can be built up so that children
know what to do when researching homework,
school projects or when you want to learn about
something together at home.
It is best not to rely on just one source of
information. If your child can only find that
particular piece of information on one online
resource, it is not likely to be accurate information.
Your child can judge the authenticity of the
information that they are reading by seeing if
they can find the same information elsewhere
e.g. in a different online encyclopedia, on a known
museum or educational institution’s website or
by taking a look at a book on the subject.
Teachers are likely to have done a quick internet
search on the subject themselves, so copying and
pasting will be easily identified. Your child can use
the information as a basis to work on and quote
where they found the information.
When your child is first starting to do their own
homework research, sit with them and work
through the searches together, discussing with
children the appropriateness and reliability.
Creative learners
www.2simple.com – Highly recommended creative
computer software to inspire children to create
stories, paint pictures, design animations, practice
maths or languages, compose music and more…
www.funbrain.com – Part of the Family Education
Network, this site contains fun games, quizzes
and parent support for learning numbers,
words, culture, the universe…
www.primarygames.co.uk – A range of engaging
maths games
www.teachingtime.co.uk – Makes telling the time fun!
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing – An introduction
to typing for children aged 7 to 11
www.puzzlepixies.com – Free fun (and educational)
puzzles and activites for pre-school up to age 13
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/magickey/adventures/
index.shtml – Using characters from the Magic Key
programme, activities aimed at 5 to 7 year olds
assist with writing, sentences, descriptions,
questions, working out new words…