inquiry #3 learning devices

Introduction

There is a serious problem with screens and technology. We all use them but no one tells us how to use them properly, as you do with reading or writing. In this report we have chosen to look into the serious problem of screen time and what effects it has on your body and your mental health. The fertile question for this report is what should be done to make devices more of a learning tool and less of a distraction. The use of screen time will inevitably increase as technology develops and we become more dependent on it. How can we prevent serious health effects due to increased screen time? Keep reading this report to find out how you can prevent this.

How do devices help as an educational tool(Tommy)

Some people could easily spot differences because it's obvious typing is easier and faster than handwriting. As a student at a school, one of the main learning tools is a laptop as it is easy to send info to classmates for class-related tasks and research information for reports. There are many educational tools like paper, pens, textbooks and so much more but there are online educational tools. Here are a few online tools and a description of each one.

Edmodo: Edmodo is an educational technology company offering a communication, collaboration, and coaching platform to K-12 schools and teachers. The Edmodo network enables teachers to share content, distribute quizzes, assignments, and manage communication with students, colleagues, and parents. Edmodo is very teacher-centric in its design and philosophy: students and parents can only join Edmodo if invited to do so by a teacher. Teachers and students spend large amounts of time on the platform, both in and out of the classroom. Edmodo is free to use, but it also offers premium services.

Socrative: Socrative is a free application whose purpose is classroom support. Therefore, it can be used for feedback, evaluations by quiz, and also increases the motivation and participation of students. Among its outstanding uses, is the quiz (questionnaire), space race (questionnaire with time) or exit ticket (questionnaire with a ranking of results) both with multiple answers, as T / F or short questions, where students must answer in real-time with your devices. Thus allowing control by the teacher / a, is possible to export data to other packages such as Excel. Only the Internet and a smartphone are required for its operation.

Google Classroom: Google Classrooms are created with students and teachers. In each of these classrooms, the teacher can assign tasks with texts, audios, photos and videos. At the same time, you can post notices, create polls or receive responses from students. It is available in a wide number of languages, specifically 42. In addition, it works on the most popular mobile devices and screen readers. Interested educational institutions can enter this page and try it. This tool is part of G Suite for Education, a program that aims to introduce a variety of devices and applications for educational purposes.

What are possible distractions on a device(Jamie)

A lot of devices can be used as a tool for working but most if not all can be used for gaming videos and communication. This is okay in little amounts at the right time, but when games, videos, and social media distract from choosing them overwork, friends, and fitness, that is a distraction. Believe it or not, most of these companies that own the entertainment apps want you to use their apps as much as possible. The companies employ thousands of software designers to make their software as addictive as possible, google, Facebook and Youtube are just some of the guilty companies that employ this strategy to make as much money as possible. No wonder we get so distracted doing other things rather than work when using a device. These companies also use notifications to get your attention when you are not using them. That’s why I recommend that you turn notifications off on most social media apps and video games.

How could devices affect school/work learning(Tommy)

As a student of a school, I know that sometimes I get distracted by devices like laptops and phones. Although most of the time it’s school-related distractions like finishing off a task before the lunch bell goes off and double-checking work. A great example of how school work affects students is a blog made by Sarah Bisacre-Peters, a year 13 who took it upon herself to investigate the mysteries of schoolwork learning. In her article, she states that there are “four core forces”. These core forces are stress, pressure, expectations and comparison(SPEC).

Bibliography:

School and mental health: a student perspective

What makes people distracted so that they spend more time on their devices than they should(Jamie)

There is no doubt that we as humans spend way too much time looking at screens so why do we do it? Research on-screen time has shown that screens give off blue light. This blue light stops the release of a hormone called melatonin. This hormone is what makes us sleepy so when you look at screens in the evening before bed this will make your brain more awake. Resulting in you not sleeping. That's why a lot of people in our modern society feel tired when they wake up. This result of screen time is a stimulant for our brain. Also when you look at screens your brain gives of a drug like a hormone called dopamine it’s the good feeling your brain gives it off after drugs, sex, alcohol and screen time, these are all drugs to our brain. That's why screen time is not good for young kids under five years as it can stop the growth of parts of the brain. Xxxxxxx which is also caused by drugs and alcohol. That's why it's illegal for young kids to consume these drugs but not screen time even though it's pretty much the same to your brain.

How would devices be used effectively(Tommy)

Devices have many advantages to be used effectively like typing on a google doc for a report or a story, then printing that page through a printer. Comparing this to writing on paper with a pen/pencil is better as creating mistakes is three times harder than using a device for typing. Some applications could help you to use devices effectively like helping you to time manage or remind you to do something when you have to do it so that you don’t get distracted by devices. Through my research for this question, I found an application called scoro that can manage time, sales and billing. I’m now going to share information about scoro

Scoro: Scoro is a software-as-a-service solution for professional and creative services. The all-in-one business management software combines project management with time and team management, sales, billing, and professional services automation. The company has offices in London, New York, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius.

When might devices be effective as a learning tool(Jamie)

Recently, many schools have shifted their learning digitally, but what makes using devices more effective to learn with? Research from Pakuranga college has shown us that using these devices does not improve the results of a test, instead, it has helped students to learn with a resemblance of working a real job, this can make it easier to find information and analyze it, this can help teachers get a better understanding of what the student needs help with to help out with this and to stop temptation it is suggested that you only use your school learning device for learning and not for watching movies and playing video games this can help stop the temptation of playing games and watching videos in class or at work. To also boost your productivity and your posture I recommend that you sit like this...

Sitting like the person on the right will help you to be more productive and stop you from having a bad back when you get older.

What should be done to make the most of your time using your device(Tommy)

For me, I struggle to get off technology when I’m watching apps on devices like youtube because when I finish the video another video that catches my eye gives me a reason to stay and watch and it also makes me feel like I don't have to worry about anything.

Notes: Include Mr Gilbert info

Conclusion

To conclude, and wrap up this report we are not suggesting to not use devices as “the benefits of devices far outweigh any negative things these devices do”, says Mr Gilbert who is in charge of online learning at T.B.C. Instead, we recommend that you do not use your learning and research device for anything but learning and research. That is the best-case scenario but we know that a lot of people play games and videos on them so if that is not possible then we suggest that you turn off notifications to most social apps and games also I monitor you using these apps should help you recognize the time you've spent on your device so you can improve for the future This will help your brain to stay on task when working and will help stop the temptation to use it for gaming and videos. It is also recommended that you turn all your devices off 2 hours before bed so your body can get ready for much needed deep and refreshing sleep. If you can do and make good decisions of how and when to use your device. Then you are on the right track to having a healthy lifestyle. Thanks for reading this report. We hope you learnt something new and interesting about screens.

We have interviewed an expert on screens and online learning. Here is the voice recording of him being interviewed by both Tommy and Jamie

Click here

Bibliography

How Smartphones Sabotage Your Brain's Ability to Focus | WSJ

Dealing With Digital Distraction in the Classroom

Cell Phone Addiction | Tanner Welton

How Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools use Technology to Defeat Student Device Distractions

Why our screens make us less happy | Adam Alter

3 fears about screen time for kids -- and why they're not true | Sara DeWitt

BBC screen consumption

consensus at school

10 things that make apps so addictive?