Digital media for school and learning

Without digital media, teaching is not possible during school closures. But as we now know: experience with digital learning and teaching methods is limited, practical implementation is not always satisfactory, and many parents are understandably sceptical. What can we learn from this and take with us into the future?

Digital media are friend, not (only) foe

Digital media cannot replace teachers, but they can support them very effectively. And even during times of contact restrictions they can offer something essential for positive learning experiences: good communication and many new opportunities and impulses for independent learning.

Create activity and balance

Far more valuable than trying to work through every single learning material is embedding what has been learned in the long term. For this it is important to let children be active away from the screen. What can your child say about the last story in the reading app, what picture would they draw on the topic of mammals, or what face do they make at the new work on fractions? And above all: children need at least as much physical activity as screen time – preferably outdoors.

Less is more

An email here, an app there, something to print out here and a login to a server with further materials. Too many sources and media exceed our capacities as parents and pupils' ability to take things in. What helps everyone keep an overview are simple processes with only a few communication channels. That allows us to concentrate better on what really matters: learning.

Media use in leisure time

Every new lockdown is equivalent to a state of emergency for families. To counter cabin fever and monotony, sometimes any remedy seems acceptable – including extra time in front of the television, tablet and computer. Added to that are remote working and home schooling. How should our children's media consumption look in future and how can we as a family find a healthy, responsible long-term approach to digital media?

Limited screen time

Digital media are part of our reality and an even bigger part of the new everyday life with Covid. Nevertheless, media consumption and screen time are a strain on our brains and even more so on a child's developing mind. Clearly defined times for mobile phones, tablets and the like provide structure and ensure there are breaks.

Create activity and balance

More important than the exact number of minutes children spend with digital media is how they use the rest of their time. As a counterbalance to mobile phones, video games and TV series, children need tactile experiences, exercise and genuine activity – ideally outdoors.

Children grow with responsibility

Control is good, trust is better – and it ensures that our children learn to take responsibility themselves. By agreeing rules together with our children, involving them and letting them take part in decisions, we help them develop a conscious approach to the digital world at an early stage.

The good news is: it's not all that bad. As the pandemic teaches us – we may not (and need not) return entirely to the familiar normal, but we are shaping a new one. And it holds many valuable opportunities.

Interview with Kerstin Boveland

How did you, as a teacher, make use of digital media for teaching during the school closures?

To keep in touch with our pupils we opted for a communication medium that offered as barrier-free communication as possible, including via mobile phone. Some pupils at home do not have a computer, but everyone has a mobile phone. The messenger service used complied with data-protection requirements and allowed files in various formats, photos, audio and video recordings to be sent. That gave us everything needed for good communication. I set tasks for my class as a whole and individually; pupils sent me screenshots, photos of their exercise books and even voice messages, which were extremely valuable for language lessons. In this way I could very well assess what each pupil needed and what progress they were making. Individual feedback was essential for learning success.

How can digital learning succeed, in your opinion?

With any form of learning: the passive must become active. The brain wastes away when pupils mindlessly work through tasks in front of a screen. It should never be about mere cramming; as teachers we must set tasks that activate children. They can read, watch or listen. But then they must become active and do something with it: draw a picture, retell a story, describe a feeling. Only by linking it to real experiences can learning take place. At home it is also important to create balance. Children can be given time to play their video game or watch television. But there must also be times when they move in nature, read a book, draw, do crafts or play.

Which positive aspects can you take from the past months into the future?

We will be able to use the new contact possibilities in future as well. And as a teacher I have learned that we must completely rethink school. As has become clear, older pupils in particular were sometimes able to achieve much better results through independent learning. That was surprising and shows: we must loosen our system and give pupils more opportunities to learn independently and, in phases, perhaps even remotely. That also leaves more time for those pupils who need more support.

Kerstin Boveland is a teacher of English and French at a district secondary school in Hamburg. As a specialist in digital learning she develops subject-specific teaching modules for the Hamburger Digital Learning Lab. 

Interview with Christian Dederer

What opportunities does the crisis bring for digital education, in your view?

What many media-education experts have been saying for a long time has now become apparent to everyone: we need appropriate infrastructure, timetables and concepts for digital education in all schools. Digital media are part of our reality. And I think that in future it will even be a decisive criterion when choosing a school whether it has a good media-education concept and is prepared for all situations to ensure good education or not.

How can a good approach to digital media be achieved?

Media education provides clear guidelines here and they continue to apply: limited screen time, control over the content and websites children use, and of course sufficient balance and exercise. Especially at primary-school age, children should not have digital working tools available unsupervised in their bedroom – parents should always know what their children are doing online. At the same time, it is important to give them responsibility and enable them to develop a sustainable, healthy approach to digital content.

What do you advise parents regarding digital media for home schooling?

Above all: do not panic! School education is only one part of the competencies children learn, and digital content is only one part of that. As parents we give them so much more through living together. My advice regarding digital media is always: do not leave children alone, accompany them, talk with them. But do not control them at every step, so that they are also able to learn to handle digital media responsibly themselves. Give children responsibility – not only regarding media consumption, but more generally. They grow through that.

Hans-Christian Dederer is a trained primary-school teacher, a media-education officer and founder of the Verein zur Förderung pädagogischer Mediennutzung (VFpM e.V.).

Image credit

Boy sitting on the floor with a mobile phone © Monkey Business - stock.adobe.com