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 remain sceptical. What can we learn from this and take forward for the future?

Digital media are friend, not (only) foe

Digital media cannot replace teachers, but they can provide very effective support. Even under contact restrictions they can offer something crucial for positive learning experiences: good communication and many new opportunities and impulses for independent learning.

Create activity and balance

Far more valuable than simply working through as many learning materials as possible is anchoring what has been learned for the long term. For that it is important to get children active away from the screen. What can your child tell you about the last story in the reading app, what picture would they draw on the topic of mammals, or what face do they pull at the new work on fractions? And most importantly: 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 then a login to a server with even more materials. Too many sources and media overload us as parents and exceed pupils' capacity to absorb information. What helps everyone keep an overview are simple processes with only a few channels of communication. That lets us focus better on what matters: learning.

Media use in leisure time

Every new lockdown amounts to a state of emergency for families. As a remedy against cabin fever and monotony, sometimes any means seems acceptable – including extra time in front of the TV, tablet and computer. On top of that there is working from home and home schooling. How should our children's media use 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 larger 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 brain. Clearly defined times for mobile phones, tablets and the like provide structure and ensure there are breaks.

Create activity and balance

Even more important than the exact number of minutes children spend with digital media is how they spend the rest of their time. As a balance to mobile phones, video games and TV series, children need tactile experiences, physical activity and real engagement – preferably outdoors.

Children grow through responsibility

Control is good, trust is better – and it helps our children learn to take responsibility themselves. By making agreements together with our children, involving them and letting them have a say, we help them develop a conscious approach to the digital world from an early age.

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

Interview with Kerstin Boveland

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

To stay in contact with our pupils, we chose a communication medium that allows the most barrier-free communication possible, including via mobile phone. Some pupils do not have a computer at home, but everyone has a mobile phone. The messenger service we used complied with data protection rules and allowed files in different formats, photos, audio and video recordings to be sent. That gave us everything we needed for good communication. I set tasks for my class and for individuals; pupils sent me screenshots, photos of their exercise books and even voice messages, which were extremely valuable for language teaching. This allowed me to assess very well what each pupil needed and what progress they were making. Individualised feedback was essential to learning success.

How, in your view, can digital learning succeed?

With any kind of learning: the passive must become active. The brain withers when pupils mechanically work through material in front of a screen. It must never be about mere rote learning; as teachers we must set tasks that activate children. They can read, watch or listen to something. But then they must do something with it: draw a picture about it, retell a story, describe a feeling. Only through linking it to real experience can learning take place. At home it is also important to provide balance. Children can have 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 newly created channels of contact in future as well. And as a teacher I have learned that we need to rethink school completely. As it turned out, older pupils in particular were able to achieve much better results through independent learning in some cases. That was surprising and shows: we must loosen up our system and give pupils more opportunities to learn independently and sometimes even spatially independently. That also leaves more time for 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 do you think the crisis brings for digital education?

What many media educators have been saying for a long time has now become apparent to the whole population: 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 deciding factor 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 we manage digital media well?

Media education gives clear guidelines here and they still apply: limited screen time, control over the content and websites children use, and of course enough balance and exercise. Especially in 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 to enable them to develop a sustainable, healthy approach to digital content.

What do you advise parents about using digital media for home schooling?

Above all: don't panic! School education is only one part of the skills 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: don't leave children alone, accompany them, talk to them. But don't control them at every step so that they are able to learn a responsible approach to digital media 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 the 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