I’ve debated jumping right back into blogging versus contemplative thoughts and rehashing the past year. I guess I’m jumping right in.
When discussing a 1:1 rollout with parents, I want to stress to them that they are still the parents in their home. Even though the district has provided their child with a device does not mean their child has unlimited access to the technology at home.
Thoughts that I have given them to consider:
- The iPad is used the same place where homework has been done historically. If that’s at the kitchen table, then the iPad work gets done at the kitchen table.
- If no TV or computer are allowed in the student’s bedroom, the iPad does not need to be in the bedroom to do “homework.” Surfing the web, chatting with friends, and other distractions are more likely to happen in the bedroom. Have your student use the device in family common areas where supervision is easier.
- Dock the iPad at night. Plug it in to a location that the parents can control. The iPad does not need to be by your student’s pillow at night. I’m reading more and more about sleep texting- and sleep gaming. My parents had to worry about sleepwalking but not all these other complications. If my child was not proving trustworthy, the school iPad would be powered off and plugged in next to my own pillow each night.
- All passwords on the iPad will be shared with me as the parent. Until my child leaves the house, I want the ability to check in on them. I do not plan to snoop if my children are open about their internet and social media lives. But, the moment that they start hiding what they do, then their accounts are my accounts. Ironically, I have found that students don’t turn off their notifications. As their iPads sit to be claimed, fixed, or troubleshooted, their lives and secrets stream across their homescreen. It’s virtually impossible not to know what they are saying with their friends.
- Set up rules and boundaries. Last year, a mom wrote about a contract she set up with her child and his first iPhone. You can read about Janel and Gregory’s story here: iPhone Contract From Your Mom: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janell-burley-hofmann/iphone-contract-from-your-mom_b_2372493.htmlThe contract took off, gaining national attention. You can see an update on a year at the following link. I was impressed by the openness to share the successes and stumbles between this mother and son. What I Know After Giving My teacher an iPhone Contract: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janell-burley-hofmann/what-i-know-one-year-after-giving-my-teenager-an-iphone-contract_b_4524610.html
- Also, the school can help. We have students who are required to leave their iPad at school each night. They check it in and out from a cart each date. My favorite strategy is the one where the student has to turn in their personal phone (which was being used for no-good during classes) for their school based iPad each day. You can bet that student doesn’t forget to trade back at the end of school.
- There are other restrictions that can be set- either manually on the device or through the school’s management software. My one concern with parents setting Restrictions is that we can not reset Restrictions passwords if they are forgotten by the individual who set them. The entire device needs to be reset. Yet, within the Restrictions area, there are some minor- and major- settings that can be set to regulate use of the student’s device.
One of my short-term goals is to write a top 10 list of parent tips for dealing with school iPads at home.
What would you include on the list? What do you feel would be a good suggestion to less-tech saavy parents on how to deal with their tech-connected students?