Especially for Parents





Introduction
All students are immersed in both an informal and a formal education system. In terms of actual time spent in these two different environments, children spend far more of the awake hours in informal educational settings than they do in formal educational setting.

The home environments for children vary tremendously. Parents, siblings, and other caregivers play the major role in shaping children before they start school, and continue to play a major role after children begin school.

All parents are concerned about the education of their children. Nowadays, there are a huge number of articles that help to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of public, private, and home school education. These articles often provide suggestions on how to improve the quality of these systems and/or advice to parents and others about how to improve the quality of education that children are getting through these systems.

Free Book: Parents’ Guide to Computers in Education
The following book is available under a Creative Commons license in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats:


 * Moursund, D.G.(2006). Parents’ Guide to Computers in Education. Access at http://uoregon.edu/~moursund/Books/Parents/Parents-Guide.html. Self published.

Brief Summary of the Book

 * "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." (Charles Darwin)


 * "Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give." (United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959)

This short book is for parents who want their preschool and school age children to get a good, modern education. While the main focus is on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) aspects of education, many other educational topics are briefly covered.

Parents and other caregivers play a huge role in the informal and formal education of their children. Working alone and in cooperation with teachers, you (a parent, grandparent, etc.) can help your children get a much better education than they will receive without your explicit help. This is especially true in the area of computers and other ICT. The average child spends more hours per week playing and working with multimedia (games, television, music players, cell phones, and so on) than in school. This situation presents you and your children with a major opportunity to improve their informal and formal education.

In addition, our school systems have been slow to integrate ICT into the everyday curriculum. The school-based education of many children is weak because it does not help students to take advantage of the capabilities of ICT as an aid to solving complex problems and accomplishing complex tasks. You, working with your children and their schools, can help to change this situation.

In brief summary, you can help your children to get a better education than they are currently getting. This will give them a competitive advantage throughout their lives!

Comment provided by Valerie Rich (EDT630). I totally agree that students have a "competitive advantage" when parents are involved in the activities of the school which carry into the home. Both teachers and parents need to collaborate in order for this advantage to take place. I also believe students who are able to adapt more easily will automatically have this advantage.However, we need to also acknowledge that teachers, also, need to be able to readily adapt to new situations.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 increased accountability, making teachers responsible for the measured growth of their students in all subjects, regardless of race, disability, socioeconomic status, etc. Laws such as these come and go, but accountability efforts may only grow stronger. Today, more than ever before, teachers are held to a higher standard of teaching. However, NCLB does not offer instructions or action plans for achieving such high expectations. While NCLB directs educators to use research-based programs and practices, teachers must determine their methods, action, and materials. In order for change to occur, teachers must make time to take action with parents in a collaborative effort.

The goal of most schools is to develop each student into a successful learner. In doing so, educators must become a community of learners themselves, collaborating and reflection in order to improve the curriculum. Collaboration in a supportive environment lends itself to the acquisition of new knowledge for students and teachers. Educators must be immersed in professional learning communities which are learning-centered, inquiry-oriented, and focused on the systematic improvement of the school over time.


 * Dearman, C., & Alber, S. (2005). The changing face of education: Teachers cope with

challenges through collaboration and reflective study. Reading Teacher, 58(7), 634- 640. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Two Additional Free Books

 * Moursund, D.G. (June 2006). Introduction to Using Games in Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. Access at http://uoregon.edu/~moursund/Books/Games/games.html.


 * Moursund, D.G. (2006). Computers in Education for Talented and Gifted Students: A Book for Elementary and Middle School Teacher. Access at http://uoregon.edu/~moursund/Books/TAG/TAG.html.

Parents & Their Children
The following material is from the the Oregon Technology in Education Council Website. This is a Website created and maintained by David Moursund. This material given below is in the process of being updated.

As of 2005, schools in the US have about one microcomputer per 4.5 students, and about 3/4 of students have some sort of computer access at home. The educational value of how these computers are used varies tremendously from school to school, and from home to home. By and large, there is huge room for improvement!

This material given here has been designed to help parents whose children are using computers at home and/or school for educational purposes. You want your children to be getting a good education, and the resources on this Web Page can help you.

Perhaps you have heard of the word "educationalize." Educators, like specialists in any discipline, have developed special vocabulary to aid in communication with each other. As you read about roles of computers in education, you will encounter educationalize. An e-learning glossary and a general education glossary]may help you.

The subsections given below cover topics that may interest you:

Conversations With Your Children
Here are five Questions to ask your children. These will help start conversations that both you and your children will learn from.


 * Are you taking personal responsibility for your own IT education? That is, do you know what constitutes having good knowledge and skills in IT use throughout all of the areas that you are studying in school, and do you then work to gain the needed IT knowledge and skills? Do you continually push your own envelop?
 * Are your teachers helping you to learn about computers and their uses in subjects you are studying in school?
 * Do you use computers and other information technology in all of the subjects you are studying?
 * Do you help your fellow students to learn more about uses of computers and other information technology?
 * Do you help your teachers learn more about computes and other information technology?

Informal Education
The Web is an excellent aid to learning about things that interest you and your children. Many of these can be categorized as Informal Education.

Parents
What is your level of concern about your children using computers to access inappropriate materials, either at school or at home?

Schools are well aware of the problem of students accessing inappropriate Websites and/or making other inappropriate uses of the school's computer facilities. Each school has developed mechanisms for dealing with such problems. A typical example is for a school to have an Acceptable Use Policy. Students are given instruction on what constitutes acceptable use of the computer facilities. They and their parents may be asked to sign a form indicating that they understand and agree to the policy.

Parents may want to develop an Acceptable Use Policy for their children to follow at home and at other times when they are using computers outside of schools. The underlying idea is good communication between parents and their children, and each educating the other in terms of their wants and needs.

Are your children learning about computers and other IT in school, and how to make effective use of these IT facilities?


 * Warning sign: In many classrooms, the IT facilities are used for entertainment or as a reward for students who have finished their "seat work." The students mainly use edutainment software. (This is software that has a very strong entertainment component, but also has some low level drill and practice component. Students view the software as a game.) The IT use is unrelated to the curriculum.


 * Warning sign: Students go to a computer lab one or more times per week. There, the instruction is handled by a computer lab teacher, and is not closely related to what is going on in the regular classroom. There are few computers in the regular classroom, and their use is not well related to the overall curriculum being presented in the classroom.


 * Warning sign: Students are learning rather mundane and low level uses of computers. The computer uses do not significantly affect the content of the curriculum and they are not integrated into the everyday curriculum content and assessment. Contrast this situation with computer uses in business and industry. There, the ways of solving the everyday problems and accomplishing the everyday tasks have been significantly changed through making routine use of the poser of computers and telecommunication systems.


 * Warning sign: On a nationwide basis, over 3/4 of students have access to a general purpose computer at home. Relatively few teachers attempt to make effective use of this resource as an aid to student learning. For the most part, students use home computers for edutainment, for playing "pure" computer games, and for E-mail. The amount of time they spend on serious educational activities is modest.

General comment: If you don't know the answers to the questions given above, talk to your children. If you detect some of the warning signs, talk to other parents, the teacher, and the principal. A few "voices" can lead to a significant change in a school.

What can you do at home to help your children learn to make effective use of IT facilities as an aid to solving problems and accomplishing tasks?


 * Note how your children make use of the home computer(s). Gather baseline data on time spent on serious educational activities versus other uses.

Regularly discuss and explore with your children ways that the computer can be used to help accomplish homework and other school-related work.


 * Ask your children's teachers for ideas of educational use of home computers. Suggest to the teacher that you would like to see children being offered alternative versions of homework, so that those who have access to computers can be practicing making effective use of these facilities.


 * Be aware that the current school curriculum does not align well with the routine use of computers to solve hard problems and to accomplish complex tasks (as is common in the work world). Talk to your children and their teacher(s) about this. Indicate that you want to see your children learning about use of computers to aid in higher-order thinking and complex problem solving.

Perhaps one in ten children have significant learning disabilities. Parents should know about identifying such problems and what to do about them. CCLD has established a special Web site for parents and others who are seeking information about learning disabilities (www.focusonlearning.org). The Web site also explains where parents can go for help for their children.

Important Questions for Students

 * Are you taking personal responsibility for your own IT education? That is, do you know what constitutes having good knowledge and skills in IT use throughout all of the areas that you are studying in school, and do you then work to gain the needed IT knowledge and skills? Do you continually push your own envelop?


 * Are your teachers (and parents) helping you to learn about computers and their uses in subjects you are studying in school?


 * Do you use computers and other information technology in all of the subjects you are studying?


 * Do you help your fellow students (and parents) to learn more about uses of computers and other information technology?


 * Do you help your teachers (and parents) learn more about computers and other information technology?

Safety on the Web
There are many good Websites that provide information about how to help keep children and adults safer on the Web. Here are some good resources provided in the June 2008 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan.


 * http://www.staysafeonline.org
 * http://security.getnetwise.org
 * http://www.isafe.org
 * http://www.cybersmart.org/home
 * http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids
 * http://www.wiredsafty.org
 * http://www.netsmartz.org
 * http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html
 * http://www.childnet-int.org

Computer Ethics
I assume that you set high ethical and moral standards for yourself and expect them of others. Ethics is the study of moral standards, and morality is:


 * standards of conduct that are accepted as right or proper
 * the rightness or wrongness of something as judged by accepted moral standards (Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation)

Computers have brought a new challenge to all of us. It is now very easy to make and share electronic digital copies of intellectual property belonging to others.

Here is a definition of Intellectual Property:


 * In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain names, written and recorded media, and inventions. The holders of these legal entitlements are generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, though the term is a matter of some controversy.

Computer ethics deals with how computer-using people make decisions about their uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Gradually, governments are developing laws to uphold ICT “standards of conduct that are accepted as right or proper.” Right now, many people ignore the laws and/or seek and find loopholes. Thus, for example, you undoubtedly receive quite a bit of email spam. Our laws and legal enforcement system have not succeeded in dealing with the spam.

A number of people and organizations have developed computer ethical standards. Many of the materials currently in use are rooted in the “Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics" that first appeared in an article written by Ramon C. Barquin in 1992 and published by the Computer Ethics Institute. The 10 Commandments, quoted from the Computer Ethics Institute are:


 * Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Harm Other People
 * Thou Shalt Not Interfere With Other People’s Computer Work
 * Thou Shalt Not Snoop Around in Other People’s Computer Files
 * Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Steal
 * Thou Shalt Not Use A Computer To Bear False Witness
 * Thou Shalt Not Copy or Use Proprietary Software For Which You have Not Paid
 * Thou Shalt Not Use Other People’s Computer Resources Without Authorization or Proper Compensation
 * Thou Shalt Not Appropriate Other People’s Intellectual Output
 * Thou Shalt Think About The Social Consequences of The Program You Are Writing Or The System You Are Designing
 * Thou Thou Shalt Always Use A Computer in Ways That Insure Consideration And Respect For Your Fellow Humans

Author or Authors
The initial version of this page was developed by David Moursund.