Lazy teaching with apps

My five year old has to do 45 minutes a week of maths on an app, I don't like it, we limit his screen time and don't give him a phone or tablet. We do have a home pc and we can get the app to work on that. For a start I think 45 minutes of maths a week for a reception child is too much and I don't want him on screens. There is no non app alternative, his school has over 35% of children eligible for pupil premium so it's the expectation around the tech too, it seems tone-deaf. I couldn't use apps at primary age they didn't exist, it hasn't limited my capability to use technology as an adult so I don't buy into that argument.
People saying children on computers/online is essential and nothing to be concerned about don't see what I do every day through work. It would horrify most.

Where did I say there was a phone involved?

The school purchased a couple of hundred chromebooks, enough for one per child in his key stage. They’re taught to use them, in school, and learn how the technology can help them. They’re engaged in their work, and consolidating information they’re taught using more traditional teaching methods. The primary school machines stayed in school, except during lockdown where they went home and were a lifesaver for the classes, who held daily zoom/teams chats to keep the children going socially, as well as having direct teaching and being able to submit work. (The school provided hotspot dongles for families with no internet connections)

Are you saying you’d rather children get to senior school at 11 with no ability to use these technologies?

My son is in year 7 now. The entire school uses chromebooks. From the head down to the new starters in year 7. They still use exercise books too, but the Chromebook is a necessity, and if it is forgotten on a regular basis it is punishable in the same manner as forgetting other equipment.

All communications from the school to me as a parent come through email or text. They don’t post anything, nor do they print out a couple of thousand letters to send home with the children.

As for having no say, well, no you don’t. A school operates to educate. They do that regardless of how you think they should do so, because for the most part they’re far better at knowing how schools/teaching/and pupil engagement works than a couple of thousand (my son’s school has 2.5k pupils from y7-y13) random parents.

You can dislike the fact that a youngster will need to develop and use these skills, but you’d be a complete fool if you think you’d be doing your child any favours to try to stop them.

So what you're saying is this is another case of schools overriding parental autonomy then? Parents can't do right for doing wrong.

On one hand you have schools complaining kids are on their phones too much on the other you're having schools enforce the use of phones to do their school work. Meanwhile parents get no say in either scenario.

Please forgive typing errors on that post. I’m arguing with my cat about what I ought to be doing right now.

That’s a massively outdated mindset. Most young people need to be savvy with technology. You may not like it, but it’s a fact of life that most things now need some sort of tech-awareness.

My sons’ primary school issued each child with a Chromebook. They did their research as and when needed, not once a week when they had booked the ICT suite or library. They did five minutes a day of spelling work on spelling shed, and another five minutes a day on TT Rockstar. They used Google docs to work collaboratively with each other, as well as individually. They kept track of work in the classroom app. Children who had dyslexia, or other learning disabilities faculties were given log in details for things like Nessie which alongside daily quiet reading allowed them to build confidence with their reading skills. All children also had access to accelerated reader so they could quiz their reading comprehension after finishing a book. I’ve also never seen a class as happy to be completing a quiz as they are when there’s a Kahoot session ongoing. The engagement that these tools can bring into class is often invaluable.

The chromebooks did not do the teaching, nor did they steal the ability of the children to utilise other skills. They allowed the children to build an extra set of skills, (alongside using traditional methods such as the class library for research, mastering legible handwriting, and working in teams) that would also be of use as they move bed onto senior school and into adult life.

The other bonus of the chromebooks in school was that no child was left out because a parent decided that they didn’t like the idea of their child using technology to consolidate learning.

TT rockstars can be accessed through the website on a PC or laptop so no phone is needed. If you don't want your child to do homework, don't make them. But don't then say it's the school’s fault entirely if your child is struggling with times tables or whatever compared to classmates. If you want paper based homework, you could generally sort it out yourself at this age (eg print out or handwrite your own times tables test or spellings list, or buy a workbook for DC to make their way through)

WonderingWanda - which is exactly why I said WE just wouldn't send an alternative.

And then clarified that whether a different school would will depend on various factors.

As a primary teacher, I strongly believe homework is a total waste of time. I can't be sure that what is handed in has been done by the child at all, and even if it has I can't know how much help they were given. It doesn't tell me anything more than I've already sussed out in class, if anything it confuses the matter.

The apps are a way for your child to get instant feedback on their independent work outside the classroom and they're likely to enjoy practicing so it sinks in more (I'm assuming you mean the games that keep score like TT Rockstars).

It shouldn't be necessary. A primary school child does not need access to a smartphone/device.

That's not true of all schools, our primary has provided print out tasks for one of my dc who couldn't manage the apps. I work in secondary and provide paper based homework for multiple children. It would very much depend on the homework policy of each school.

Sorry just to answer we have a very good balance of online and actual written work.

Apps for maths in particular are brilliant for consolidating facts like timetables and number bonds. Children find them more fun than worksheets.

homework should just be practise! YABU

Every hour a teacher spends “checking” ( which of course means reading, marking and commentating so that the parent can check that the teacher has checked iyswim) homework that a child might not have completed independently, is an hour less time that the teacher has to resource and prepare actual teaching materials that will enhance a child’s learning. I know which I would rather a teacher spent their limited time on.

My ds is in Y3 too and they get homework 5 days a week for 20min a day. So 2 days are online (Atom, TTRS, etc) then 2 days js written and 1 day creative.

Each and every piece of homework is checked and we have a feedback section on my ds school account.
The 2 days of written are marked by the teachers and constructive written notes are left. The teacher goes through everything and not just a ticking exercise. Merits are handed out as well for extra initiative.
There is an enormous amount of input from school, this is a private school though.

I completely agree!

We just wouldn't give you any homework.
Our apps are optional so we wouldn't send out an alternative.

I guess whether they will send paper based versions will depend on if the homework results are being used for anything specific, it they are printable or if they are compulsory.

I hate the apps and online homework for young kids too. You can tell the school you would like paper homework instead.

They don't need their own device. A parent's phone for 10 minutes a week is all that is needed.

I don't believe in homework at primary school and I never enforced it with mine. I don't think it's a good thing for schools to be using too many different platforms, or any if children have a problem accessing them from home. If your son wants to use them, can he borrow your laptop for 10 minutes once a week or so?

I alternate between worksheets linked to what we have done in class, creative stuff like an art project or retelling a story or I remind them to do the TT rockstars and spelling shed apps.

Some children do it all and extra, others do none. I can't enforce it and it is a lot of extra work.

Exactly.

Is this just lazy teaching?

Is this what they do all day at school?

Homework isn't teaching.

And tbh, in primary school, homework as very little benefit anyway bar a little bit of regular reading practise.

Gamification for things that require quick recall such as number and table facts can be useful to consolidate learning in some children.

My school does offer log ins for a couple of websites/apps. We make nine of these compulsory and we have a recommended time of no more than 5 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week. We have also removed the leaderboard option so children cannot view each other's 'position' in the class/year.

No, it’s not lazy teaching. It’s not teaching at all, that goes on in the classroom.

Homework is mostly pointless but parents want it anyway, so it’s sensible for the school to provide homework in a way that doesn’t waste teachers time.

I think it's great. I use apps and tech all the time for home and work.

Re screen time, at our primary it's an alternate weekly task set for maths which is 10 minutes for 1 app (tt Rock stars) and then a small task in My Maths the other week, which isn't timed but probably takes about 10 minutes.

Lower down the school they used numbots, again 10 mins a week was the expectation. So max requirement of 10- 15 mins of screen time a week using a parents phone or tablet (mine don't have their own phones in primary)

How much screen time are yours needing to complete their tasks?

Some of the apps are great. I tutor maths at secondary level and I had a really good look at doodle maths when my kids were given it in primary and I think it's really good. The repeated practice and returning to things later are really effective. Apps are not a substitute for class teachers, but they are a fantastic tool to support what is being taught in class. The world we live in has become very screen oriented which is not ideal, but this is one of the situations where screens are a force for good.