Despite the enormous concern that currently exists around the use of screens by minors and its negative effects, the truth is that boys and girls begin their relationship with the digital environment long before they even have the capacity to desire it. According to a study carried out by the computer security firm AVG in […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: August 2024
Mom, can you please delete that picture of me from your Instagram?
Disconnecting for a few hours a day: an achievable and healthy challenge for teenagers
Adolescence, the stage in which we build and define our identity, was marked in previous decades by the presence of rites of passage and solid cultural references that helped young people find their place in the world. In some cultures, a young person had to spend a night alone in the forest, facing his fears, […] … learn more→
Innovation and Communication Technologies are not unstoppable, nor do they need to be at odds with books
We start from a recent event that occurred in the Swedish elementary education system. After decades of investing in a public education policy based on the use of digital and virtual tools – which has made the country a global reference in the sector – the Swedish government is now striving to convince the current […] … learn more→
Simple and free digital tools for learning and teaching
Whether we teach in person or remotely, whether for direct work with students in the classroom or for meetings or day-to-day management, there are some tools and platforms that usually come to mind easily. These include Google Classroom or virtual classrooms developed specifically by the education departments of each autonomous community or educational center. However, we have […] … learn more→
Does it matter if students do tests on computers or on paper?
Australian students are increasingly taking tests on computers. This includes major tests used to check national progress on literacy and numeracy. The idea is this prepares students “for the future”, because “technology is everywhere”. But as our two recent studies suggest, the way students respond to test questions on computers may not be the same as on paper. This is […] … learn more→
From the cinnamon challenge to ‘dragon’s breath’ – here’s what you need to know about social media’s most dangerous trends
Social media challenges can range from bizarre, hilarious to downright dangerous – it seems there’s no limit to what some people will do for likes. Take the “gallon challenge”, for instance. Social media influencers encouraged their followers to consume a gallon (3.78L in the UK) of milk in 60 minutes without vomiting. Maybe this doesn’t […] … learn more→
‘Not my boy.’ When teachers are harassed by students, some schools and parents fail to help
Since the start of this school year, we have been surveying teachers in South Australia about sexist views among students. This is part of our research into how online worlds are shaping Australian schooling. In May, we reported the first round of our research. We found South Australian teachers were experiencing a rise in sexist and […] … learn more→
The mystic and the mathematician: What the towering 20th-century thinkers Simone and André Weil can teach today’s math educators
Like most mathematicians, I hear confessions from complete strangers: the inevitable “I was always bad at math.” I suppress the response, “You are forgiven, my child.” Why does it feel like a sin to struggle in math? Why are so many traumatized by their mathematics education? Is learning math worthwhile? Sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing, André and Simone […] … learn more→
Why teenagers don’t talk to adults about their problems on the Internet
“I don’t listen to adults when it comes to this kind of thing,” a 17-year-old told me. We were talking about how digital technology affected his life in the context of a project I ran with colleagues in the West of England to explore young people’s mental health, including the impact of digital technology on their emotional wellbeing . […] … learn more→
AI pioneers want bots to replace human teachers – here’s why that’s unlikely
OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy envisions a world in which artificial intelligence bots can be made into subject matter experts that are “deeply passionate, great at teaching, infinitely patient and fluent in all of the world’s languages.” Through this vision, the bots would be available to “personally tutor all 8 billion of us on demand.” The embodiment of […] … learn more→