Technology for Learning Blog

A mistake I (we?) made in life was naming my (our) three children with the same first letter of the alphabet – the letter ‘T’. As a parent I’m often found inadvertently admonishing or complimenting the wrong sibling. At first I thought it was just me, but I’ve witnessed the confusion with my parents, our friends and the boys’ teachers. When naming your children it is simply something you don’t think about at the time - nobody tells you not to do it! So, with the 3T’s in mind I would like to change the format of this technology article slightly. Each week I would like to give you four T’s, namely:

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. During Wednesday’s PTG Tech Talk I showed parents the new feature in iOS 12 called Screen Time. With it, we have a new tool to help prevent excessive screen time for our children, partners, and of course ourselves. The tool lets us limit overall time and allow you to control the time spent on specific apps. It also does the same for websites and video games. This is a real game changer because when the controls are built into the operating system of the device itself, it makes it really difficult for anyone to find ways around the restrictions. In particular, you now have the ability to see your own data on your digital diet – this will really help scaffold conversations with those around you on what is a healthy ‘phone-use’ lifestyle. Watch this useful guide to Apple iOS 12 'Screen Time' for parents. If you’re asking those around you to change their habits then you best role-model it, like they say: “you’ve gotta walk the talk!”

In a tutorial session with Year 10 this week we discussed strategies to manage our digital distractions. The most powerful part of the morning was when one of our Year 13 Digital Leaders shared with us her journey to discovering the balance in her life with Social Media and the many other digital distractions we have to deal with. The short video above from The Atlantic gives a healthy perspective on how we, as parents, can help support our children in making sure they too make good decisions.

See you at the Fun Run on Sunday!

Brian Taylor

Dear All

IS/IT plan to synchronise the password you use to login to the Patana systems (WiFi, email etc - commonly known as your Active Directory password) and the password you use to access your Patana Google account.

In other words, the password used for Patana systems and your Patana Google account will be the same, and any new password generated by the Patana systems will be automatically synchronised with your Patana Google account. The sync is 1-way, meaning that when you change your password in Patana it will also change in your Patana Google account – not the other way round.

#94 iOS 12 Features to Reduce Interruptions and Manage Screen Time

During assemblies I ask the audience to put their hands up if they own an iPhone. Regardless of the increasing popularity of Android phones, the iPhone still has the majority share of the market in our community. So, I’m happy to see Apple responding to general concerns about screen time and the digital distractions of our mobile phones. In the latest iOS 12 update Apple have unveiled features that give you data on screen time and enhanced do-not-disturb features. With this information you will be able to make informed decisions to help take control of the time you spend interacting with your device. Read more about the update here: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/06/ios-12-introduces-new-features-to-reduce-interruptions-and-manage-screen-time/ or watch a summary of the update on this link: https://www.cnet.com/videos/limit-your-screen-time-with-ios-12/.