I blogged this in 2014 and regularly use the data in my presentations about "data abuse" in schools. Sadly, little has changed since then.
How times have changed. 10 years ago the debate about technology and the impact on our young people was split between the advocates and detractors. The debate on impact of video games and “too much TV" was still fresh. 5 years ago games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Halo where getting a bashing. Now its Fortnite and online betting.
Then something changed. With the all pervasive presence of WiFi we started to see initiatives such as BYOD being mentioned as a serious contender for improving engagement and learner outcomes. Now, not an hour goes by without someone on Twitter, FaceBook, Interweb (insert or delete your social media outlet of choice) demonstrating how and why we should be using ICT, WEB 2.0 and “all things mobile” as the basis or framework for all our lessons.
I’m not bashing that stance, nor those bloggers, Twitterarti or other “names” on the Internet – far from it, as I believe that to teach our young people we need to be citizens of the same world they inhabit – and “all things tech” for many young people (but not all,let’s not forget that) form an important, almost vital part of the infrastructure of that world.
But I think we’ve missed an important stance on the use of ICT.
Let me elaborate.
Recently on Twitter there have been a number of slides, Tweets and feedback from conferences on the penetration of smartphones into the ownership of our young people.
These commentators then go onto linking such figures to “observations” that we; need to embrace smartphones as “our learners already have them”, need to use them as “they improve engagement” and my favourite “it can prepare them for the future if we use them in lessons”. Again, not knocking any of those stances.
There is another debate that has been bubbling along since Victorian times – Childhood bed wetting. Similar voices can be heard linking such bed wetting to lack of confidence, low self esteem and bullying at school. Again, no arguments from me.
Here’s the picture:
Now, clearly we have 2 sets of data – so being a good data mandarin, the next step is obvious to all good data managers:
The results are clear: Smart Phone use decreases incidents of bed wetting.
So, as I have done in the past, I need to:
Buy all those learners in my school (or those on FSM) who wet the bed, a smartphone
Establish a “smart phone” PLC
Investigate the inevitable “smart phone” gender divide
Work with my cluster or family of schools to purge the scourge of “non smartphone use”
What’s your Smart Phone Call to Action?
Sources of Data
Bed wetting stats via Google
