Close the #%&@ laptop and think!

[MommyThrice]

How do you get your teens to step away from the computer and think? Ds uses the computer to research for writing assignments & speeches. He uses the computer to write & edit his papers. He uses it for his online Arabic study. But somewhere in the midst of all this "academic work", he finds time for email, facebook, chat, etc... Even when I'm watching and I know he's sticking to school work, it seems to take much longer on a computer than it would with paper & pen. I know I'm old-fashioned (and maybe just plain OLD) but this constant screen time is driving me nuts. I can get him to hand write SAT prompt assignments, but only because it is practice for the real deal. Anything outside of that is cruel and unusual punishment. I would like to at least get him to THINK about what he is going to write before he runs to Wikipedia. Is it possible to ever go back to using paper, pen & books once this Genie is out of the bottle?

 

Your local Luddite.

[dereksurfs]

IMO, I would say don't fight it. Many kids have online curriculum among other things. Once he's in college and the workplace it will be the same thing. That's just the way people do things nowadays. Its all integrated into the computer. And the workplaces that aren't desperately need to be, hospitals being a prime example of this. I don't think many people write scholastic, professional papers or books with paper and pencil or pen anymore. Of course there will be the old timers who just prefer paper vs. a computer. But I think that generation is moving into retirement giving way to the newer 'connected' Y, Z, etc... generations. Of course that's my bias as an IT guy. But in school even 13 years ago when finishing my masters degree I did the majority of work on the computer. In fact our classrooms were wired with interent connections, similar to the work environment.

[Barbara H]

You might find this of interest, I've got it on my hope to read this year list. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127370598

[Laura Corin]

Once research is done, I switch off the internet for any writing work. It's good for us all. At weekends, the internet goes on for an hour first thing, an hour at lunchtime and an hour in the evening. They aren't able to use it all that time (and they share a computer) but those are the times for Facebook, etc. Research time is extra, but it's policed.

 

Laura

[Sebastian (a lady)]

IMO, I would say don't fight it. Many kids have online curriculum among other things. Once he's in college and the workplace it will be the same thing. That's just the way people do things nowadays. Its all integrated into the computer. And the workplaces that aren't desperately need to be, hospitals being a prime example of this. I don't think many people write scholastic, professional papers or books with paper and pencil or pen anymore. Of course there will be the old timers who just prefer paper vs. a computer. But I think that generation is moving into retirement giving way to the newer 'connected' Y, Z, etc... generations. Of course that's my bias as an IT guy. But in school even 13 years ago when finishing my masters degree I did the majority of work on the computer. In fact our classrooms were wired with interent connections, similar to the work environment.

.

 

Just because you can do something does not mean it is preferable. You can do business via email or Skype. That doesn't make it automatically superior to walking down the hall or having an actual group meeting. It is important to know the limitations of the systems you are choosing between.

 

There is a growing generation that thinks what is on the computer is truer than what isn't. Who think if the first web search didn't find it that it must be unknowable. Or who think what is online must be free to appropriate without attribution.

 

There is a place and time for the computer. There are also times when it gets in the way. I have a car. I don't drive it down the driveway to get the mail.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

How do you get your teens to step away from the computer and think? Ds uses the computer to research for writing assignments & speeches. He uses the computer to write & edit his papers. He uses it for his online Arabic study. But somewhere in the midst of all this "academic work", he finds time for email, facebook, chat, etc... Even when I'm watching and I know he's sticking to school work, it seems to take much longer on a computer than it would with paper & pen. I know I'm old-fashioned (and maybe just plain OLD) but this constant screen time is driving me nuts. I can get him to hand write SAT prompt assignments, but only because it is practice for the real deal. Anything outside of that is cruel and unusual punishment. I would like to at least get him to THINK about what he is going to write before he runs to Wikipedia. Is it possible to ever go back to using paper, pen & books once this Genie is out of the bottle?

 

Your local Luddite.

 

We have to control computer time here. Not only does it hold many distractions but it also doesn't engage the wider range of learning modes.

 

Time and place matters. And if a kid isn't controlling their usage (like watching You Tube during school time) then they only get computer time that is monitored.

[elegantlion]

We're a techy family, but we limit the computer usage for school. Ds's extracurricular is computers, he starting to learn programming and graphic design and spends a lot of his free time on the computer. I adore technology, but it is just a tool for our school.

 

The thinking part has to come from him, he types papers though. We do a lot of discussion, pulling real books off the shelves to help formulate ideas. We use videos and audio lectures to help us understand something. He's also a delayed writer with wonderful oral skills. Because we've spent time discussing a topic, I know if a paper is his own words and thoughts or those regurgitated from a text or online resource. We've only had to deal with that once so far.

 

He has a great computer set up in his room, but for school I often make him drag his "ancient" laptop to class and work on it in the classroom. He doesn't have a facebook account (his own decision), but he can get distracted by other stuff pretty easily.

[MommyThrice]

Once research is done, I switch off the internet for any writing work. It's good for us all. At weekends, the internet goes on for an hour first thing, an hour at lunchtime and an hour in the evening. They aren't able to use it all that time (and they share a computer) but those are the times for Facebook, etc. Research time is extra, but it's policed.

 

Laura

 

Do you just unplug the wireless router?

[MommyThrice]

Just to clarify... I am not opposed to using the computer to "type" a paper. But constantly stopping to use the internet to get ideas IS a problem. I would like ds to write his own outline from his own thoughts. Then have a list of things he needs to research, do that research (limited time period), then write the paper. There is a big difference between research and chasing rabbit trails. Maybe turning off the router is the answer (but it's gonna kill me! Online calendar, contacts, to-do list, etc... will need to be synced first)

 

Laura - great ideas. I do want them to have time to email & facebook, but not during school.

And Barbara, I'm reading about The Shallows this afternoon.

[Murphy101]

We close it and turn it off. No one here has a personal computer. They are all parent owned and controlled. (Good practice for when working as an adult. The computer isn't yours. It's your bosses. And so is your time while on the clock.)

 

I expect research and rough draft to be done before typing it up on the computer.

[Laura Corin]

 

Do you just unplug the wireless router?

 

Yes. And hide it.

 

Laura

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

How do you get your teens to step away from the computer and think? Ds uses the computer to research for writing assignments & speeches. He uses the computer to write & edit his papers. He uses it for his online Arabic study. But somewhere in the midst of all this "academic work", he finds time for email, facebook, chat, etc... Even when I'm watching and I know he's sticking to school work, it seems to take much longer on a computer than it would with paper & pen. I know I'm old-fashioned (and maybe just plain OLD) but this constant screen time is driving me nuts. I can get him to hand write SAT prompt assignments, but only because it is practice for the real deal. Anything outside of that is cruel and unusual punishment. I would like to at least get him to THINK about what he is going to write before he runs to Wikipedia. Is it possible to ever go back to using paper, pen & books once this Genie is out of the bottle?

 

Your local Luddite.

 

I think you have several different issues here:

 

1) Use of computer for research, writing, and online courses.

2) Computer usage for social activities.

3) Is handwriting assignments, doing research in a library with books, etc. better or worse than working on a computer?

4) Can a child return to a non-internet linked, computer driven education method after having experienced the tech world?

5) Effective study methods while still using a computer (ie think first).

 

How you handle each of these might differ.

 

In our house number one is acceptable and usually directly monitored. For those subjects or assignments where a computer isn't needed it is typically closed, shut off or in another room.

 

Number 2 is strictly during free time and with permission. There have been days when communication related to a sport or scout activity is expected and there might be a brief check of email to look for any response but on the whole this is all free time activity. My kids also don't have facebook accounts but that is a separate issue entirely. Phrases I never heard as a kid are becoming commonplace in our house and a topic discussed and joked about with other parents (close the laptop, turn off the game, take out those earbuds, put your phone away, no texting during dinner, etc.). They sound goofy but even with good rules in place and good kids you still have to say them sometimes. I know parents with tech turn in boxes in their homes-everything in the box after school or when homework starts or at bedtime-some even include mom and dad in the process to guarentee that the family has time together and parents aren't too distracted to help with homework, etc.

 

The next three issues are a bit more related. I might consider tackling number 5 by helping a student learn how to plan an essay or research paper may help. With my kids I would view running to Wikipedia first as either a sign that I needed to review proper research and writing methods or they are not following proper planning procedures (being academically lazy) and I need to watch them a bit more.

 

I don't know if work done the old fashioned way is better or worse than work supported by technology. I do know that this generation will need to be able to use computers for a variety of work: writing; projects (solo and colaberative); communications; research; etc. The basis of these skills will certainly be expected by the time they enter university. They also will need the ability to discern when face to face communication is better than a text or email; when a meeting needs to take place rather than a teleconference; and what are the limitations of the internet and technology. I think the answer is that neither is better-they utimately need to do both and need to understand that computing power doesn't replace brain power-it is just a tool.

 

I am expecting that as my kids grow there will be a certain amount of struggle between us over what is an appropriate amount of tech time. I will keep pushing for balance knowing that when they leave home they need to know how to manage their tech time in the same way my parents worried if I could balance social life and academics in college.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Just to clarify... I am not opposed to using the computer to "type" a paper. But constantly stopping to use the internet to get ideas IS a problem. I would like ds to write his own outline from his own thoughts. Then have a list of things he needs to research, do that research (limited time period), then write the paper. There is a big difference between research and chasing rabbit trails. Maybe turning off the router is the answer (but it's gonna kill me! Online calendar, contacts, to-do list, etc... will need to be synced first)

 

Laura - great ideas. I do want them to have time to email & facebook, but not during school.

And Barbara, I'm reading about The Shallows this afternoon.

 

 

If the two of you aren't using the same computer...can you set up parental controls so that you need to enter a password to give him access to the internet?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

I think you have several different issues here:

 

1) Use of computer for research, writing, and online courses.

2) Computer usage for social activities.

3) Is handwriting assignments, doing research in a library with books, etc. better or worse than working on a computer?

4) Can a child return to a non-internet linked, computer driven education method after having experienced the tech world?

5) Effective study methods while still using a computer (ie think first).

 

How you handle each of these might differ.

 

In our house number one is acceptable and usually directly monitored. For those subjects or assignments where a computer isn't needed it is typically closed, shut off or in another room.

 

Number 2 is strictly during free time and with permission. There have been days when communication related to a sport or scout activity is expected and there might be a brief check of email to look for any response but on the whole this is all free time activity. My kids also don't have facebook accounts but that is a separate issue entirely. Phrases I never heard as a kid are becoming commonplace in our house and a topic discussed and joked about with other parents (close the laptop, turn off the game, take out those earbuds, put your phone away, no texting during dinner, etc.). They sound goofy but even with good rules in place and good kids you still have to say them sometimes. I know parents with tech turn in boxes in their homes-everything in the box after school or when homework starts or at bedtime-some even include mom and dad in the process to guarentee that the family has time together and parents aren't too distracted to help with homework, etc.

 

The next three issues are a bit more related. I might consider tackling number 5 by helping a student learn how to plan an essay or research paper may help. With my kids I would view running to Wikipedia first as either a sign that I needed to review proper research and writing methods or they are not following proper planning procedures (being academically lazy) and I need to watch them a bit more.

 

I don't know if work done the old fashioned way is better or worse than work supported by technology. I do know that this generation will need to be able to use computers for a variety of work: writing; projects (solo and colaberative); communications; research; etc. The basis of these skills will certainly be expected by the time they enter university. They also will need the ability to discern when face to face communication is better than a text or email; when a meeting needs to take place rather than a teleconference; and what are the limitations of the internet and technology. I think the answer is that neither is better-they utimately need to do both and need to understand that computing power doesn't replace brain power-it is just a tool.

 

I am expecting that as my kids grow there will be a certain amount of struggle between us over what is an appropriate amount of tech time. I will keep pushing for balance knowing that when they leave home they need to know how to manage their tech time in the same way my parents worried if I could balance social life and academics in college.

 

Fwiw I don't dismiss Wikipedia as a first stop. It can often give is the proper search terms for better research. Correct names for who was tsar in 1905 or which Supreme Court Justice are we forgetting to name.

 

One thing I noticeis that the ease of keyword searches has undermined our ability to categorize knowledge. 15 years ago when helping research my dh's book we had to think through all the ways a book might be cataloged in the Library of Congress (through multiple transliteration schemes) and where in the National Archives we needed to search for material related to the topic. Sometimes it required using different finding aides and archivists in different reading rooms.

 

It's not all on the Internet.

[elegantlion]

 

 

If the two of you aren't using the same computer...can you set up parental controls so that you need to enter a password to give him access to the internet?

 

We just bought a new router which allows us to setup a "guest" access, which we can change the password to as necessary. It would be easier than trying to change the password on the regular connection. It is this router.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Fwiw I don't dismiss Wikipedia as a first stop. It can often give is the proper search terms for better research. Correct names for who was tsar in 1905 or which Supreme Court Justice are we forgetting to name.

 

Sorry-not implying that at all. Wikipedia can answer many questions and prompt lots of good thought. What I was trying to say is that if they head to Wikipedia (or any other site) before they have actually formulated an idea, topic, thesis or done some prior brain work then they are acting as though they hope the internet will provide all that pre-planning that they should have done themselves. That is what I am trying to discourage.

[dereksurfs]

Sebastian, et al, I'm not advocating using the computer constantly, unmonitored, just to be clear. However I don't think closing it automatically leads to better thinking or a better work process either. As mentioned once in college and the workplace it is just 'a part' of one's overall process in getting work done. We, along with most HS parents I think, monitor computer and internet usage depending on the various cases JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst included among others.

 

I also think there can be a tendancy to overreact to kids 'using that computer again' from older generations. Its a fine line in balancing out practical uses in HSing vs.not. Different families will have different guidelines.

 

Unplugging the network is a low tech solution to limiting internet usage, but as MommyThrice mentioned it shuts everyone else down as well. Maybe that's ok for some. There are other ways to more selectively restrict access. For example our router has IP Filtering which allows only certain IP addresses access. It is very easy to set up a 'white list' in this case and turn it on and off within seconds. So when turned off all can access the internet and when turned on (filtering enabled) only mom and dad have access for example. Along with that we keep computers in open homeschool areas where they are easy to monitor which helps quite a bit. Ditto on the no facebook, twitter, etc... Though they are still young and I imagine over time we will loosen the reigns before they are out on their own and off to college, work, etc...

[TranquilMind]

How do you get your teens to step away from the computer and think? Ds uses the computer to research for writing assignments & speeches. He uses the computer to write & edit his papers. He uses it for his online Arabic study. But somewhere in the midst of all this "academic work", he finds time for email, facebook, chat, etc... Even when I'm watching and I know he's sticking to school work, it seems to take much longer on a computer than it would with paper & pen. I know I'm old-fashioned (and maybe just plain OLD) but this constant screen time is driving me nuts. I can get him to hand write SAT prompt assignments, but only because it is practice for the real deal. Anything outside of that is cruel and unusual punishment. I would like to at least get him to THINK about what he is going to write before he runs to Wikipedia. Is it possible to ever go back to using paper, pen & books once this Genie is out of the bottle?

 

Your local Luddite.

 

We just haven't used that much online stuff. He's only on the computer when necessary to research or do a test (his co-op tests online sometimes).

 

The co-op - and I - require most of the work on paper for that very reason, fewer distractions.

 

Daughter uses the computer more, and says that kids in her college classes just sit there on Facebook, not even listening. Sad.

[Laura Corin]

 

 

Daughter uses the computer more, and says that kids in her college classes just sit there on Facebook, not even listening. Sad.

 

 

I saw that too. St Andrews university opens up a lot of lectures to members of the public once a year. Husband, Calvin and I attended one on Paradise Lost. Most of the students were fairly attentive, several were on Facebook, one spent the whole lecture reorganising the photographs on her laptop, and one was asleep.

 

Laura

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Sebastian, et al, I'm not advocating using the computer constantly, unmonitored, just to be clear. However I don't think closing it automatically leads to better thinking or a better work process either. As mentioned once in college and the workplace it is just 'a part' of one's overall process in getting work done. We, along with most HS parents I think, monitor computer and internet usage depending on the various cases JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst included among others.

 

I also think there can be a tendancy to overreact to kids 'using that computer again' from older generations. Its a fine line in balancing out practical uses in HSing vs.not. Different families will have different guidelines.

 

Unplugging the network is a low tech solution to limiting internet usage, but as MommyThrice mentioned it shuts everyone else down as well. Maybe that's ok for some. There are other ways to more selectively restrict access. For example our router has IP Filtering which allows only certain IP addresses access. It is very easy to set up a 'white list' in this case and turn it on and off within seconds. So when turned off all can access the internet and when turn on (filtering enabled) only mom and dad have access for example. Along with that we keep computers in open homeschool areas where they are easy to monitor which helps quite a bit. Ditto on the no facebook, twitter, etc... Though they are still young and I imagine over time we will losen the reigns before they are out on their own and off to college, work, etc...

 

 

What I have been seeing in my own sons is a tendency to struggle with thinking unless they are sitting at a computer. A tendency to skim past prewriting stages and go directly to paragraphs and whole papers. This doesn't necessarily lend itself to well reasoned arguments.

 

I also think that the ability to sweep ones paper for spelling and grammar errors may lead to not printing it out and combing it for errors. I graded essays for my coop lit class over the holidays. Most were pretty good. But a good number of them contained sentences that just did not make sense. In my own writing (academic and magazine articles) what I've found useful was to start in one mode, then switch to the other, revise and extend. So I might start with writing the first several paragraphs, with a framework of the rest of the article or essay on paper. Then I would type up what I had roughed out, editing as I went. Then keep writing on the computer until I peetered out. Then I would print what I had and look it over, red pen in hand. When I got to the end, I would just keep writing on the bottom and back of the pages. Repeat until complete.

 

I also think that there have been several studies that show people overestimate their effeciency at multitasking (espectially on a computer).

 

I'm not a throw the computer out Luddite. But I do think that it has facilitated a lot of lazy thinking.

[dereksurfs]

What I have been seeing in my own sons is a tendency to struggle with thinking unless they are sitting at a computer. A tendency to skim past prewriting stages and go directly to paragraphs and whole papers. This doesn't necessarily lend itself to well reasoned arguments.

 

I also think that the ability to sweep ones paper for spelling and grammar errors may lead to not printing it out and combing it for errors. I graded essays for my coop lit class over the holidays. Most were pretty good. But a good number of them contained sentences that just did not make sense. In my own writing (academic and magazine articles) what I've found useful was to start in one mode, then switch to the other, revise and extend. So I might start with writing the first several paragraphs, with a framework of the rest of the article or essay on paper. Then I would type up what I had roughed out, editing as I went. Then keep writing on the computer until I peetered out. Then I would print what I had and look it over, red pen in hand. When I got to the end, I would just keep writing on the bottom and back of the pages. Repeat until complete.

 

I also think that there have been several studies that show people overestimate their effeciency at multitasking (espectially on a computer).

 

I'm not a throw the computer out Luddite. But I do think that it has facilitated a lot of lazy thinking.

 

That's fine. I think we all come to the computer from a different frame of reference. Our experiences such as you've described in your own writings help to shape how we perceive it as a tool to do work. In my work as a software engineer the thought of 'not' using a computer would be ludicrous. It's apart of the job itself.

 

In terms of writing I have composed many professional papers as well as all of my work during my master’s degree from the computer. I've never felt hampered by it or the need to write things down on paper first. While the 'steps' may vary (e.g. rough draft first) along with their multiple iterations the computer has always been a simple tool to put the ideas down. I also really hated the use of typewriters in school when typewritten assignments were required back in the stone ages. I remember the white out and how rigid and unforgiving typewriters were. Then when word processors came out they were truly a God send and typewriters became instantly obsolete for me. Finally the pc came and was like a word processor on steroids. I've thoroughly enjoyed them ever since. Yet I still know 'good people' who don't even own a pc and would only use one if required to at work. That's just another perspective or paradigm when it comes to technology. However I don't meet too many younger people like that. Composing right at the computer for example is perfectly normal and natural for them. And I really don't see that changing even if parents try to get them to handwrite things first while still at home.

 

Research is another huge area of growth with the availability of the internet. I recall countless hours of time I spent running around to different libraries to research a topic for school or other interests. Remember microfiche? They have so much more available to them online. Does that make them lazier now? I think it could depending on how thoroughly they research something if/when that is required. But in the past the equivalent would be to just use the first article or book one could find on a subject that came along. While the means to get data has changed, the methods which go into putting together a paper really haven't. Times are completely different both scholastically and professionally speaking. This forum is a another great example of information which simply wasn't available to our parents. Are we lazier than them because of it? Maybe, but that still doesn't diminish its value to us now.

[MommyThrice]

 

Unplugging the network is a low tech solution to limiting internet usage, but as MommyThrice mentioned it shuts everyone else down as well. Maybe that's ok for some. There are other ways to more selectively restrict access. For example our router has IP Filtering which allows only certain IP addresses access. It is very easy to set up a 'white list' in this case and turn it on and off within seconds. So when turned off all can access the internet and when turned on (filtering enabled) only mom and dad have access for example. Along with that we keep computers in open homeschool areas where they are easy to monitor which helps quite a bit. Ditto on the no facebook, twitter, etc... Though they are still young and I imagine over time we will loosen the reigns before they are out on their own and off to college, work, etc...

 

 

Thanks so much. I'm experimenting with this now. It looks like I can set-up certain times wifi is available for each computer. I think it will limit wireless printing outside of those times, but I can live with that. We'll see what it does to Rosetta Stone.

[dereksurfs]

 

Thanks so much. I'm experimenting with this now. It looks like I can set-up certain times wifi is available for each computer. I think it will limit wireless printing outside of those times, but I can live with that. We'll see what it does to Rosetta Stone.

 

This is great. If you're router accepts IP addresses you can include the IP address of your wireless printer as well.

[PachiSusan]

Wow, such great information to read!! I have bookmarked 'The Shallows" and I will definitely look it up.

[MommyThrice]

 

This is great. If you're router accepts IP addresses you can include the IP address of your wireless printer as well.

 

You're right. I meant it would limit wireless printing FROM the computers I am blocking from wifi access. Mine should still work.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

That's fine. I think we all come to the computer from a different frame of reference. Our experiences such as you've described in your own writings help to shape how we perceive it as a tool to do work. In my work as a software engineer the thought of 'not' using a computer would be ludicrous. It's apart of the job itself.

 

In terms of writing I have composed many professional papers as well as all of my work during my master’s degree from the computer. I've never felt hampered by it or the need to write things down on paper first. While the 'steps' may vary (e.g. rough draft first) along with their multiple iterations the computer has always been a simple tool to put the ideas down. I also really hated the use of typewriters in school when typewritten assignments were required back in the stone ages. I remember the white out and how rigid and unforgiving typewriters were. Then when word processors came out they were truly a God send and typewriters became instantly obsolete for me. Finally the pc came and was like a word processor on steroids. I've thoroughly enjoyed them ever since. Yet I still know 'good people' who don't even own a pc and would only use one if required to at work. That's just another perspective or paradigm when it comes to technology. However I don't meet too many younger people like that. Composing right at the computer for example is perfectly normal and natural for them. And I really don't see that changing even if parents try to get them to handwrite things first while still at home.

 

Research is another huge area of growth with the availability of the internet. I recall countless hours of time I spent running around to different libraries to research a topic for school or other interests. Remember microfiche? They have so much more available to them online. Does that make them lazier now? I think it could depending on how thoroughly they research something if/when that is required. But in the past the equivalent would be to just use the first article or book one could find on a subject that came along. While the means to get data has changed, the methods which go into putting together a paper really haven't. Times are completely different both scholastically and professionally speaking. This forum is a another great example of information which simply wasn't available to our parents. Are we lazier than them because of it? Maybe, but that still doesn't diminish its value to us now.

 

There is quite a bit online now. I will probably sell some TOG books that are out of print and available through Baldwin Project. But I also know that what is digitized depends on copyright agreements, funding and interest level.

I do remember microfiche and microfilm and hard bound indexes of records(Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature). I also remember many records and books that have never been and may never be digitized.

Nor am I saying that computers should be done away with. I love for example the vast German media resources online for free. Back in the day it was hard to find anything in a target language other than the textbook.

 

But I think we do need to be concious of the limits of our tools and of how they affect us.

 

To the original post if you think that the computer is becoming a problem, put it away. Our laptops have frequently been put into quarantine and only brought out for timed and supervised use. This is especially the case when kids have misused our trust.

[flyingiguana]

What are you using for Arabic? (Just to had to hijack....)

[MommyThrice]

What are you using for Arabic? (Just to had to hijack....)

 

He's using Alif-Baa and Al-Kitab The DVDs are a real pain, but there is a companion website that we have subscribed to that is much better. Ds is hoping to test into Arabic 2 at our local cc after this. He is using their syllabus and touches base with the instructor periodically.

 

BTW, the timed access to wifi is working beautifully. The kids have wifi for an hour in the morning, all evening after 4pm and weekends (within reason) so they are not complaining... AT ALL! I think at least one son knew he was having a problem.

[dereksurfs]

He's using Alif-Baa and Al-Kitab The DVDs are a real pain, but there is a companion website that we have subscribed to that is much better. Ds is hoping to test into Arabic 2 at our local cc after this. He is using their syllabus and touches base with the instructor periodically.

 

BTW, the timed access to wifi is working beautifully. The kids have wifi for an hour in the morning, all evening after 4pm and weekends (within reason) so they are not complaining... AT ALL! I think at least one son knew he was having a problem.

 

Glad to hear it. It sounds like you found a middle ground that all can be happy with. ;)

[ladyinthegarden]

My DS has his own login on my laptop. The parental controls are set to allow him on it for one hour a day at a certain time. When the laptop locks him out it's over. You can hear him moan through-out the house when this happens. When they get over involved with a certain game or electronic device I hide it for a few weeks and sometimes months (bad memory). I have been thinking of setting up a laptop just for school, with certain sites blocked or maybe no internet, and with no other programs other than those used for school. I'm wondering if we can download an encyclopedia CD-ROM that doesn't need the internet to work? I haven't researched the idea enough.

[laughing lioness]

The results are in and multi-tasking doesn't work. "Studying" this way builds bad study habits. I'd unplug, limit time, etc.