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Helping with the homework
Topics will include why your kids prefer the internet as a learning tool, how to become internet savvy yourself, and why it’s important to take an interest in your children’s homework and curriculum. Anyone wanting to be top of the class when it comes to encouraging their kids to learn should definitely attend. It will also be useful for those who don’t feel that technology is their strongest subject - we can’t all be good at everything but there are things you can do to improve.
Full marks will be given to anyone who arrives to class on time and if you ask a question you’ll definitely be in line for a gold star, don’t be shy, it’s important to share your questions with the whole class so everyone can learn together.
H: Lis Speight, host
P: Pat Spungin, parenting expert
D: Dominic Stinton, marketing director, TalkTalk
H: Hello and welcome to the Parenting Show, brought to you today by TalkTalk. Well we're living in a truly digital world now aren't we, and while the younger generation seem to embrace modern technology with no problems at all, the rest of us are sometimes left worrying that we can't quite keep up. Even something as simple as helping the kids with their homework isn't quite as simple maybe as it seemed to be in my day, as lots of children seem to turn to the internet these days and to online materials to help them, rather than asking good old mum and dad. So would you like to get more involved with your child's learning? Well if you would then this is the show for you, because we have two experts in the studio here with us today who are going to answer some of your questions about how to keep up with the internet and how to keep up with your computer-crazy kids! I'm pleased to say we're joined by parenting expert Pat Spungin
P: Hello
H: Welcome along Pat, and also marketing director with TalkTalk Dominic Stinton
D: Hi
H: Now welcome along to both of you. We're going to be talking, as I say about why your kids prefer the internet as a learning tool these days and how you can get involved, and we'd love you to get involved with this show as well. We are live and it is interactive as well so if you'd like to send a question in to either Pat or Dominic, all you have to do is to pop your question and your name that's in the box that's on the screen, press submit and it will come through to us here in the studio and we'll try to get through as many as we can during the course of the show. But let's start off by asking Pat first of all ' things have changed since our day haven't they?
P: Oh tremendously
H: Kids really like using the internet now for their homework
P: Yes kids like using the internet, teachers expect to see a certain amount of research that's come from the internet. You're at home, it's convenient, kids are used to doing it, and there's a phenomenal amount of information out there, so it is a whole different ball game from '
H: And how important is it that parents get involved with that, that parents keep across that '
P: Well I think if we've learnt anything about education and educational achievement, it's that the role of the parents is actually critical, and this starts from early reading with your baby but it doesn't stop when your parents go to secondary school, when it seems to you that they're probably involved in much more complicated things. You can still make a contribution, so you can help them for example identify sources on the internet, you can look at what they've got and say well it seems to me that this is too detailed or this is not detailed enough or are you sure this is right, perhaps there's a more reliable source? So I would say that parental involvement in education is a big, big contributor to a child's success
H: Ok well we'll be talking a little bit more about how you can do that, how you can keep involved with your children's education, but Dominic tell us a little bit about why the internet is so useful to kids these days?
D: I mean I think the main reason is just it's just massively convenient really. I mean I just stepped outside for lunch today and it was freezing cold, in the days of going to libraries, not only did you have to wait for the library to open, but it would be likely to close at a certain time, you'd have to walk there, get the bus, whereas now you can just kind of go into the study or the sitting room and just turn the computer on. I mean three years ago broadband was mainly dial-up as well
H: Yes
D: Which is where ' so you were kind of counting the clock and the minutes really and thinking oh I'd better not be on for too long because it's going to cost me a lot of money. Nowadays, 9 out of 10 broadband users are just getting it on tap
H: Yes it's incredible actually the information that's out there isn't it?
D: Exactly, I mean it's on 24 hours if you want it to be, so I think it's just massively convenient at the end of the day
H: But also a bit scary for parents maybe
D: Yes
H: Would you say Pat, a bit scary for some people?
P: Well I would say that the kids seem to be much more effective, they know what they're doing, they're whizzing around '
H: Because they're not frightened of it are they?
P: They're not scared, they use it at school, they use it for games, and they're just completely confident, whereas I think a lot of parents I think it's still to them relatively new technology and they might have mastered email and maybe a simple search, but they're not as fluent, you can use that word, as their kids are. But I think it's important to try and get up to speed for a whole variety of reasons, and one is that it's the internet ' there are things on the internet you don't want your children to be doing, and you need to be informed yourself so that you can have a decent conversation with them, a credible conversation with them
H: So openness is quite important then really in a family?
P: I think openness but you can't advise, or help, or support, unless you yourself have got some information, otherwise it just sounds like a lecture without any backing to it
H: Yes. So should you go on a course then Dominic, what do you think as a parent ' or can you try and pick it up from your peers?
D: I don't know, I think you've just got to show willing and interest. I mean in the research we commissioned I think it was only 20% of children thought that their parents were aware of the curriculum or of the subjects that they're
H: That's interesting
D: Which is pretty poor really. But I think ' I mean the internet is very new for a lot of people, but luckily there are browsers, or search engines like Google which are making it much, much easier. I remember five years ago you'd have to memorise the website address and you'd have to put in http and that forward ' whereas now of course you don't have to remember, you can just go to Google and just type in any word and search. It's becoming much more ' much easier, and it's becoming more visual, the internet as well, so because Broadband is able to carry far more information there are lots of things like this, today on the internet which you can see people presenting, so I think that's quite a brilliant resource for a lot of lecturers and tutorials because you can go and watch the lecture
H: Yes
D: Without ' if you've missed it or if you were ill etc. so the combination of a technology and I think the ease of use, the interface I think is meaning that it's not as scary to parents as I think they probably thought five years ago
H: No ok. Well let's move on to some of your questions now, we've had quite a few coming in, and we've had one in from Helen and she wants to know, she says 'we've only just got a computer that is online and my child knows much more about it than me.' Don't panic Helen! 'What are the basics I should know? Bit of a wide question really isn't it?
D: About the internet?
H: Yes
D: Crikey. I'm trying to think what your child would know more than you
P: Well I think perhaps one thing is she might be anxious because there's stuff out there that she knows for certain she doesn't want to see herself and she definitely doesn't want her children to see, so I think the first thing is to check that there's some kind of parental control that actually controls the kind of sites that can be downloaded to the computer, and I think '
D: Yes I mean we - I mean we're ' TalkTalk is part of the Internet Watch Foundation I think it's called the IWF and that means that I mean thousands of websites are inaccessible if you're using our service, which contain illegal content, and also we ' like a number of providers ' will sell a security, online security software, usually during the sign-up process, when you're kind of getting connected it will give you an option, so we sell a product called F-Secure and I think it's only like '3 a month, that will have quite sophisticated parental controls
H: So actually stops you looking up those '
D: Yes exactly
H: That's very reassuring actually isn't it
D: Exactly yes
H: Because I mean they spend such a long time on the computer '
P: Oh they do
H: Some kids don't they, and you ' how do you know what they're up to?
P: Yes
D: Yes
H: Should you try and monitor the time they're spending on the computer, should you give them a ' especially if you've got more than one child and you've only got one computer, how do you sort of deal with that, with that problem?
P: Well I think that you probably recognise that there's homework and then there's pleasure, so you would say if you need it to do your homework that should have priority, and you wouldn't ' you would say that I don't want to come in and find that instead of researching the ancient Egyptians you're actually zapping and playing some kind of zapping game
H: Zapping zombies or mummies or something
P: Mummies yes. That's not high Egyptian culture! So I think to kind of just talk about it, that if you're doing homework you're doing homework, if you're zapping and playing games that's a different time and that's a different activity
H: So maybe you could set some sort of timetable for them or something like that?
D: Yes I thought Pat said something really interesting earlier on which is a good tip for parents which is to switch off MSN Messenger
H: Ah yes
D: Because I think you probably explained it better to me, I mean you need to get going don't you to ' it's like a car that starts up '
P:Yes I think with any activity and with doing a project, doing homework, what you need is sustained concentration so everybody who works at anything knows that it's hard to start and then it gets easier and then suddenly you're in the swing of it, and we use that expression 'you're in the swing of it'. The thing is that every time you go from a cold start to getting into it, if your friend sends you an instant message and then you switch off '
D: It distracts you doesn't it?
P: And then you talk about something else you don't actually build up that momentum. So I think that's an important lesson for children to learn that to get the best results you need to sustain your effort for half an hour or an hour
H: And be concentrating just on that and after that time do all your messenger '
P: Yes
D: Yes
H: And your email. That's a good point actually isn't it? Moving on to some more questions and Sarah's written in, she wants to know 'should I offer my help if I don't know much about the subject my child is studying?' That's quite an interesting one isn't it?
P: I think she may not know much about the subject but then nor does her child
H: No
P: So they're starting from the same point
H: They can learn together which is what you were saying isn't it?
P: So they can learn together and I think not to do it for their, for your children but actually to say what have you found out and shall we have a look at it and shall we think about how if you're doing a project you're going to arrange this kind of material, so it's work together
H: And maybe help them find the information on the internet
P: Yes
H: And then leave them to kind of sift through it maybe?
P: Yes
H: So where would you start with the different sites, I mean are there particular sites that you can use for educational purposes? And I think the BBC has one doesn't it?
P: Yes I think the BBC has got an excellent site for revision, it's called Bitesize and then there are several of the same ilk, so the place really to start is to put into a search engine GCSE physics revision, and then see what you get, and then you can look at the source of the information, so something that comes from the BBC you can trust and then you can just take a view on the rest of the stuff. The problem is going to be filtering it because there's going to be an abundance of sites and actually learning which ones you like and which ones suit you, and that ' or suit your child, and that's just a matter of practice
H: Well it's just such a huge ' I mean you've got the whole world of information out there haven't you Dominic?
D: Yes
H: How do you stop, how do you know when you've found out what you need to know?
D: Well I mean this is just a theory of mine but I mean we're in the very, very early years of the internet at the moment and for most people they're accessing it via one screen which happens to be the computer screen, but we're already seeing a number of new devices which are coming onto the market which use the internet or are powered by the internet so you've got I-Pods, digital radios, your television ' give it another few years ' is going to be powered by Broadband as well, so actually I think you will start seeing self-selecting devices coming onto the marketplace which may even end up looking like text books
H: Weird
D: They will be soft and you can plug them into the internet and it will pull up information depending on whatever needs you've programmed into it, so I think the fact that we look at just one screen, that's not going to last forever
H: No
P: But it's also a problem with text books, I mean I studied psychology, there's probably several metres of basic psychology text books, but you look at some and you just feel oh, this suits me, this lays out the information in a way that appeals to me, and I think the same kind of process will happen with internet sites, that your kids will get to know the kind of sites that they like and probably visit those sites regularly
H: And also you've always got a time limit, there's always a time when you've got to hand in your essay to Mr Smith isn't there?
D: Yes
H: So you've only got a certain amount of time to do it, so you've got to get it down which I suppose is a skill in itself isn't it?
D: Yes
P: Yes I think also going back to Sarah's question ' Sarah?
H: Yes I think it was
P: Sarah's question, that one of the things she can help her child with is by having a conversation about what her child has learnt
H: Yes
P: Because it's not going to be simply a matter of cutting and pasting the information, the teacher's not wanting to see 30 identical pieces
H: No
P: Because they've all done the same search, teacher wants to see that you saw it, you read it, you thought about it and then you arranged it in your own particular way, and it's that process of digesting and assimilating and reproducing it that a parent can help with, just simply by saying well I don't know anything about it, tell me what you've learnt?
H: That's a very good point actually, don't just cut and paste, you've got to put it in your own words otherwise you're not learning at all
P: You can't cut and paste because the teacher will know
H: They'll know yes
P: This is not what I expected
H: They're not as daft as you think. Another question's come in from Jane, this is a good point actually ' 'my daughter is 5 and I've been wondering when is a good idea to buy her a PC. Can you help?' When should kids start getting involved with computers?
P: Well kids get involved, I've seen 3 and 4 year olds actually being very skilful with a mouse and as long as the program is suitable, then they can learn a lot, if only the hand / eye coordination, which I think this is a generation whose hand / eye coordination will be phenomenal
H: Yes
P: So if you're going to have some kind of keyhole surgery in the future, your surgeon is really going to be clued up!
H: I suppose a lot of schools though would have computers wouldn't they?
P: They will
H: And you know we haven't got endless amounts of money have we, so when should you dive in and get a computer for them, because things get updated so quickly, if you buy one at five, by the time they get to ten you're going to need a new one anyway
D: Yes I mean laptops particularly are really coming down '
H: In price
D: I mean AOL are offering a free laptop deal
H: Wow
D: And so I think personally I would buy a laptop because I think they're also ' they're great in a house because if you get yourself a wireless router you can access your email and the internet in lots of different rooms of the house, so you're not just fixed to one place
H: No
D: So I think laptops are the best things to look for and actually a lot of the updates now are coming from software which you can download off the internet rather than needing any hardware in particular
H: Right ok, so that's a relatively cheap way of doing '
D: Yes I think so yes
H: And they're quite easy to use as you say
D: Yes
H: Good for younger children
D: Absolutely, I mean my son is four, and he is at primary school now and he's just starting to use our laptop in the kitchen if we've got it out, and he plays on CBeebies
H: That's amazing isn't it?
D: Yes
H: Four
D: I know it's fantastic isn't it?
H: It's never too young to start
D: I mean he sort of said to me yesterday, oh dad you need to download it, I don't know how he understood that word download at all, I mean I barely understand it myself
H: He's obviously very advanced isn't he? He's going to be a star in the future I hope. Now Paul sent a question in and he says 'is social networking a help or a hinder for teenage learning?' That's a bit of a sticky subject, Pat what would you say about that?
P: Well I think it's a little bit like MSN, if while you're doing your GCSE revision you've got this in the background somewhere, it's obviously a hindrance '
H: Yes because your brain's trying to do two things at once
P: Yes and you need to concentrate on what it is you're doing. I think is it a help or a hindrance? Is it avoidable, no it's not, because that's what kids do, so I don't think you can stop it to that extent. What you can do is flag up some of the risks that are involved, so for example don't give away too much data, because it's social networking, the temptation to tell all is actually very strong
H: Yes
P: And I've heard it speculated I don't know how much truth there is in this, that anybody whose got two bits of common sense, by just pouring over this stuff, can extract information which would probably be quite useful. So most of us use passwords, birthdays, your mother's name, your child's name
H: Pet's names
P: Pet's name or something like that. There's a limited number of options that most of us use and on social networking sites you can probably get some idea about what they are
H: So you've got to talk to your children and make sure they're aware of everything they're putting on the internet. I mean how much should you be sitting on their shoulder?
D: I don't know, I mean I remember the same fear when I was growing up, when I was 13 in the early '80s there used to be a thing called CB radio
H: Right
D: Do you remember that?
H: Oh yes
D: Now that essentially was the same, you were inviting strangers into the house, so I remember my mother telling me don't ever arrange to meet people because you could be talking, you know to somebody, some unsavoury character, so we followed those basic sort of rules and didn't meet people, but I personally, I mean I think social networking is very interesting, I mean I'm nearly 40 and all my friends are on Facebook and actually it's a brilliant way of staying in touch with people, and I wonder whether this new generation of people are actually going to grow up with maybe less hang-ups because they are so open
H: Yes
D: With each other, they share quite intimate things in their lives and I think '
H: Yes
D: That maybe is quite a generational difference that people can't understand why one would want to do that. Perhaps they would grow up to be more well rounded, I don't know
H: That's a very interesting point actually
D: As a result of that
H: We can only live in hope can't we? But on that subject actually, the internet obviously isn't just about using it for school work ' kids could also use it for looking up things like sex education, couldn't they Pam?
P:Yes
H: I mean would you say it's quite a useful tool for parents
P: Yes
H: In that way?
P: Yes I would, I would say there are a couple of really good sites not only for sex education but also for drugs education
H: Right
P: There's AskFrank or Talk to Frank '
D: Frank, yes
P: I'm not quite ' TalktoFrank. And there's another one whose name I've forgotten but if you type in sites for teenagers, or sex education for teenagers, it will come up. This is a site that's for teenagers, it's got really good advice and it's not given in a patronising way, and it helps teenagers approach their parents, and on the other side there are sites where parents can get help on how to approach difficult subjects with drugs for example, how to inform themselves, because it's all very well wagging your finger and telling your children don't do this, this will happen, but actually if you don't have the real information about what drugs are available, how strong they are, what the consequences are, your kids know it and if they hear you talk about it and they know you're not credible, then they will tend to discount the message
H: Ok, well that message actually is TalktoFrank.com, TalktoFrank.com
D: TalktoFrank
H: It might be worth looking that one up actually
P: Yes, for drugs that's a very good site
D: Yes
H: We're almost out of time actually but try and get a few more of your questions in and Bethany wants to know 'when my son asks me for help I have no idea what he's going on about, I can't spell algebra let alone teach it, so where can I go online for help?' or how does she know where to start really?
P: Well again search engines are wonderful and she should put in 'parent wants to help son with algebra' and see what comes up, and believe me something will come up
D: Yes and also if you need to practice online take an interest of your own, forget about your child's education, take an interest ' if you like cooking, start investigating, do a search 'Italian cooking' so you just get used to it and you know where to point the mouse etc and '
H: And then you know how your own sites work and then you can help your children
D: Exactly then you can apply the same thinking to their education
H: Yes but don't start doing your shopping online because it's very addictive!
D: It's brilliant, I've done all my Christmas shopping online, it's fantastic
H: Well that's about all we've got time for today actually so thanks so much to Pat Spungin and Dominic Stinton for coming in and talking us through some of those problems that parents might have
P: Thank you
D: Thank you, it's a pleasure
H: So for more tips on how to help your children online you can go to the website which is www.talktalk.co.uk. Well that's it from us for now, thanks for watching and we'll see you next time. Bye bye
