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Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

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Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#121

Post by yojo »

kleiba wrote: post #113

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea. The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so…

My kindergartener has a laptop, which I thought was ridiculous. But they use it to do adaptive math and reading programs, which actually seem useful to let the kids learn at their own speed.

OTOH, the best would be if the teacher was delivering 1:1 tailored instruction based on student need, but that’s not happening, so at least the computer can teach him something.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#122

Post by JenrHywy »

paxys wrote: post #110

Trying to get through hardware/software locks, content filters, firewalls, spyware etc. at school is usually the first experience kids have with "hacker" culture. For a lot of them (myself included) this eventually leads up to a real career in the tech industry. So godspeed, all you young rebels.

I would be more sympathetic to this line of thinking if I didn't have a 16yo who's going to be lucky to get through high school because he can't focus in class. I would have been the same at his age, if someone had plopped an internet connected device on my desk and told me to focus on school work.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#123

Post by JenrHywy »

kleiba wrote: post #113

There's a big political agenda where I live to push laptops, tablets and other IT into schools, but so far no-one has been able to explain to me why this is thought to be necessary or even a good idea. The common answer that kids need to be able to us information technology as a way to prepare them for challenges of their later life is laughable: most kids are already way more tech-savvy when they enter grade 4 or so…

100% agree - and it's having a serious impact on at least one of my kids who has a learning disability. Teachers just really aren't equipped to deal with kids on devices who know how to use them better than the teachers do.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#124

Post by JenrHywy »

adriand wrote: post #5

This relates to something that has been bugging me lately, which is as a parent I have zero parental control over the devices that our school board issues to my children. My kids have iPhones and iPads, which are part of my Apple family account, and I can both monitor what they are doing and also set limits on screen time including hours of usage and for particular apps. However, I recently became aware that my son w…

I have timeboxed access for devices controlled at the router - kids devices are blocked after their bed time, and all devices are blocked after midnight (which has been a good thing for me, too).

It doesn't stop them from playing a local game, but the removal of the internet seems to break most of the desire to use devices inappropriately.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#125

Post by Springtime »

paxys wrote: post #110

Trying to get through hardware/software locks, content filters, firewalls, spyware etc. at school is usually the first experience kids have with "hacker" culture. For a lot of them (myself included) this eventually leads up to a real career in the tech industry. So godspeed, all you young rebels.

Saw a user in a security community recently who said they set a bounty for their kids if they can bypass their parental locks and show how they did it.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#126

Post by raister »

wildzzz wrote: post #15
adriand wrote: post #5

This relates to something that has been bugging me lately, which is as a parent I have zero parental control over the devices that our school board issues to my children. My kids have iPhones and iPads, which are part of my Apple family account, and I can both monitor what they are doing and also set limits on screen time including hours of usage and for particular apps. However, I recently became aware that my son w…

Easy, no devices in their hands after bedtime. Your child isn't some busy tech professional that needs to be on call for work emails. They can live without having their iPad and iphone in their room. When I got caught as a kid playing my Gameboy when I should have been asleep, I lost my free access to it and could only use it when homework and chores were completed. Once play time was over, they took it back because…

Yes, that's my 'solution' as well - the router Sky (UK) gave me is utter crap, I put another one besides it and added QoS (so my kid has a poor game experience) and blocked useless websites (youtube, facebook, tiktok).

Call me a bad father, but it's working. When it takes a looong time to download a shitty Roblox game, he starts doing other projects. It's like magic.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#127

Post by schnitzelstoat »

I went to school like 20 years ago and I spent computing class getting around the security tool, installing Doom 95 and a SNES emulator and then playing multiplayer Street Fighter 2 and Doom 95 with my friends in the class (they both supported LAN play!)

I still went to University and got a Physics degree.

I think the most important thing is that the kids feel that the class is important, I felt computing class (which was basically Microsoft Office class) was a waste of time, so I just played games. But I understood that I had to study a good degree to get a good job. So in Maths, Science etc. I paid complete attention.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#128

Post by notRobot »

JenrHywy wrote: post #122
paxys wrote: post #110

Trying to get through hardware/software locks, content filters, firewalls, spyware etc. at school is usually the first experience kids have with "hacker" culture. For a lot of them (myself included) this eventually leads up to a real career in the tech industry. So godspeed, all you young rebels.

I would be more sympathetic to this line of thinking if I didn't have a 16yo who's going to be lucky to get through high school because he can't focus in class. I would have been the same at his age, if someone had plopped an internet connected device on my desk and told me to focus on school work.

I'm sure you know this, but trouble focusing could stem from many issues, the vast majority of which can be treated. ADHD is a big one, but there's others too, some behavioural.

If you haven't already seen one, I'd book an appointment with a psychiatrist and/or a psychologist. I wish my parents had done so when I was the student with trouble focusing so I could have received the help I desperately needed but never got, which made school miserable.

Your kid is going to have internet connected devices around him his whole life, so figuring out how to focus in spite of them is important, and there's nothing wrong with asking specialists for help.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#129

Post by skupig »

JenrHywy wrote: post #122
paxys wrote: post #110

Trying to get through hardware/software locks, content filters, firewalls, spyware etc. at school is usually the first experience kids have with "hacker" culture. For a lot of them (myself included) this eventually leads up to a real career in the tech industry. So godspeed, all you young rebels.

I would be more sympathetic to this line of thinking if I didn't have a 16yo who's going to be lucky to get through high school because he can't focus in class. I would have been the same at his age, if someone had plopped an internet connected device on my desk and told me to focus on school work.

I spent all my time online, barely passed high school, and skipped college to start my career. School doesn't work for everyone! If your kid has the space to freely explore his interests, I bet anything he'll be fine.

Re: Kids trying to play video games on school laptops

#130

Post by anothernewdude »

dlevine wrote: post #58

I've been teaching my nephew how to code using Scratch. He told me that they blocked Scratch at school because some of the kids were using it to play games during school. Kind of a shame, because it is a great way for kids to learn how to code.

The ability to play games is what makes it so good. It provides an incentive to learn the tool, and then an incentive to try to alter the games written in it.
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