Balancing Children’s Virtual World with Face-to-Face Interactions

 

            In this Kappan article, Angela Walmsley (Northeastern University/Seattle) worries that her elementary-aged children would rather watch television or play with an iPad than run around outside, and she sees older children holed up in their bedrooms engrossed in computer games, texting, and Facebook. “Have they become enthralled with the virtual world we live in, or is something wrong?” asks Walmsley. “While they may be learning how to communicate virtually, they lack the confidence and knowledge of reacting verbally and with appropriate body language when engaged in a face-to-face conversation.” She suggests a number of ways for schools to help correct this imbalance:

            • Structure classroom activities in which students must speak in front of others, coaching them on eye contact, nonverbal cues, and articulation.

            • Get students working in groups and talking with each other as they solve problems and complete projects.

            • When students complete a group project, have them communicate about what worked well – who talked too little, how nonverbal cues were used, and how interactions can improve.

            • Model in-person teamwork by team-teaching with another teacher.

            • Use a “Technology Corner” in the school newsletter to (a) Encourage parents to have rules at home about when students can watch TV, use a tablet, or text. (One idea is having everyone’s phone “sleep” in the same room at night); (b) Encourage parents to have conversations at the dinner table with no electronics; and (c) Encourage parents to balance in-person with electronic interactions and get their children engaging in unstructured play outside.

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“Unplug the Kids” by Angela Walmsley in Phi Delta Kappan, March 2014 (Vol. 95, #6, p.