For or against the use of screens as a reward at school?

For or against the use of screens as a reward at school?

In today’s context, where schools are facing challenges such as teacher shortages and unqualified substitutes, the use of rewards such as free time on Chromebooks or other digital devices has become commonplace. This reality leads us to question the growing place of digital technology in our schools . Is it wise to use screens as privileges in the school setting? Our goal is not to condemn this practice, but rather to provoke reflection by sharing a variety of points of view. By exploring the opinions of parents, teachers and experts in child development psychology, we seek to understand the implications of using screens as a tool for motivation and reward, and to consider how this practice fits into the contemporary educational landscape . Here are the answers obtained:

Parents:

• " Personally, I am against it , but I am letting go , because I have no control over it. But I am against it, because my child reacts strongly negatively to screen time; his behavior is affected and he becomes aggressive. He also needs support in what he watches ; since the beginning of the year, he has seen three films, two of which affected him to the point of preventing him from sleeping several nights in a row. In short, I cannot control the school, but I have to live with the repercussions at home . "

• “ I trust the professionalism of my children’s teachers . They know what they need at that moment. The content of what they put on is appropriate. I control the screens at home. At school, I trust their judgment . ”

• " It depends on the content . I am against letting a child have an iPad in their hands to watch anything. I am comfortable if it is for an educational video game or if for example it is an activity like a group movie at the end of a certain period of time.

• " I am torn. I am against it in a context where the use of screens at school is not well supervised . And as long as it is not, then it is no. However, in theory, I am for it. Screens are part of their lives and their learning methods. It is all well and good that they learn to use them responsibly and reasonably, but the use must be supervised! Time limit, content limit, but also awareness of cybersecurity and how to recognize red flags . Awareness of responsible use, understanding the issues (specific to the level of maturity of each age) and how to use the computer safely and in an educational way.

• " I am against the screen as a reward . I value the appropriate and timely use of screens . Here, what I don't like in your question is the notion of reward. The screen at school should not serve as an emulation system . Why not use screens as a teaching tool? There are a ton of applications that can be included as learning strategies, learning tools or as teaching support, a means of improving certain concepts, etc. Thus, I am for the use of screens in a controlled setting linked to the skills to be achieved on the educational level . In addition, schools could take advantage of this to link concepts of prevention in terms of the use of social networks, games, micro-aggression, online discrimination, healthy lifestyle and use habits, cyber-attack, phishing, security, identity theft, etc. "

• " That's a very interesting question, and I would draw a parallel with dessert in a meal. By choosing a screen as a reward over a sustained effort in class to do something that is not on a screen, it's as if we define from the outset that what is done on the screen is really more fun than what was done without a screen. It's putting the screen on an idealized pedestal. Same principle as letting the child have dessert only if he makes the effort to eat his nasty vegetables first, it defines dessert as the goal to achieve because it's so much better. It relays the rest of the meal to an effort to be made. For me, we should yes follow the recommendations for maximum screen time, but simply integrate learning or fun activities with a screen through the rest, available to everyone. Reward activities should be something that is on screen or not, but that is lighter and without a specific educational goal, or according to the child's interest (for a child who loves hockey, the reward could be showing his hockey cards to his friends, or going outside to play hockey, as much as playing a little hockey game on a tablet, depending on the moment). The more we consider something as a reward, the more we widen the interest gap with the rest... »

• " I don't mind using screens as a reward at school, I want children to understand that they should be used in small doses, just like chocolate. It's good, but too much is bad for our bodies. The problem I have with this is if a child's screen time is not controlled at home and they also do it at school as a reward , it only increases their number of minutes/hours per day."

• "My answer is that " it depends ". Yes, all in all, I am for this privilege if the child has a relative interest in screens and this is not his only option. Let me explain: I believe that the child must have the choice between different alternatives and that this should not be exclusive. The management of the use of this technology must be done by an adult, of course, who must supervise the child. I believe that the abusive use of screens can unfortunately reinforce this attraction which can quickly become a real addiction... The advantage in my opinion is that for some children, it allows them a break, some alone time and gives them pleasure.... I believe that it is preferable to impose alternating privileges on the child to avoid the child only wanting to take this one and by the same token cutting himself off from experiencing more social and less immediate privileges . In short, the duration, frequency and context are to be considered.

Laurence Morency-Guay, professor of psychology, founder of the Parent qui apprendre platform and author of the book Dire plus souvent non aux écran pour les enfants :

• " I am AGAINST. First, associating screens with a reward will increase the propensity for addiction . Screens already activate the dopaminergic system and make it a highly enjoyable and addictive activity, if we also associate it with a character of covetousness, we considerably increase the risks of creating an unhealthy relationship with electronic devices (screens). "

Teachers:

• "I feel challenged by the survey on the use of screens. As an elementary school teacher, I see the growing popularity of screens. Although it is an interesting educational tool, it should not be used excessively. In my opinion, Technology is at the service of my teaching. I don't use it for reward periods because students already use them for leisure at home. Sometimes too much! So for me, I believe that reward periods should be experienced through group or solo play, but not on screens. There's nothing better than collaboration and fun together to celebrate our successes. And why not go and experience it outside!

Then, the recommendations are clear about their use and it would be a shame if the school exposed children to screens . That is to say, school is a protective factor for children who lack stimulation at home; it is therefore not ideal to use the time when they can benefit from social relationships and educational activities to expose them to screens, which bring little or no benefit.

Finally, screens limit the real, tangible experiences that children can have in their daily lives . It would be ideal if rewards in this environment focused on maintaining these elements, such as allowing students to play board games instead of doing schoolwork or simply going outside earlier for recess.

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