On the kitchen table of the Dybvik Aamås family, page after page is filled with neat handwriting. Olivia (8) and Jenny (10) are practicing writing in books that their mother has bought. They wonder how to write the letters. – They fill in the lines with letters to get the technique into their hands. I see great progress, says mother Rebecca Dybvik Aamås. Jenny (10) also writes stories to her mother for the sake of exercise. Little by little, the writing has become prettier. The girls practice so much because the mother thinks the writing training at school is failing. Getting help from suggested text Dybvik Aamås is convinced that the girls are not learning to write properly. – They use the iPad for the writing training. The children write with their finger on the screen. It certainly doesn’t work, and doesn’t look good. When they type on the keyboard, they are helped by automatic functions that make the words come up by themselves. They don’t learn spelling. I think it’s absolutely terrible. The difference between what the children can do with and without the tablet worries the mother. Photo: Privat She shows an example where one of the daughters has solved a writing task on the screen, but is unable to do the same with paper and pencil. – The words are misspelled. The letters are mirrored. The writing is not pretty. What she can do with and without a tablet is like night and day, says Dybvik Aamås. She emphasizes that the criticism is not aimed at the teachers, but that she disagrees with the focus on screens in writing training. Sometimes Olivia writes the letters the wrong way. – But I practice, and I think writing with a pencil is just as fun as writing on the tablet. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news Rejects the criticism The headmaster at Langevåg school, where the girls go, refutes that the pupils do not learn to write when they use tablets. – Auto function can be turned off if desired, and grammar is worked on in the same way as it has always been done. The pupils also write on sheets of paper and in workbooks which the teacher prints out when necessary, but these are rarely sent home with them. The teachers are good at varying so that there are not too many screens, says Lars Johansen. He reminds us that digital skills are one of the basic skills children must learn at school. – We have to adapt to developments in society. Screens and digital aids are here to stay, and are something students must master. Screen use in and outside school Screens in school were introduced from 2014. According to the Primary School’s information system, 8 out of 10 pupils in grades 1–4 have class their own digital device at school. The same has 9 out of 10 pupils in 5th–7th grade. class, and almost all, 98%, in secondary school. The Norwegian Directorate of Health’s recommendations do not apply to screen time for learning purposes. The other advice for children and young people between the ages of 6 and 17 is that they should limit the time they are at rest, and especially passive screen time during their free time. In 2022, 74% of those questioned at secondary school and upper secondary school said they spent more than three hours a day in front of a screen outside of school, according to the Youth Report. The youth data survey shows that the children in the 5th to 7th grade fall more or less evenly into four groups. One group spends two hours or less, the second group spends 2-3 hours, the third spends 3-4 hours and the fourth spends more than 4 hours. Supporting appeals for less screen time Rebecca is part of a Facebook group “Appeal for less screen time at primary school” which has gained over 7,000 members in a short time. – But don’t you want your daughters to learn digital skills? – Yes, but not so early. I believe that the focus should be on learning basic skills such as reading and writing, exploring the world, being social and making friends. Most homes have a smartphone or tablet that the kids are allowed to use, so they learn anyway. They don’t need to have it both at home and at school when they are so young. Do you think there is too much screen use at school? Yes, it has gone too far ? Something in between would be appropriate ? No, it is good that the students learn digital skills ? Show result Rebecca Dybvik Aamås is critical of how much the school uses tablets. – It is completely excessive. It seems as if everything happens on screen. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news – Opportunities for good effects The government will soon present a new plan for digitization in schools. To get an overview of the field, a group of researchers went through the research from the last ten years and asked 2,500 teachers about their experience. Synnøve Amdam, together with researchers from the University of Stavanger, the University of Oslo and the University of Volda, has contributed to the project “Digitalisation in basic education: knowledge, trends and future research needs”. Photo: Høgskulen i Volda How much the tablets are used varies according to the subject taught, the working method used and grade level. – Many studies believe that the digital resources expand the room for action for teachers and the opportunity for learning for students. They allow for a lot of variation and customized training, as the teachers in the survey also point out. The main finding is that the resources provide opportunities for good effects, says Synnøve Amdam, associate professor at the Department of Digital Competence at Volda University College. I think it’s harmful. But that doesn’t convince Rebecca, who believes that the tablets have been given far too much space in the school. – I believe that in the future it will be thoroughly documented that it is harmful. In order to get less screen time, the family has in periods dropped the screens altogether. This has led to them inventing several things together, often outdoors. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news
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Rebecca Dybvik Aamås believes that tablets prevent children from learning to write – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
