“That ICPA Qld lobbies the Department of Education (DoE) to ensure printable curriculum content is always readily available for every geographically isolated distance education student, for every subject, for every school term.”
In our branch, we have dedicated, passionate, long-term members who put forward motions of this kind for many years for their own children, all of whom are now well into adulthood. The intention was surely that the headway gained through this advocacy by members and State Council would stand the test of time and benefit all rural and remote distance education students into the future, not simply until the next product rolled out. As acronyms change, the fundamental structures advocated previously should remain intact – printable educational content should accompany all virtual resources.
International benchmarking tests have all clearly plotted a decline in learning over the past 20 years in schools, since devices were brought into learning, the first decline in history. These include renowned international tests such as Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data. It has become well-publicised that Australia itself, now have students, on average, as one and a half academic years behind their age than they were two decades ago.
We quote neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath:
“The pattern is remarkably consistent in findings from PISA, NAEP and hundreds of peer-reviewed studies: More classroom technology – worse outcomes in reading, maths and science. That’s not a theory – it shows up across countries, across grade levels and across time.
Why:
Attention is limited and easily disrupted
Multitasking isn’t real (and it crushes memory)
Digital learning often struggles to transfer beyond the screen
Even small amounts of daily device use can negatively impact comprehension.” END QUOTE
Another internationally recognised neuroscientist, Dr Mark Williams of Macquarie University has shown that brain deterioration in teenage brain scans is similar damage that has previously shown up in elderly Dementia patients, calling a crisis that teenagers are getting digital dementia from excessive screen usage.
Paediatricians are warning of the many physical and mental well-being issues that they are seeing in exponential amounts in children, with symptoms of eyesight short-sightedness and the very real potential of children developing blindness later in life, due to overuse of screens at young ages.
It is what we as parents have instinctively known and raised concerns for, yet still the technological solutions keep flooding into our schoolrooms.
Our children should, first and foremost, have access to real-life, interactive learning content that they can meaningfully connect with and be actively supported through by their in-person Home Tutor.
