Children that are now as young as just seven years old have stated to be wearing certain smartwatches and other smart devices inside the classroom and using them to bypass teachers in order to send messages to parents and other kids. This has reportedly become a growing issue for the schools of New South Wales.
Smartwatches for kids: good or bad?
According to an article by The Sydney Morning Herald, a particular inner west primary school wrote a letter to parents just last week regarding the few occasions with the use of smartwatches inside the classroom. The letter called on the parents to remind their children wearing mobile devices inside the school premises.
The letter noted that should any emergencies arise, the school itself will contact the parents and this does not have to go through the childrens' smart watches. The letter called on the parents to treat wearing these smartwatches just like mobile phones inside the school meaning they should not be used to either call or text between the hours of 9am to 3pm.
Smartwatch 2020: same as mobile phones?
The school stated that both sending and receiving certain messages during the learning hours was actually distracting and the devices should be used as a certain timepiece and step counter during the known school hours. While the mobile phones have been a problem for quite a while, the proliferation of these new wearable devices at much lower prices has now brought up another problem in the younger age groups.
A particular public school teacher over in Illawarra gave a statement to The Sun-Herald saying she actually caught one of her seven-year-old students playing with the known smart watch during class. This incident is actually more common than usual as kids have started to make use of these smartwatches like mobile devices that have games and other features.
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Technology for kids
Another article by The Tech Edvocate tackles the question if wearing smartwatches is a good idea for little kids. The article, although provides some important points, still leaves the final decision to the parents as to if this is a good idea or not.
According to the NSW Department of Education's mobile policy, primary school students should not use their digital devices during class hours or during lunch or recess unless permitted by either a principal or even a teacher for certain educational purposes. Meanwhile, certain highschool principals can also restrict or permit the use of these digital devices as well as online services in all of the school-related settings. This includes recess and lunch.
According to Craig Petersen, the current president of the official NSW Secondary Principals Council, it was actually not surprising that this would be an issue for primary school students as it is currently also a problem for teenagers. It was stated that technology is now accelerating at a very rapid rate and that wearable devices are now getting cheaper and also more accessible for the younger generation.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian Buenconsejo
