Learning in the New Millennium Phase One: Advice Sheet for parents

Common sense still applies
In on-line learning communities parents' common sense rules apply as in any home; if a stranger at a bus stop tells your child that they are a film director (hopefully) your children will remember your advice and be disbelieving. The same story in an email should be greeted with the same disbelief. Common sense tells parents that a child working in isolation in a bedroom is more likely to be involved in undesirable or inappropriate activities than would be the case in a social area of the house like the kitchen or the room the TV is in.

The learning community is a lot wider than schools
Technology makes it possible for parents to be involved in sharing the development, and celebrating the completion, of their children's work. Everyone gains from the result.

On-line communities work across age, gender and culture
Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters can learn alongside children as 'working' time is more flexible. Children can not only seek the views of on-line experts but can become acknowledged for their own expertise too.

Support for parents is needed
Like teachers, parents need support and advice to help them help their children to learn using new technologies. Too many of the changes in the way we learn in schools are kept secret from parents who could do much more armed with the right information. For example many children at home are achieving real progress in the IT National Curriculum without anyone logging their successes. We need teacher training for parents but we also need schools to recognise that progress at home and in the community is valuable.

On-line communities can provide immediate response to new information / discoveries / issues
This can be important in providing a fast response on issues important to young people and parents, for example health and community issues where information is needed quickly. Although it is usually up to date, there are problems in being confident that on-line information is accurate.

Explaining to parents improves communication skills
Joining discussions, forming arguments and then explaining what was going on to parents helps improve children's communication skills and their understanding of alternative viewpoints. Children need to talk about what they are doing as well as doing it!

Community support
As young learn from old and old learn from young in on-line communities, support mechanisms develop which helps replace (or rediscover) the extended family. Families are finding that geographical separation does not mean lost contact and on-line communities often include family members.