Screen Time

Since the launch of IOS 12, the new Screen Time tool has become an essential part of the way families manage their devices.  If using Family Sharing with multiple devices, you can manage all your family devices from the one ‘parent’ device but even if you have only the one child device you can use Screen Time effectively within the settings.  Apple has some guidance:

Apple Advice and Summary

Apple Advice – gaining insight into your child’s device

CommonSense Media has also summarised the 4 key things parents should know about this feature in this video:

It is tremendously empowering for both students and parents to be aware of how to use this tool.  Parents can set screen time limits, set ‘downtime’ periods, manage restrictions and monitor their child’s use of the device in many ways.  Students can also be empowered to be aware of how the use of this tool can  make them more knowledgeable about their own use, encouraging good choices and a healthy outlook.  I also love the generation of data from this tool and the way that students could analyse this data and even use it to suggest improved pathways forwards for themselves (link to Heath Curriculum) and possibly even to create digital solutions to problems they may identify (Digital Technologies Curriculum).

Important to realise is that the creators of apps within the App Store also assign categories to them and that these categories can then used within Screen Time to limit children’s activities within these categories.  This does have implications for parents monitoring their child’s use across school and home time.  For example, with an app like minecraft, which has educational uses in the hands of skilled teachers, its category is a ‘game’ and so the screen time summary will represent time on minecraft as time spent in gaming apps.  Parents need to be aware of this before limiting certain categories.  The best solution is for parents and schools to be in regular communication about the way in which the devices are being used and and way that Screen Time can be used

Another link is here for how to set up Screen Time – this one includes some great screen shots.