General student device settings recommendations

By Lisa Plenty, Director of Digital Learning and Innovation

The move to remote learning understandably brings with it concerns about student screen time. In this article I will share some of the general device settings recommendations that can help your child avoid an excessive amount of time on a screen.

My recent Bulletin article entitled Growing Up Digital, featured in Term 2, Week 8, included information about the Growing Up Digital report. It may be helpful to read this again and refresh your knowledge of the report’s contents.

We recommend that students with Mac or iPad devices have Screen Time and Downtime settings in place on their device. These can be set up by students who recognise their own need for self-regulation, or parents can make these settings directly on the child’s device and use a passcode to protect the settings.

Alternatively, if parents have set up the student Apple ID under Family Sharing, these Screen Time and Downtime settings can be implemented on the parent iPhone/iPad or Mac. Please note, when setting a passcode, it is important that this is not forgotten as it can require reset of the device.

Further information for setting Screen Time on Mac is available online here and for Downtime here, and for iPad here.

Windows devices have a similar system which can be set up through Microsoft Family Safety, with further information available at this link.

Family home networks may have family controls that can be set and personalised and there are third party software programs that can assist with limiting device use and access to online content. We don’t recommend anything in particular, but we do ask that parents ensure any device managing software does not conflict with our Radford Device Management through which we are able to issue software and updates to students. It is recommended that parents check a potential management software purchase with the Radford Helpdesk to ensure compatibility.

For more information on remote learning guidelines, and other resources for families, please visit the Radford Online COVID-19 page.