Want to know how to motivate your child? Keep reading.

The Research and Its Impact on Hybrid Learning

A study conducted by PBS Learning Media revealed that the majority of teachers think media platforms like YouTube have transformed how they teach. Over 70% of teachers said that technology has helped them motivate students and engage with their students’ various learning styles. In a hybrid learning environment, parents have even more opportunities to impact how their children learn and what they consume online. 

The Tools and Why They Matter

There are even tutorials for teachers about how to use YouTube as an effective teaching complement. However, if students are going to engage with media in their downtime too, not just for educational purposes, parents need to have a means of evaluating whether the content their children are consuming is helping them or hindering them.

One of the roles that only a parent can fill is that of evaluating his or her child’s tech consumption. Often, parents get overwhelmed by how to limit screen time. But more than that, it’s very important to ask these five questions. 

The Five Questions Every Parent Needs to Ask

  • Who is teaching this content?
  • Is this content an escape mechanism from experiencing real (non-tech) life?
  • Is the video content something that teaches my child a valuable skill or has applicable life lessons?
  • Does this game objectify pain, suffering, or violence in a way that makes it seem more like entertainment and less like a catalyst for emotional or physical damage? A good follow-up question here: Is my child old enough to discern this, and/or have we discussed this at various intervals of his/her life?
  • If I want my child to have a value of (fill in the blank here: honesty, trustworthiness, empathy for others), will this content or game serve to build that or to tear it down?

When we consider that an entire generation is growing up with Google and YouTube at its disposal, it’s probably impractical to simply ban technology and media. However, as we educate our students about how to think critically, they will grow into adults who also think critically about what they view on YouTube, digital games they play, and who they follow on social media.

The Reason Learnwell Cares

Learnwell is passionate about helping students develop critical thinking skills that are a complement to their faith, not a deterrent. We don’t believe that faith and critical reasoning have to be at odds with each other. On the contrary, students who can reason well tend to develop a much more solid foundation about not just what they believe but also why they believe it.

If you’re looking for a hybrid learning environment where critical thinking skills are encouraged alongside faith, Learnwell may be the right hybrid school for your child.

  • Do you have questions about Learnwell? We have an FAQ page that answers our most commonly asked questions, some of which include matters of faith.
  • Do you need more resources about how to help your child think critically about what he or she views online?

Some of our favorites teach us about Generation Z and what makes them unique. Others inform us about the ways that our children learn and how they get inspired to change the world around them. The middle school life skills program at Learnwell is influenced by Tim Elmore’s Growing Leaders organization and his Habitudes curriculum.

We’d love to hear from you!

  • In what ways does your child approach learning that differ from how you learned?
  • What is the most critical issue you believe keeps students today from learning how to think critically?
  • What are you doing to help your children evaluate how they consume media?

Email us at [email protected].