By Ashleigh Dollin
PARENTS who peer over their teen's shoulders during homework time may be alarmed by all the distractions that are taking place.
How can they concentrate amid the lure of MSN, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, the internet, music and a nearby mobile? Can this seemingly distracting environment actually be positive to their child's learning? Can it offer them life skills to navigate today's increasingly digital world?
''When I'm doing my homework I will have Facebook, MySpace and MSN open and I will flick through all the screens constantly,'' says Caitlyn Wilcher, 17.
Wilcher is studying for the HSC at Blaxland High School, yet no matter how pressing her homework is, these screens are constantly open, she says.
''When the pressure is on I still leave everything up but don't check it as frequently and stop talking so much on MSN. I tend to talk about the homework when it's crunch time.''
Increasingly, homework done on the computer is becoming a social event. Dannielle Miller says parents need not be too concerned about these apparent distractions but rather should try to help young people navigate this environment.
''They need a managed freedom, so you should check in from time to time, ask them whether they think all of those many conversations are helpful or distracting. We need to train them to be a self-managed learner,'' she says.
Miller says that in some ways doing homework amid all these distractions could be turned to an advantage because it replicates the adult working environment. ''Some of the skills to be successful in our careers are the capacity to multiskill, prioritise and network. They are gaining skills for life.''
Miller says that as long as teens learn when to lessen these distractions and to have their homework done well and on time then learning in this environment is a positive rather than a negative.