Ay, rail at gaming - 'tis a rich topic, and affords noble declamation.

The floodgates have partially opened and having come to the rather delayed conclusion that perhaps computer games are not responsible for all that is wrong in the world, I have had a rethink. I was also conscious that playground conversations involve the latest gaming scores, characters and updates and by not allowing access to these, I had been unintentionally denying my son the chance to interact with his peers on this particular level. Therefore, we have reached an entente cordiale and  "Angry Birds" has been downloaded onto my phone.

Cue one very happy six year old.

However, it rapidly became apparent how quickly small children develop a sense of over-entitlement when it comes to time spent gaming. After the initial onslaught and some unsavoury behaviour, boundaries had to be firmly re-established. Educational apps have been installed for some time now and are still used frequently. In addition a chess app has also been downloaded. As long as some time is spent on the educational apps, he can also play games and half an hour with Angry Birds has proved an effective reward for good behaviour. ( The removal of Angry Birds privileges an even more effective deterrent for bad behaviour!) If I am feeling very brave I have said that he can decide when he has played a game for long enough and to go and do something else. So far, so good; at the moment iPhone chess is winning in the popularity stakes and has proved the inspiration for his latest story blog. Curiously, he has not seen the connection between some of the apps and progress at school, even though apps such as Percy Parker have been  hugely beneficial to learning times tables. He simply sees them as good fun and "likes tapping the screen and the noises."

It has struck me that a flexible approach towards digital technololgy and the importance of setting parameters in a domestic situation is also applicable to a school setting. As a teacher it is my role to use a variety of technologies and approaches that are relevant to what is being learnt, that encourage and motivate my pupils and to ensure that these technologies are managed in a productive way - and at some points perhaps there may well be a chance to indulge in a bit of screen-tapping and noise-making fun!