Page 215 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

Chapter 8 • Tools for Parents

For example, Sprint has the option to limit who your child can send to, and
also who they receive from. Going to the sprint.com website and going into
your “my preferences” section gives you the ability to set limits and permis-
sions and check the option for text(s). This allows you to select the device you
want to control and then provides a number of options to:

• Not block text messages (basically the option to unblock, if you’ve
blocked earlier)

• Block all text, inbound and outbound
• Block all inbound text

• lock all outbound text

• BLOCK ONLY “these” numbers for inbound/outbound

• ALLOW ONLY “these” numbers for inbound/outbound text

Why is this helpful? With the last option, you could set up your child’s phone
so that it only receives texts from preapproved people. This is especially helpful
if your child is involved in a situation of harassment or bullying. It can also be
a handy option to have on hand should your or their cell phone number ever
be used as spam for advertisers. You can block those messages and senders in
this section of your permissions.

Although this example is Sprint specific, other major cell phone providers
(T-Mobile, Verizon) offer similar plans or features that let you dictate who
can send and receive calls and texts on a particular device. Contact your cell
service provider for more information.

Helping Focus with Guided Access

Some restrictions help with apps or websites, but there are also times when
your child may need some help with focus. Any type of mobile device comes
with its share of distractions. Phones and tablets have pop-up notifications,
and this has now stretched to laptops and desktops as well. On a device that

96 Mobile Learning Mindset: The Parent’s Guide to Supporting Digital Age Learners

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