Against the background of the silence of the federal media, the parental community of Moscow continues to sound the alarm on social networks, write collective letters and appeals to ministries and departments, hold round tables with the involvement of specialized specialists for objective, expert coverage of the introduced destructive innovations in the education system, write detailed analytical articles in various media … Despite the numerous facts already voiced by Rospotrebnadzor, statements and studies of Russian scientists, there is still no justification for the harmlessness of the new digital educational environment created throughout Russia, the necessary extended profile medical studies on the impact of new software, hardware and technological studies on children have not been initiated and carried out. educational initiatives. Experts of the Civil Committee for the Revival of Education and Science sent an open appeal to the Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva asking to heed the arguments of parents and scientists
As it turned out, almost a year and a half ago, the Moscow Department of Education allocated the First Medical University. Sechenov, a grant in the amount of 2 million rubles for a detailed analysis and report on the topic "The impact of interactive teaching methods on the health of schoolchildren" (order of DOGM dated June 8, 2018 No. 239). What is known today about the results of the implementation of this grant? There are at least intermediate results - what conclusions have medical experts come to? Alas, there is no such information in the public domain, or these results are hidden (not advertised) from the parental public on purpose.
In addition, as follows from the Rospotrebnadzor report "On the state of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population in the Russian Federation in 2018", "Hygienic requirements for personal computers and other means of information and communication technologies for children and adolescents in organizations that carry out educational, cultural and entertainment and recreational activities; they reflect modern approaches to the assessment of the entire range of technical teaching aids (computers, laptops, gadgets, interactive whiteboards) and the main areas of their active use in educational and leisure activities. Recommendations are given on the organization of a unified preventive space for children and adolescents using PCs and other ICT tools in order to prevent general and local fatigue,improving the functional state of the nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory systems, as well as preventing visual fatigue and the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. The assessment of the physiological reaction of schoolchildren to the effect of simulated factors of the educational process was carried out, which made it possible to obtain new knowledge about the risks to their health and the most informative methods for assessing the tension of the auditory and visual analyzer. Databases have been compiled on the physiological reactions of schoolchildren to the impact of model learning conditions based on the results of diagnostic examinations. The research results are planned to be used to update the hygienic standards governing the requirements for general education organizations. "as well as preventing visual fatigue and the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. The assessment of the physiological reaction of schoolchildren to the effect of simulated factors of the educational process was carried out, which made it possible to obtain new knowledge about the risks to their health and the most informative methods for assessing the tension of the auditory and visual analyzer. Databases have been compiled on the physiological reactions of schoolchildren to the impact of model learning conditions based on the results of diagnostic examinations. The research results are planned to be used to update the hygienic standards governing the requirements for general education organizations. "as well as preventing visual fatigue and the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. The assessment of the physiological reaction of schoolchildren to the effect of simulated factors of the educational process was carried out, which made it possible to obtain new knowledge about the risks to their health and the most informative methods for assessing the tension of the auditory and visual analyzer. Databases have been compiled on the physiological reactions of schoolchildren to the impact of model learning conditions based on the results of diagnostic examinations. The research results are planned to be used to update the hygienic standards governing the requirements for general education organizations. "which made it possible to gain new knowledge about the risks to their health and the most informative methods for assessing the tension of the auditory and visual analyzer. Databases have been compiled on the physiological reactions of schoolchildren to the impact of model learning conditions based on the results of diagnostic examinations. The research results are planned to be used to update the hygienic standards governing the requirements for general education organizations. "which made it possible to gain new knowledge about the risks to their health and the most informative methods for assessing the tension of the auditory and visual analyzer. Databases have been compiled on the physiological reactions of schoolchildren to the impact of model learning conditions based on the results of diagnostic examinations. The research results are planned to be used to update the hygienic standards governing the requirements for general education organizations."
Thus, the report directly states that SanPiNs for interactive whiteboards (LCD panels) are already scientifically grounded, and parents, teachers and children are not dreaming about it, not in spirit! Just as they do not clarify for us the details of "new knowledge about the risks to children's health" (one can only guess from the text that we are talking about threats to hearing and vision) of students at the e-school. If the Ministry of Education continues to lead parents by the nose, constantly promising comprehensive studies of the MES / NES with the involvement of specialists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, maybe at least specialists from Rospotrebnadzor will soon give an intelligible answer about the specific results of the scientific research? The Civil Committee for the Revival of Education and Science (GK Voin) sent an official request to the Minister of Education on this topic.
Promotional video:
Further, the parental community has a lot of questions to the DOGM and the Ministry of Education, which have not yet documented and publicly confirmed or denied information about the presence or absence of brightness pulsations on the LCD touch panels purchased in a colossal amount (interactive board - 2 m diagonal) 18 cm), about the presence or absence of heating of the screen plane of interactive whiteboards that is dangerous to human health during their operation (classroom electronic "whiteboards"), about the presence or absence of negative health effects from LED backlighting in interactive whiteboards. Let's try to briefly analyze why all these parameters have a great impact on human health.
On the Internet you can find, in particular, a detailed study of a radio physicist, candidate f.-m. Dr. Anton Sharakshane entitled "Ripple of brightness: facts, mechanisms and norms", which presents data on the ripple of brightness of LED backlighting of various LCD displays. So, before measurements for statistics, the brightness of monitors and smartphone screens were set to 50%. The results were simply disastrous - only a small fraction of the specimens got into the green and even the yellow zone. In some screens, the fundamental harmonic was at a frequency of less than 70 Hz, which, according to the IEEE, leads to severe ailments, headaches, etc.
It is also necessary to take into account that simultaneously two pulsating (in brightness) sources at different frequencies (for example, a huge interactive whiteboard turned on in the center of the class and a working tablet or laptop on the student's desk) can cause increased harm. Indeed, the nervous system (and the visual apparatus itself) of students will be simultaneously affected by two pulsation frequencies of brightness of different intensity, which provokes rapid overstrain, fatigue, lethargy and apathy.
The degree of thermal heating of the interactive whiteboard's display plane on purchased new and old models is also not known. In the case of confirmation of the presence of heating of the screen plane of LCD displays, this may be an unrecoverable consumer defect (defect) in terms of constant or long-term use in the educational process. So, technologically, the backlighting of the liquid crystal matrix is carried out using LEDs, during the operation of which they are strongly heated, as a result the electronic plane of the screen heats up. Children sitting on the first desk in the middle row in the immediate vicinity of the electronic plane of the screen fall into the zone of thermal (infrared) radiation or exposure (recall that the heated electronic plane is very large - a diagonal of 2 m 18 cm).
The heated air from the electronic touch screen is blown out, creating a zone of increased temperature load and dry air near the first desk in the middle row. Infrared (thermal) radiation from the heated huge electronic plane of the screen is perceived as a sensation of heat (for LEDs, the screen plane acts as a cooling radiator). There is a significant risk that systemic exposure to this factor will lead to "drying" of the tear film on the cornea of the eye of children and can cause dry eye syndrome. According to the materials of the conference "Treatment of diseases of the ocular surface - optimization and new prospects", one of the factors in the development of this disease is called the "office" syndrome (working behind a monitor screen - insufficient blinking movements in dry air, incl.the presence of heat radiation). And now we are not talking about adult office clerks, but about primary school students!
Finally, light-emitting diode (LED) backlights can also emit harmful visible blue light. Unlike ultraviolet light, blue light is visible. The name "blue light" is essentially simplistic as it covers light waves ranging from the violet range (380-420 nm) to blue proper (420-500 nm). The 86 ” interactive whiteboard screens are equipped with a 4mm tempered stack. The presence or absence of specialized filters to prevent the spread of blue light on these LCD panels purchased in huge quantities has not been documented. The light emitted by LED lamps (LED monitor backlights) is composed of blue and violet colors in the visible spectrum. And a continuous look over a long long-term - 10 years (!) teaching children to this light carries obvious risks of negative impact on the retina.
In fact, children at school are systematically and forcibly forced to do something that is not provided by nature itself - the human eye is adapted to perceive reflected light (!) And, moreover, with a completely different spectrum. It adapts very poorly to prolonged direct gaze at the light source. And the LCD monitor is not only a light source, but also a light source of visible harmful blue light. Long-term direct glance at the source of illumination leads to "burnout" of the retina (fatigue of the "rods" and "cones", etc.). This is especially evident when reading books from a glowing screen or working with text. That is why in all classic models of e-books, the screens of which work on the basis of the technology of "electronic ink" (e-ink, an analogue of a reflective screen), the brightness and contrast of the screen are generally absent. But the MES lobbyists, as we are once again convinced, simply do not give a damn about such important moments for children's health.
The harmful effects of blue light on the retina have been proven for the first time in a variety of animal studies. Exposing monkeys to high doses of blue light, researchers Harwerth & Pereling found in 1971 that this leads to a long-term loss of spectral sensitivity in the blue range due to damage to the retina. In the 1980s, these results were confirmed by other scientists who found that exposure to blue light leads to the formation of photochemical damage to the retina, especially its pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. In 1988, in experiments on primates, Young (Young) established the relationship between the spectral composition of radiation and the risk of damage to the retina. He demonstratedthat the various components of the radiation spectrum reaching the retina are hazardous to varying degrees, and the risk of injury increases exponentially with increasing photon energy.
There are also modern similar studies - for example, a group of scientists led by Dr. Celia Sanchez Ramos from Spain, a researcher, an internationally recognized expert in preventive medicine, ophthalmology and ophthalmometry, experimentally established that LED radiation damages cells of the retina in rodents, adversely affecting vision …
To simulate the regular exposure of real-world digital devices, scientists surrounded animal cells with tablets (as part of the MES experimental project, they also try to surround schoolchildren with tablets or laptops, with an emphasis on their gaze on a central monitor with a diagonal of 2 m 18 cm), keeping them on during the day and night … A three-month (!) Experiment was enough for the researchers to record the death of 23% of light-receiving cells in rodents exposed to LED radiation without a protective screen. Blue light has proven to be a very powerful negative retinal damage factor. And in the case of our children, the MES / NES experiment may last not three months, but generally indefinitely - with a smooth flow to the university and further to the place of employment!
It is impossible not to mention the probable health problems of schoolchildren who constantly look at interactive whiteboards, depending on their location in the class. Thus, the children in the first middle row are forced to constantly raise or "lift" their heads, because the electronic panel is located much higher than their horizon of vision. And due to the fact that the information on the electronic touchscreen LCD panel is many times more than on an ordinary classic school board, and it takes much longer to look at it. Constant long-term "lifting" of the head increases the risks of deformity of the cervical spine in children sitting in the first row of the middle row. Also, this unnatural (unnatural) position creates a significant load on their constantly "raised" and already sick eyes, and this position is of a regular nature. It's just inconvenient - looking at the monitor from below, when the eyes are constantly raised up. It also leads to impaired blood circulation to the muscles that provide movement of the eyeballs, which can probably negatively affect intraocular pressure. And finally, such a long-term almost daily mockery of the eyes can lead to a violation of accommodation - the ability of the lens to change its shape, which provides focus on objects at different distances from a person. Close focus and concentration of attention on one object for a long time and at a fairly close distance causes overstrain of the accommodative muscles. The consequences of this disorder are myopia and hyperopia.providing movement of the eyeballs, probably, can negatively affect the intraocular pressure. And finally, such a long-term almost daily mockery of the eyes can lead to a violation of accommodation - the ability of the lens to change its shape, which provides focus on objects at different distances from a person. Close focus and concentration of attention on one object for a long time and at a fairly close distance causes overstrain of the accommodative muscles. The consequences of this disorder are myopia and hyperopia.providing movement of the eyeballs, probably, can negatively affect the intraocular pressure. And finally, such a long-term almost daily mockery of the eyes can lead to a violation of accommodation - the ability of the lens to change its shape, which provides focus on objects at different distances from a person. Close focus and concentration of attention on one object for a long time and at a fairly close distance causes overstrain of the accommodative muscles. The consequences of this disorder are myopia and hyperopia.which provides focus on objects at different distances from the person. Close focus and concentration of attention on one object for a long time and at a fairly close distance causes overstrain of the accommodative muscles. The consequences of this disorder are myopia and hyperopia.which provides focus on objects at different distances from the person. Close focus and concentration of attention on one object for a long time and at a fairly close distance causes overstrain of the accommodative muscles. The consequences of this disorder are myopia and hyperopia.
It is a paradox, but against the background of demonstrative indifference to the health of children on the part of the officials-implementers of the MES / NES, medical research states that the dynamics of visual impairments in schoolchildren breaks all records every year. For example, the primary screening conducted by medical volunteers as part of the Federal Program for Monitoring and Prevention of Visual Impairment in Schoolchildren in 2018 showed that 45% of Moscow schoolchildren have reduced visual acuity (!), And 10% of students have changes in the nature of vision.
And here is another important discovery made by experts from Katyusha and the Civil Committee for the Revival of Education and Science. Let's take a look at SanPiN 2.4.2.2821-10 "Sanitary and Epidemiological Requirements for the Conditions and Organization of Training in General Education Organizations":
In fact, this mandatory standard completely negates the possibility of using huge large-format interactive whiteboards, because the luminous flux emitted from their screens competes with the luminous flux from the lighting fixtures on the ceiling of the classroom. Moreover, it is not difficult to instrumentally check and compare specific figures. Children in classrooms, especially those on the first school desk in the middle row, are illuminated by light sources of various types of radiation.
***
After all of the above, the most disappointing conclusions suggest themselves. Of course, this study is not the work of certified centers of independent expertise with specialized specialists with academic degrees, although all our primary sources are indicated and are in the public domain. But as long as those responsible for our health are in no hurry to conduct MES examinations and / or do not want to publish their results, who else will do it?
The widespread use of interactive whiteboards in the educational process is associated with reasonable, as if deliberately created risks of reducing the qualitative characteristics of students' health, including their eyesight. In the case of visual impairment in children as part of this experiment - who will be responsible? Naturally, the parents will treat the children, and there is a serious risk that children will suffer for the rest of their lives as a result of acquired eye diseases. The transhumanist foresights have no right to carry out such experiments on our children!
How could a mass purchase of these gadgets be carried out without preliminary multidisciplinary risk studies? Law enforcement agencies need to check for specific managerial actions (orders, orders) of responsible officials, identify and punish those responsible.
The implementation of an extremely dubious (to put it mildly) concept of extremely dense filling of classrooms with all kinds of electronics (including those with strong electromagnetic radiation) involves the creation of a maximum carcinogenic environment (!) For students and entails for them reasonable risks of physical and mental dysfunctions. Scientific substantiation of the system of risks of the new learning environment for students is deliberately not being worked out! Not only the sound logic of making administrative decisions is ignored, but also the requirements of the current federal legislation. So, first, comprehensive profile research should be carried out, an interdisciplinary scientific analysis of research should be carried out, then the risks associated with the need to ensure the health of students should be worked out,and only after that you can give a command to purchase foreign electronics.
In the case of e-school, everything happens exactly the opposite. First, numerous consignments of foreign electronics are purchased for many billions of budget money, management decisions are made to fill classrooms of Moscow schools with this dubious foreign electronics as closely as possible, and only then (at the present time) officials "think over" (most likely, just for the sake of appearance) but isn't it harmful? It is obvious that a child's body is many times more vulnerable physically and mentally than an adult.
The introduced destructive electronic “innovations” in education were also not discussed with the parent community. At the governing councils of Moscow schools, information about the dangers of innovations was not discussed, the opinions of the parental community were not studied. Parents were simply presented with a fact. At the same time, according to the current federal legislation, it is the parents who are primarily responsible for the physical and mental health of their children. And it is the parents who, in the event of the development of diseases in children, will treat them.
We suspect that the conduct of relevant extended (comprehensive) studies on the impact of e-school on the physical and mental health of students is deliberately sabotaged by officials. After all, carrying out specialized examinations is associated with huge risks of losing the image of the MES / NES projects, the disappearance of the superficial gloss of their "manufacturability and innovation". This will inevitably entail a decrease in the capitalization of the project, a drop in the profitability of the business structures involved in these projects and lobbyists of all stripes. Let's not forget that the project's trajectory envisages not only the purchase of foreign equipment, but also significant financial expenditures on the annual infrastructural maintenance of the e-school - both the software part and the hardware. That is, we are talking about closing a bottomless “innovative” feeder for a number of affiliated persons.
So far there are no investigations, public disclosures of data on the hygienic safety of the MES / NES, we urge all responsible parents to apply to the authorities with statements against the digital school (it is also the Digital Educational Environment within the framework of the federal national project “Education”) with statements to all authorized instances.
- sample brief statement to Rospotrebnadzor against MES - link, - samples of statements against the MES to officials and deputies, as well as other materials to help applicants - link, - extended statement against the MES - link.).
We should not remain in the dark, in the role of silent experimental rats for the "reformers" of education - and we will not remain silent.
Author: Ivan Vagano