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| Technology as a (fun) one-way street |
For kids who habitually and spontaneously burst out with odes of love for Instragram ("Do you have an account, Ms. Cash?"), they become all kinds of stoic when talking about technology in the context of school. It's not that they didn't want to answer the questions: they just seemed anxious and quiet, almost as if they were concerned about giving the right answers. Some have computers at home; some don't. Some have cell or smart phones; others didn't. The only consistent element among all the students is that technology at school is compulsory, unexciting, not theirs. Technology outside of school, when they can get it, is the best thing in the world (Assassin's Creed IV has begun to come up even more than the latest 49'ers game).
The main difference, it seems, between how adults/ teachers and kids/students think about technology is how focused the students are. Technology for them is fun. It's video games, apps, social media. They see technology as a one-way street, and perhaps because of that, they are able to focus on all of the unexpected joys they stumble upon ("Oh my gosh Ms. Cash look at this picture my friend just uploaded!") while we adults are left wringing our hands and asking questions like "Are we using technology enough? Are we using it too much? I should really spend less time on the computer. I should really spend the next four hours lesson planning on my iPad. Will technology destroy our civilization? Can I afford the new iPhone?" And on and on...
I like the simplicity that students treat technology with. But I also want to equip them with the skills to use technology healthfully and productively as adults. Perhaps as I figure out how to help them, I will learn some of their joy and curiosity.
Wow Rebekah! I love your writing so much. I was throughly entertained and amused, while driven to deeper and better thinking. I love the formatting of your blog as well. Nice work, I'm envious.
ReplyDeleteI really engaged by your last paragraph: "I like the simplicity that students treat technology with. But I also want to equip them with the skills to use technology healthfully and productively as adults". I enjoy the sense of curiosity and exploration you present as the relationship between children and technology. Maybe it is this sense of ownership and play that draws children to technology. You mentioned observing a sense of detachment from academically reserved technology in your students. And I'm wondering if the scholastic sterilization of school-based technology prevent students from making an essential connection. In order for the richest experience possible, perhaps students need to feel some sense of ownership within the technological world. Perhaps they need to be released to explore a bit--making their own map as they journey along. Students that don't have access to technology at home could hypothetically ever have the ability to 'play' around with the potentiality of their technological encounters. They certainly won't find this freedom to explore in the traditional classroom, where, even if students have access to technology, they will be regularly disciplined for off-task behavior while on the computer or other device. We need to consider the full potential of technology and 'play' in our classrooms. The question is then this--how are we going to get students to focus on a kind of technological 'play' that is conducive to the kind of learning we want to have happen in our classrooms?
Wow Rebekah! I love your writing so much. I was throughly entertained and amused, while driven to deeper and better thinking. I love the formatting of your blog as well. Nice work, I'm envious.
ReplyDeleteI really engaged by your last paragraph: "I like the simplicity that students treat technology with. But I also want to equip them with the skills to use technology healthfully and productively as adults". I enjoy the sense of curiosity and exploration you present as the relationship between children and technology. Maybe it is this sense of ownership and play that draws children to technology. You mentioned observing a sense of detachment from academically reserved technology in your students. And I'm wondering if the scholastic sterilization of school-based technology prevent students from making an essential connection. In order for the richest experience possible, perhaps students need to feel some sense of ownership within the technological world. Perhaps they need to be released to explore a bit--making their own map as they journey along. Students that don't have access to technology at home could hypothetically ever have the ability to 'play' around with the potentiality of their technological encounters. They certainly won't find this freedom to explore in the traditional classroom, where, even if students have access to technology, they will be regularly disciplined for off-task behavior while on the computer or other device. We need to consider the full potential of technology and 'play' in our classrooms. The question is then this--how are we going to get students to focus on a kind of technological 'play' that is conducive to the kind of learning we want to have happen in our classrooms?