Wall O Text One: Technology

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. The purpose of this blog is to fulfill a creative multimedia component for my field study in elementary education – early childhood education this Spring 2014. Throughout this blog I will address intersections between technology, mass media and popular culture in the classroom. Whether positive or negative, it is a part of all our learning experiences and I know there are many educators and parents who want its presence removed from the classroom because "children have so much of it at home," but you have to face it…it is here to stay. Whether or not you use technology in your home, workplace or classroom is your lifestyle choice. Yet, the choice of children today who have the presence of technology in their lives is to continually explore it throughout their entire school day. So what path is the best path to follow for educators and parents to place children on the best path to learning? 

As a child who grew up with computers and video game consoles while still learning to walk and talk, turning on machines was a natural daily occurrence for me. Yet there are a few differences between my childhood and children I work with today. I actually loved going outside to climb a tree, getting stuck and calling for help. Finding the best hide and seek spots in my backyard where no one could find me. But why do children want to go outside less? I do not know. Is it safe outside? What is the weather like? Do they feel they have something to look forward to that cannot be found online? It may be that children in our classrooms are seeking building connections with others. Online communities do provide children ways of connecting to other children not only in their community but all over the world. A pen pal can be made after one conversation online and sent an email in seconds compared to pen pals organization ads listed in a  published book that pairs children up to mailing letters and exchange correspondence between children from different countries and await the arrival of the letter. 

In elementary classrooms I have worked in, I have noticed children have trouble building connecting to others. Their time in the classroom is rushed and stuffed with so much information, I know their head is spinning when after-school time arrives. Sometimes they just want to “do nothing” or just “play.” So part of our role as educators is to facilitate learning when children reach this point of overload even when it occurs earlier in the day. Since we are all different people, our methods vary. When you turn on your laptop, tablet or phone, have you noticed how quickly overload dissipates? Have you seen a child’s eyes widen as the lights of the screen flicker with information?

Children now are receptive to technology devices as knowledge carriers. Before you could ask your grandparents how to spell a hard word like, “dubious,” now children sound it out the best they can on Google to figure out the spelling. The auto spell feature is both a help and handicap for children. While they figure out the spelling based on what auto spell reveals, they are not learning to spell the word independently. Handwriting has taken a hit, as a forgotten art, children’s handwriting is really illegible at times and worse of all it is empty, lacking their personality and style. 

Childhood in the late 2000’s is not what it was for any of us born before 2000. Children who are 10-12 tell me they feel the way the children do in the television commercials where children now have it so easy. They can watch television anywhere in the house where there is a (cable) box. No longer do children have to wait for a parent or other child to finish watching their show nor do they have to miss the show because four shows maximum can be recorded simultaneously. Do you see a connection between technology advancement and a child’s patience? 

Technology provides things right now for both children and adults. As for adults, they are losing patience as well. Children are shipped off to other parts of the house and not included in what their parents are doing during “me time.” Yes, many children preschool – school age have told me and other  educators through conversations I overheard that this goes on in their household. Just a note for parents, when your child is feeling alone during school time, they do tell on you whether you are aware of it or not. As for another note of adult patience, have you seen adults driving recklessly to get their child to school? Seriously slow down! You are already late so what is the point of rushing and causing an accident and putting everyone on the road including your child danger? 

As we all take a moment to slow down and think about technology in the lives of all, I will leave you with Sugata Mitra's words from his TED Talk. "My wish is to help design a future of learning by supporting children all over the world to tap into their wonder and their ability to work together. Help me build this school it will be called The School in the Cloud."