Technology is shaking up the educational world and has a big impact on the future of education. As technology is changing rapidly, being up to date on what’s happening in the world of education is a necessity. Reflecting on the term “participant observation” in Wesch’s video, I recognize that as a future teacher in our networked and digital world, my priority is to be a part of the digital community by utilizing technology rather than being an observer. To develop strategies that work best for my students, it’s important to know about all the different technologies that are affecting education.
As discussed in class, anything can be learned from YouTube. Having access to technology now helps students investigate topics, they find interesting, prepares students for the future, and encourages spontaneous learning. This also relates to the sentence shared in class that “Everything I learned in College can now be found for free on the internet”.
In elementary school, I had no experience with technology, but this gradually changed as I progressed into high school with a computer lab. In Wesch’s video, he narrates how YouTube was a new form of empowerment and anyone with a webcam had a stronger voice and presence. This reminds me of how I felt when I first used the desktop computer which was shaped as a big square box. I learned how to type and use the webcam to communicate with friends.
It’s not far-fetched that the use of technology could have negative impacts. Going over the statistics viewed in class, the declining percentage of 12th graders who’ve had a driver’s license, tried alcohol, gone on dates, and worked for pay during the school year, brings me to the reality of how individuals throughout society are becoming disconnected and isolated because of the links that technology provides through social networks. Children who spend more time engaging with devices may not spend as much time interacting with their peers which can affect their social and emotional growth. As a parent, I feel this disconnect with my kids when they spend more time on screen. To create a balance and curb this challenge, I try to temper “technology time” to allow them to interact socially with family and friends. This could also be beneficial in our classrooms as future teachers. The use of computers can also distract students by providing them with access to inappropriate content or information. Utilizing proper security measures like website blockers, internet filters, and close supervision can help strike a balance between our new digital reality and the possibilities it offers.
I agree that I have seen a decline in young individual’s social skills. Recently I have been seeing a lot of videos about parents who gave their kid an ipad when they were young, and had videos of their behaviors. They then showed the change of what happened when they took the ipad away from the kid for about a month. The differences were unbelievable in the change to their attention span and creative thinking. I think that as you called “technology time” is a great idea and something that can be implemented into the classroom.
You can see the decline is social skills of kids as young as Kindergarten and Grade 1! I think of how the pandemic affected children and put such difficult strain on parents that many kids were given more time with technology than having to use their imaginations to play or learn how to play independently. Kids were not able to socialize with similar aged peers because of the virus and this caused years of students in my classroom who had difficult time adjusting and learning how to share, be friends, and solve problems. Technology is an amazing tool, however it needs to be limited. Kids still need to have opportunities to play, learn and socialize without the use of tech too.