When you picture a classroom what do you see? Maybe some desks, a whiteboard, several books, notebooks, pencils and paper. I would say this is a common idea of what a classroom looks like as this is what most of us experienced growing up.

Picture of a Elementary Classroom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classroom

But perhaps in your vision, you also saw a smart board or TV and students with laptops and tablets. If so you have envisioned the modern classroom and what most schools look like today.

A Picture of a class of students with laptops in front of a tv

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/blog/tags/education/

As our society changes over time, so too does our education system and the tools we have available to us as educators. I feel like there are a lot of varying opinions when it comes to how technology is affecting our youth. I myself go back and forth on this topic as well. So let’s look at some facts to see if we can get a better understanding of both sides of the story.

Firstly, it is clear to see that youth are using social media and technologies more than ever. A Pew Research Center article states that 46% of teens aged 13 to 17 report using the internet almost constantly, with 48% claiming to use it several times a day. That same article collected data on social media use and found that the most common apps were YouTube (95%), TikTok (67%), Instagram (62%), and Snapchat (59%). So what does this mean for educators? I personally see this as students being able to stay connected outside of the classroom community, as well as having first hand access to what is happening in popular culture. This connectedness can be a great tool to use to connect with your students. If you are also aware of what is happening in popular culture you can relate your lessons and topics to things that are relevant in your students lives. There is a concept in the video An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube called participant observation, which means that to truly understand how something functions we must try it ourselves. I think this goes back to my point of popular culture. As educators we must try and stay on top of new technologies and what our students are interested in to better understand them and what they are going through. This way we are able to provide them with meaningful experiences and opportunities in the classroom.

However with that being said, there are some downsides to this increase in technology. I have found in my own life that at times I can be a much less social individual in person than I used to be as most of my communication now takes place online. This is something that I am aware of because I know what I was like before being consumed by technology. But I am curious to see what this is going to do for the youth that have always had a screen readily disposable for their entertainment. Facetiming their friends instead of making playdates or choosing to be on their phones rather than exploring the world. Will they have the insight to take a step back and remind themselves to take a break, as I so often do? Is this issue as bad as we think or is online forms of community just as good as communities developed in person? Only time will tell. I am interested to hear where your views stand! Please let me know your thoughts!

Thanks for reading my post!