Our Ever Evolving World…

Undoubtedly, our world is constantly changing, whether we like it or not. One aspect that has changed immensely and continues to evolve rapidly is technology and our new digital reality. Wesch’s video on YouTube speaks to the rapid changes and advancements in our digital world when he talks about the daily uploads on YouTube back in 2008. He says there were already 9000 hours worth of videos uploaded daily. In 2008, that was so crazy to me! I was born in 2002 and would have been six years old in 2008. I can’t even imagine how high the number would be today. Especially as many people make a living off of YouTube and what they post digitally. It is no longer just a hobby for many people; it is their way of living. It is honestly quite amazing and mind-boggling to think that people can make so much money from a 1-minute video on TikTok. The rise of our digital world has opened the doors to many fantastic opportunities for many people. However, as we know and discussed in class, all good things also have their downfalls. For instance, what is posted online is forever online. Once it is out there, it can always be traced back to you, even after it is deleted.

 

As an educator, I think this concept is vital to teaching youth, especially as technology is inevitable and kids are becoming more digitally active at younger ages. Safety now enters the conversation, and as teachers, children’s safety is at the top of our priority lists. Thinking back to class, most people agree on the importance of teaching online and digital safety in schools. But how do we do this effectively? That was the considerable debate in class. We watched videos from years back that were often shown in schools to try and teach about online safety. But if you were in class, you know these videos had much backlash for the scare tactics and victim-blaming approach.

 

Ah! As I write this, I feel I am getting caught down the rabbit hole and fixating on only one aspect of our digital world. There is much more to our digital world than just online safety, such as finding the balance of using technology in the classroom. I read a quote by Elif Shavak that says, “The digital world is developing with such force and such a pace that you simply can’t ban or control it. People want to be globally connected.” The part that stood out to me was the inability to ban or control it… While I do not entirely agree with this, as schools recently banned cell phones during school hours, which appears to be effective, I still see much truth within it. As educators, our job is not to lecture students on how bad technology is for them and how they shouldn’t be doing this or that. Our job is to help guide them and make them aware of the good and the bad. Having students do things digitally has a time and place and is an important skill to learn, but I don’t think students should do everything digitally.

On another note, In class, we discussed all the different forms of technology from each decade. We went down memory lane and looked at what was considered high-tech back in the day, including all the devices and tools we have now. I could not imagine teaching without using today’s technology and doing things digitally. My mother has been a principal at a Hutterite colony for 25 + years, and they are not allowed technology at her colony. So you walk into her school, which is a complete blast from the past. I’m talking old school. There are no slideshows to teach, no YouTube videos, all hand-written assignments, and no computers to help with research.  Everything is to be done entirely technology-free. I have constantly been exposed to technology and doing things digitally. It would be very frustrating and challenging for me not to be able to do things digitally anymore. I think that is a good reminder for me when teaching students who have grown up in the digital world. Having a healthy balance is needed. I will end on that because I feel like I will just keep rambling on if I do not…