Interesting article this morning on the use of technology by preschoolers. The long and short of it is that kids are becoming experienced with and accustomed to using technology from ages as young as 1. There are plenty of other people who will cite this as a symptom of a greater sickness that will culminate in the decline and destruction of civilization as we know it, but for our purposed, I want to focus on what this looks like in the classroom.
Kids on their phones drives us nuts. Part of it is a feeling of inherent disrespect in the act of dividing attention between teacher and technology, but for many of them, that is life. Many of our students use their phones without noticing and as an addition to anything they are doing. Game developers and technology companies started targeting this behavior years ago by trying to create consumer content for the "second screen."
This is why education and instruction is and must change. The world is different and, quite frankly, many of our schools do not have the right administrators and procedures in place to accommodate a no tolerance cell phone/technology. That means we have to turn it into a tool for good, for education. I understand the impediments to making this a reality including but not limited to the following: poor internet, untrustworthy kids, overworking the teacher, etc. That said, I've found a few ways to make it a reality. Something as simple as recording lectures and making them accessible to the students through their phones helps bridge that technological gap and i'm seeing improvement in my students.
Embracing technology and change has made me much less frustrated as an added bonus. Give it a try!
Original Article
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Technology pushing out DISD Teachers
Kids on their phones drives us nuts. Part of it is a feeling of inherent disrespect in the act of dividing attention between teacher and technology, but for many of them, that is life. Many of our students use their phones without noticing and as an addition to anything they are doing. Game developers and technology companies started targeting this behavior years ago by trying to create consumer content for the "second screen."
This is why education and instruction is and must change. The world is different and, quite frankly, many of our schools do not have the right administrators and procedures in place to accommodate a no tolerance cell phone/technology. That means we have to turn it into a tool for good, for education. I understand the impediments to making this a reality including but not limited to the following: poor internet, untrustworthy kids, overworking the teacher, etc. That said, I've found a few ways to make it a reality. Something as simple as recording lectures and making them accessible to the students through their phones helps bridge that technological gap and i'm seeing improvement in my students.
Embracing technology and change has made me much less frustrated as an added bonus. Give it a try!
Original Article
Related articles:
Technology pushing out DISD Teachers
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