“Anyone younger than 25 years old has lived in the world of digital
electronic images her entire life.”
Wait. I paused, did
some quick mental math, remembered that I’m soon to be 23 and connected to this
vague notion I seemed to have overlooked upon first reading the sentence: that
person is me. Digital images have been an integral part of
my experience growing up on everything from billboards, cartoons, commercials, video
games, television shows, computer games, digital cameras, iPods…the list
continues to grow. Newer forms of this
have manifested themselves in the form of Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest over
the past few years and I even managed to upkeep a blog while I taught English abroad. Yet despite all of
this I still wouldn’t consider myself to be a “digital native.” I still have problems using the correct
remote to turn on my television, I don’t have a Twitter, and I’m still hopeless
with any sort of video game.
When I was teaching abroad in the country of Georgia anything that was technology related fascinated the people I interacted with. They always wanted to touch my computer and loved to use my digital camera to take pictures of themselves; I was frequently seen as a cure-all technology savior when it came to computer issues because I came from the United States--land of the iPhone. Mostly due to the fact that access to these fancy toys meant your family had some more money to spend, all the kids I met were grossly unaware of how to use technology like an ideal "digital native" should. My host brother didn't treat the family computer like an expensive purchase that should be taken care of but frequently bought black market Russian video games to play on a computer with no virus protection. The majority of the people I met didn't have daily access to Internet, let alone Facebook and when my host family attempted to search for something online it was ultimately fruitless since they are still very much "digital immigrants" in terms of their small technological knowledge they have. It's an interesting comparison to think about as I watch my students at Scarlett Middle School successfully navigate the games of an iPad while listening to music on their iPod while talking to their friends about their Twitter updates.
Back in this country, I think it’s safe to say that my future students will
definitely be “digital natives” and any child who is born after them will definitely be a living in a world of electronic media their whole lives. They
might not know how to craft the best Facebook statuses or they might be naïve to
the fact that what they post online is completely public unless privacy settings are
adjusted but they’re definitely surrounded by and interact with digital images
every day and will probably continue to get better at these things everyday.
I think that as a teacher in
the 21st century, part of the education I hope to instill in my
students is the smart way to interact with digital tools. I want to model for them how to have a social
media profile that doesn’t contain reputation-damaging posts, I want to show them
how to correctly scour the Internet for educational websites that will improve
their studies and make their papers richer, and I want to help them look into forms of digital media such as
photography and movie-making that can give them a new artistic outlet. I want my students to be more
informed citizens not only in terms of English and History but also in terms of
their lives in relation to digital media in all of its forms.
More thoughts to come...
Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have quite a "Deweyesque" view of how to handle kids and technology.
If we are providing a "social" education, then it seems to follow that that would include social media. It is remarkable to me how clueless most of my students are about privacy or even general tech etiquette. Assuming their parents don't educate them on these matters, doesn't it fall on us? But wait. Teaching a student how do be responsible online is not really preparing them for the ACT. So then, is it valuable? You'll find that these kinds of questions will come up constantly as you make your way as a teacher.
Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that you don't think of yourself as a digital native. I am 22 and I do not feel that I have had the same digital training that kids growing up today have had. I remember when texting was not a thing and the only way to make plans with my friends was to actually call them and talk on the phone. While we have grown up with technology, it was a different form. Touch screens were developed long after we were in elementary school. Technology has changed so much that I do feel we are a different type of digital natives than the students we will be interacting with. It will be interesting to see how their perceptions of technology in the classroom affects their learning. I also really like that you are including teaching students "smart" ways to use technology. Very thoughtful post!