Teens and Today's Technology

I am taking my last class (!) so that I can be officially certified to be a library media specialist (!), and one of our readings was called "What Students Want: Leave Me Alone...I'm Socializing!" by Neal Starkman. Basically, the author sat down with students from 5th grade through 12th grade to talk about technology -- what kinds students use, what kinds they wish they had, and what their attitudes are towards technology and socializing. While it was really interesting to hear what students had to say (one had lost a friendship because her friend isolated herself with her iPod and one wishes she had portal technology to take her from her bed to school without any effort at all!), I would be really interested to hear what my middle school students think. Some of the students had great attitudes towards technology, realizing that it doesn't replace all forms of communication - especially face-to-face interaction. Some had rather lackadaisical attitudes towards internet safety. I am sure both of these attitudes are accurate reflections of both my students and most students.

This leads to one of the most widespread questions and biggest fears educators have about using new Web 2.0 technologies in schools today: how can you ensure the safety of students using this technology in schools? That is definitely a tricky question, but it is one we cannot avoid; students are using the technology, and as educators, we have a duty to try to teach them the best ways -- and the safest ways -- to do so. The first thing that needs to happen is that educators need to be aware of and understand these technologies; educators need to feel comfortable with Web 2.0 resources and understand why they are valuable (and why they won't just go away even if they keep ignoring them). This is well expressed in an editorial by Doug Johnson in Learning and Leading with Technology, February 2006 called A Proposal for Banning Pencils. I totally understand this avoidance and fear, because until the last few months, I was one of the "avoiders". With just a little education, I am now excited to use these technologies and help other teachers use them, too.

One of the lessons students need to understand is that once they are on the web, they are ON the web; they are out there in the public and have a lasting "digital footprint". What they say now can follow them for years; what they say now can be out there for anyone to find. Students need to be taught that and shown the importance of accuracy, the need for personal responsibility, and how to be true to yourself online without revealing the kinds of personal information that could lead to dangerous web encounters. We need to balance teaching the students these things about Web 2.o safety and responsibility with protecting ourselves on the school setting with filters and monitoring software (see Patrolling Web 2.o).

Blogging Video

Although this video is a little slow, it is a creative and visual representation of why blogging can have such value in the classroom. Students will benefit so much from the widespread feedback they could receive on their writing.

When I grow up...

Another video to check out...I have seen another video like this, and like the comments on TeacherTube said, this video is a perfect example of what technology can do and what it could and should be used for in schools. We need to get teachers up-to-date on 21st century skills and make them comfortable using these skills; this is the only way we will truly prepare our students for the future.