My five-year-old is teaching my three-year-old how to use the computer. My wife and I have been impressed by the patience she's shown with him. Currently he is receiving a heavy dose of instruction on mouse skills and how to navigate through the Starfall website. Although my daughter is very special to me and I am very proud of her, I'm not sure if her experience with technology is that different from her peers. But I know she'll enter kindergarten next fall with quite a bit of "computer time" under her belt. She knows how to access the Internet through “the Firefox” and knows Mommy and Daddy will allow her time on "educational sites." To be clear I'm not advocating a lot of screen time for young children, and we monitor what sites she is on and how long she is online, but I would wager she is as comfortable on the computer as some adults I know (maybe more). I can’t help but wonder, if she is representative of a larger group of digital natives entering the classroom, I wonder if education is keeping up with them. Recently I talked with a friend of mine who is in technology and also has a child starting school in the fall, and we both shared our desire for our children to be engaged with technology in school at an early age. The technology vision for the school will play a big factor in his decision on where his child will attend—not just the equipment but what teachers and students (even kindergarteners) are doing with it.. I don’t know if a trip to the computer lab 45 minutes once a week for “computer class” is what he is picturing, nor is it enough to prepare our future students for digital literacy. Monday, March 16, 2009
21st Century Tech Literacy
My five-year-old is teaching my three-year-old how to use the computer. My wife and I have been impressed by the patience she's shown with him. Currently he is receiving a heavy dose of instruction on mouse skills and how to navigate through the Starfall website. Although my daughter is very special to me and I am very proud of her, I'm not sure if her experience with technology is that different from her peers. But I know she'll enter kindergarten next fall with quite a bit of "computer time" under her belt. She knows how to access the Internet through “the Firefox” and knows Mommy and Daddy will allow her time on "educational sites." To be clear I'm not advocating a lot of screen time for young children, and we monitor what sites she is on and how long she is online, but I would wager she is as comfortable on the computer as some adults I know (maybe more). I can’t help but wonder, if she is representative of a larger group of digital natives entering the classroom, I wonder if education is keeping up with them. Recently I talked with a friend of mine who is in technology and also has a child starting school in the fall, and we both shared our desire for our children to be engaged with technology in school at an early age. The technology vision for the school will play a big factor in his decision on where his child will attend—not just the equipment but what teachers and students (even kindergarteners) are doing with it.. I don’t know if a trip to the computer lab 45 minutes once a week for “computer class” is what he is picturing, nor is it enough to prepare our future students for digital literacy. 
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I work in education in Norway, however I think the challenges we face in education concerning digital litteracies are similair in most countries. Like you I'm concerned that the schools aren't adequately prepared for these young digital natives. Many schools today have the equipment needed to create many and varied learning opportunites for young children, learning opportunities where they can create, communicate and collaborate with other young learners. But, even though the computers are in place in the classrooms (or computerlabs) the teachers don't necessarily have the needed skills to use these opportunities in their classes.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I've felt these are global issues we are dealing with--it is great to get your perspective.
I'm right there with you one the once a week, 45 minute exposure to technology. That is the root of all my frustrations as an educator - as a technology facilitator. It allows you to go so much deeper, be so much more creative when you use it in conjunction with a broader educational assignment.
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