I am watching Frontline’s ‘Digital Nation’ and it has got me to think about the digital world, social media, multi-tasking, living in 2011 and beyond. It is said that we are losing ourselves to technology, losing our humanity to the virtual world. And in some ways, sure we are. But perhaps this is evolution of the human mind, growth. Humankind has been changing our history of being on this planet, and it will continue to do so. (And let’s remember this is nowhere near the first change of this scope. I am sure the change from Hieroglyphics to writing caused this same sort of OH NO IT WILL RUIN us mentality. And yes I am sure we lost part of something we had before as well, but look what we gained instead? The beginnings of modern language.)
Now don’t get me wrong, I think we need to watch that we don’t live in the virtual world in extremes but this is like anything, one glass of red wine is good for your heart, 10, not so much.
However, when the world has changed so much, and let’s face it, it will never return to a time without technology, without the internet, we are past the point of no return. However, it does not have to be doom and gloom, in fact, we need to embrace it, learn to use it, and then to create.
For example, many educational institutions believe technology is ruining our children and adolescents and some ways it is but I believe it is because we have not yet learned to harness the technology to teach our next generations. We need to change how education is delivered, both the content, the message and the way in which it is taught. Whether we like it or not, the next generations are a connected generation and it is our fault. They are brought up in a world they did not create watching us attached to our devices of all sorts, TV’s, computers, phones, etc. etc. etc. I am just as guilty; in fact I am streaming a documentary, monitoring Twitter and email while writing a blog post.
There are statistics that show students are arriving at university with writing skills that lack sufficient skill to get through university, ok, then why did they pass the previous grades and courses, especially in high school? If teachers are so concerned, perhaps these students should be held back.
The world has changed and I don’t believe for the worst. We are free more than ever to create, the tools at hand are numerous and plenty. The types of ideas that come out are amazing.
I heard a quote at a work conference last week on Social Media with guest speaker Neil Bearse. He mentioned a quote:
“In the last 48 hours, more information has been created than since the beginning of time to 2003.” – Eric Scmidt, 2003, Techcrunch
I think education still needs to teach how to write properly and the correct grammar usage, reading, physical education – this traditional education doesn’t need to disappear but what we need to combine the two types of education; digital and social media WITH traditional education.
Kids today are pretty much born with wires coming out of their ears; my 2-year nephew knows to use technological devices. I have two other nephews, one almost 4 and the other 2.5 who both have flat screen TV’s mounted on their wall. Their parents have two as well. There is a Wii and a PS3 there as well, they see their parents with laptops, smartphones and constantly near them. And this is the norm in today’s western societies of plenty and instant gratification.
Then we send them to school and expect them not to still need that stimulation? Do you not think children would learn so much better with tools that are familiar to them? It is not that they won’t read but maybe instead of a traditional paper book one would read an e-reader?
We can use social media to create study type groups and use it to get the students to share information and ideas. We can have them do their assignments online, using blogs to share ideas or similar such technology. We can have them use game type apps to learn languages, grammar, and writing.
As for the distraction argument, yes it is valid. But there are ways around this, why are kids making the rules, teachers and parents should. Boundaries and guidelines around these technologies need to be taught from a young age. And if kids really don’t want to learn, they will find other things to be distracted with regardless.
We need to teach kids how to find information and get the right message, how to use that information correctly and how to present this information to others, so this includes proper writing skills.
I subscribe to numerous podcasts that teach me new concepts in my field of work, why not do it in education.
I subscribe to an Excel podcast that goes into depth about formulas and macros and the more intermediate levels of concepts I don’t have many in person tools to utilize. I subscribe to iTunes University lectures from actual universities, we can use blogs and twitter to follow news. I wake up, and before I even get out of bed and into the shower, I have read the Discovery News, BBC News and Thomas Reuter news and also checked on my Twitter feed in which I follow business professionals, news outlets, music feeds (artists, PR reps, radio station, music journalists) and friends. I find out breaking news on Twitter faster than waiting till the next morning paper comes to the store.
I am not discounting reading the traditional means, I LOVE a good paper book, trade paperback if I have my way even. But technology can help us learn, and create and give us the time to do it all in 15-20 minutes before I shower. I am on top of the world news, my profession and my friends.
Just my two cents on a Friday morning about technology and the response this documentary drew from me.
