Digital Nation

For my technology and education class, we watched a Frontline film called Digital Nation. Like an article we read, they referred to kids as digital natives and adults as digital immigrants. I'm not sure where I fit in all this, maybe somewhere between. I was fortunate to grow up with computers as an allied art in school. Teachers wove them in curriculum when they could. By middle school AIM was out. So, yeah, I guess I'm an immigrant but maybe one that came over when they were like four.


Here's where I consider myself the immigrant. I text. I like it almost more than talking on the phone but the other night I was invited over a friend's house for dinner. The TV was on in one room, another TV on in another room and the lady of the house would not stop with the phone. She'd be looking down, texting, hardly listening to what was being said at the table. I felt like I was intruding. I kept reminding myself I had been invited. The kids in the video were ok with this blackberry behavior. It's fine on public transportation or in a waiting room, but I'm not crazy about it during social time.


One of the things I found interesting was how South Korea was facing this tech addiction issue. I'm not sure how I feel about those cyber dry out camps, but I do like the early education approach. Especially "netiquette." As I've mentioned, I got to grow up learning the basics at a young age, but I'm wondering what kind of access our children have to these types of things. The resource distribution, like everything else isn't the same everywhere. I'm sure most kids have them at home, but my former students had computers once every other week and were often just playing Internet games and not doing projects. In all fairness, it is hard to plan projects just meeting every other week. Additionally, our computer teacher was also the IT person for the building too.


Another thing I found interesting was the virtual intimacy. I loved Bubbe! And the people that were into those games came from all walks of life. I have to admit, I sort of had some stereotypes about the people who played games like that. I also found the second life thing pretty cool. I might approach them about second life classroom for home school kids or kids that can't go to school due to illness. 


Well, it was a good video and yes we need to use technology in the classroom. And not just power point by the way. It's just a fancy overhead that has notes typed up instead of hand written.:-)