This book pointed out many
things that I believe we are already aware of.
Apps are part of our life. It was
interesting in our class discussion that the idea of digital native vs
immigrant. For those of use that were
not born with digital technology, I know I can no longer think of a time
without it. I can remember using a map
or talking for hours on a kitchen phone but life in the present is done through
many apps that make my life more efficient (most of the time). There are also apps that distract or can
waste time. Which again takes me back to
thinking about our “information diet” and it is no surprise to look back and
see the importance of the order that we read our books and the topics that were
presented.
As a parent and a teacher, I
could relate to the three I’s _ identities, imagination, and intimacy. In my group we discussed how apps allow us
(not just our students) to try out different types of identities. There were positives to this but also a
concern of the way we can hide behind an online self. It was an interesting note to myself that the
way that apps shape our students so not really that much different from any age
group really. A packaged or polished
self can be harmful if fake but also good if we are putting our best self out there
for jobs or future educational opportunities.
We are in a trend of not being able to be without our devices and our
apps for all the ways they help our life.
What apps we have on our phone is a reflection of who we are and our
interests. That doesn’t have to be
negative but it is a warning that we should be mindful of our use of them. Again and again I think of what can of
balance are we experiencing with so much information at our fingertips.
Apps in ways never before
experienced keep us connected to anything and everything. This connectedness is a huge swing of the
pendulum. I want to be in contact with my
kids and my spouse but maybe not so much with work responsibilities. I know I have tried not to be a helicopter
parent but the reality is many of my behaviors tend to lean that way for good
or bad. But as my kids are young adults,
we are able to have better discussions of when and where they need my
help. The guide on the side approach
works too as a parent.
I think in the imagination area
the most is where I need to recognize my students and know they want to create
and in my area of teaching have suggested many tools for them to share their
knowledge. It is one of the constraints
at school that we are limited sometimes in choosing the best apps to explore
and create. Cost is also another
constraint where there are limited funds and devices. This is an emerging frustration of the inequality
that my students face. We are seeing
that our students are not prepared as they enter middle school with less
exposure to some apps that they are expected to already know how to use. We are now looking into how to bridge that
gap. But I am sure we are not the only
school that this could be a concern.
Even though I am in elementary school I still get pretty surprised in
some of the apps the students are using that are meant for an older crowd –
which again is another reminder that our students are completely immersed in
apps. This awareness is something we
need to continue to address as we discuss digital citizenship and staying safe
in the digital universe.
Digital Citizenship is important for our students even at an early age but I don't see teachers at my school taking it serious. They teach the one lesson required by them to teach and then that's it. In my class I am constantly modeling and discussing good computer citizenship. During our meetings on the rug my students are aware that we discuss behavior and things that are happening in our classroom. I asked my second graders if they know what an app is and they all raised their hands. It was amazing to me how many of the apps they use are actually for adult use. It will helpful when studying weather that students can use their weather apps for our weather unit.
ReplyDeleteI also engage our computer teacher in our classroom to teach digital citizenship lessons. Sometimes coming from not one but two teachers is a good idea.
Last night my husband and I were at a turkey sandwich stuffing party (friends of ours have it every year) and I noticed that all of the college age and young adult children were on their phones constantly. My phone was in my coat pocket in another room. While chatting to me and other parents in the room these young adult children were texting, snap-chatting and asked me several times to repeat what I said. I left the party thinking that these young adult children were disrespectful or was I the one out of the loop?