Journal #9 "The Kids Are All Right" by John K. Waters (NETS 5)

Waters, John K. "The Kids Are All Right” T.H.E. Journal, 3/29/2009, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872

This was an interesting article explaining the advantages of teachers allowing their students to use technology n the classroom. It goes in to detail about how teachers should not stifle the everyday use of technology by their teenage students. A study was done where a team of twenty-eight researchers and collaborators interviewed over eight hundred young people and their parents over a three-year period. After spending more than 5000 hours observing teens on websites such as MySpace and Facebook, they believe that their findings fill significant gaps in our understanding of how young people learn and develop social skills online. The researchers believe that the information they compiled will help teachers close the distance between them and their students that the digital age has lengthened.
The article divided kids online participation into three levels: Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out. The hanging out level is the one where students engage in lightweight social contact. Friendships are formed and contact moves fairly seamlessly between online and offline worlds of teens, compensating in some ways for their increasingly restricted lives. The messing around level is where kids start to explore an interest and it is self-directed. A lot of search activities occur at this level. Finally, the geeking out level is a level of intense interest in media and technology. Students may delve deeper into interests and start to evaluate media content. Students develop interests that they then share and build common relationships with peers. The key to this level is for teachers to be open to it and figure out a way to use the passion for technology in the classroom.
The bottom line is that teachers need to refrain from prohibiting students to use the technology in class. Teachers need to participate in the online activities and accept that technology is not going away and they need to embrace the use of digital media.
1. If the teacher is not as technologically savvy as their students, will they lose their power in the classroom?
Teachers do not have to worry if they are not as good at navigating the technology as their students. Any projects that come up are interest driven and online, the student may have the upper hand, but in the classroom, the teacher is still in control. If a teacher opens their classroom up for self-directed learning, they may be surprised at the results. They may even have their students teach them how to navigate the virtual world!
2. What is an example of how a student’s computer use can be accepted and welcomed into the classroom?
For example, if a student is extremely talented at graphic design, a teacher may invite her to share her skills and give a workshop to her classmates on how to use different art related programs on the computer. You might find another talented artist in the class who just didn’t know how to utilize technology to showcase their work. Consequently, the student conducting the workshop develops confidence and self esteem while sharing her knowledge. This helps to develop the classroom community and also to help promote diversity in the curriculum, which could also be tied into another standard, such as Art History.