Today in class I was dumbfounded when I a student asked me how to find a document on the school's shared drive. I told her to open up "my computer" and the drive would be there. As she stared blankly back at me, I realized that despite the fact that our students have always had computers in their life, not all students are technology literate. I apparently and wrongly assumed that all students are able to navigate around and trouble shoot problems on computers.
I am currently reading Solomon & Schrum's book entitled Web 2.0: New tools, new schools (2007) and today I read about how today's students learn differently because they grew up with the Internet. I think that for the most part this statement holds true; however I personaly have failed to recognize that some students did and do not have the luxary of having a computer at their disposal. Since not all students have access to a computer, I think that experts grossly overestimate the technology literacy of the upcoming generation. Yes, students can use facebook, google, and youtube, but today I asked students about Web 2.0 tools and not one student knew what they were. I also find students lagging in their basic computer skills such as locating files, cuting and pasting, and even email.
Finally I am wondering why students haven't learned these simple, yet useful computer skills. Whose job is it to help our students become technology literate?
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Washington DC: International Society for Technology Education.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree. Many students use technology only for entertainment. I guess we, as classroom teachers, must make sure they can use technology for learning as well.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Katie. There's another phrase that refers to this phenomenon- "digital captives." Some students can navigate chatrooms, Facebook, maybe even P2P file sharing sites, but when it comes to leveraging technology for learning, they really don't know what to do. This is our challenge- to help them to be able to leverage technology for learning. This is why technology integration must come from all angles, not just in computer class, or from the few teachers who may be advanced tech users. It's everyone's responsibility in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThomas G
Even in this program we are surprised how little people know about computers. We cannot assume that because some one knows how to email, or even use Facebook, that they know about files and folders and disks. A good review in the beginning or even a survey might help.
ReplyDeleteHi, Katie!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done anything with this yet, but it's totally on my radar as I plan this summer. Some of the ideas we've been given are easier to implement mid-year, right now, but this is one I want to start the year with. I plan to discuss it at the back to school night and show parents what it is and what they can hope to see there. I'm excited about it. I've got super involved parents at my school, which is great, but time-consuming. They send so many emails, many duplicate issues. If I could address some of their questions in Twitter before they even ask them it would be great and save me so much time! I'm excited to see how it goes. Keep us updated on what you do and how it works!
Amy White