Journal #9- The Kids Are All Right

Waters, J. K. (2009, March). The Kids Are All Right. THE Journal, Retrieved May 6, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104

In 2006, the John D. and Cathrine T. MacArthur Foundation launched a study to understand the impact of digital media and communications technologies on how young people learn. Although when initially launched the study was see how technologies would effect how students might learn the future, in it eventually dawned on the researchers that the future was now. A team of 28 researchers and collaborators interviewed over 800 teens and parents, and spent more then 5000 hours observing how these teens interact with websites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities. The researchers then labeled the student's level of participation and investment of the media activities into one three different categories: "hanging out," "messing around," and "geeking out."

"Hanging out" refers to when students engage casual socialization that transitions seamlessly from online to an offline environment. "Messing Around" occurs when students start to explore an interest through self-directed learning. A lot of search activities occur at this level. "Geeking out" is when students demonstrate a high level of interest and commitment for a particular media or technology. At this level, the user demonstrates a high level of expertise, and willingness to share information with other interested parties. This level of commitment and engagement is what teachers love, and while most students won't be "geeking out" over most school subjects, teachers need to harness that level of enthusiasm and figure out a way to facilitate their passions in the classroom.

The study concludes that the time spent online, is not unproductive playtime, but rather is empowering the tech-savvy generation to pursue a central element of 21st century education- self-directed learning on the students own schedule. In order for teachers to be relevant in the eyes of their students, teachers need to embrace, not shun the technology that has become such a central part of students' lives. The Internet won't corrupt students, and teachers need to loosen restrictions of how students behave online. Good kids will be good kids.

Question #1 How can teachers decrease the technology gap between themselves and their students?
Teachers can reduce the technology gap and have a better understanding of the students in their classrooms by embracing the technologies that their students use on a daily basis. Most students already keep a blog or an online journal of some sorts, so creating a class blog is a great way for students to utilize the technology in an educational environment. Teachers who embrace, and not shun technology have greater relevance in the eyes of their students.

Question #2 In what way can students "Geeking Out" interests be incorporated into the classroom?
Depending on the particular interest of the student, teachers can harness the enthusiasm of the student and incorporate the interest into a standards-based project. For example, a student passionate about skateboarding could do a research project on the physics of skateboarding, while a student who was passionate about sewing could research and perhaps even recreate the historical fashion of a particular era the class was studying.