Digital Nation

Today we watched a video in class called Digital Nation, which was about how we are living in a digital world now and children are growing up in it. People and students now multitask, because we have a lot of resources to do so. I think teachers need to try to adapt to this new phenomena and reality in our society. Our society has changed with new technologies, but our education system has not. I think children learn better if they find it interesting and fun. Therefore, teachers need to try to adapt their teaching styles to technology, because it will help students learn. If a teacher incorporates technology with the curriculum students will be more interested and not as distracted to use technology for non-educational uses. Teachers should try to teach students to use technology for educational benefits. That being said that kind of scares me. I want to be an elementary teacher but the way I want to teacher may have to change to meet the changes in our society. I know teaching is a career that you have to continually learn and grow in and that is what I will try to do to better my teaching, but it a lot to think about. Teachers and parents now have to monitor children more, because of technology and children’s “screen time”. I volunteered at Brownies in Girl Guides, which is 8-9 years old girls and one of the girls had a cell phone and she was only 8, so many children are getting cell phones and their own computers younger and younger. Parents and teachers have to be more aware about what their children are doing on the internet and with their cell phones, which can be hard. On the other hand children may get cell phones so busy parents can still be in contact with their children. I know a 10 year old boy who has a blackberry, because both of his parents work and are not home when he is home after school. Therefore, having a cell phone helps his parents be in contact with him at all times. On the other hand his cell phone could distract him from his school and homework. That is why teachers need to try to integrate student’s technology with the school curriculum.   

I grew up with internet and computers in my school and at home. I had a cell phone since I was 15 years old, so I think technology had influenced my life and my chonosystem, but not as much as some people. I also think that people younger than me and generations to come will be more influenced by digital technologies and teachers and parents will have to cope with it. It might be more difficult to discipline their children then it was years before.