(Cross posted to the PLP Network blog)
One of my favorite things that Sheryl says when she talks about the challenges that schools face right now is that this generation of kids in our schools is the first not to have a choice about technology. Most of us grew up in a time when technology was an add on, and for many of us, we still see it as a choice, especially in education. (Just the other day I was at a meeting of about 25 school leaders and teachers to discuss how social learning tools can be infused into an inquiry based curriculum and only one person was using technology to take notes…me.) I look at my own kids and I know that technology will be a huge part of their learning lives because a) they want it to be and b) they’ll be expected to be savvy users of the devices of their day to communicate, create and collaborate (among other things.) They’re not going to be able to “opt out.”
That no choice theme is borne out by a new Kaiser Foundation report that came out this week. The title sums things up pretty well: “Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens Up Dramatically From Five Years Ago”. And here is the money quote:
Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time ‘media multitasking’ (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
Anyway you slice that, kids are immersed in media, and that immersion is having huge effect on the way they see the world and on the way they learn. And while most of that media consumption is still tied to more “traditional” forms like television, the computer now takes up, on average, almost 1.5 hours and it is the fastest growing medium on the list. It lead the director of the study to say:
The bottom line is that all these advances in media technologies are making it even easier for young people to spend more and more time with media. It’s more important than ever that researchers, policymakers and parents stay on top of the impact it’s having on their lives.
It’s interesting to me that she didn’t mention educators in that list of folks who need to be paying attention, because more than parents and policymakers, we’re the ones who need to help kids make learning sense of their time with media of all types. And I emphasize that learning piece of it because all too often those opportunities and being blocked and filtered away in schools instead of made a basic part of the curriculum. Right now, most schools are making what I think is a bad choice by not immersing their students into these online learning environments which are creating all sorts of opportunities for us to learn. In doing so, they’re implicitly saying that technology is an option. It’s not.
Probably my favorite quote from Seth Godin’s book Tribes is this:
Leadership is a choice. It’s the choice not to do nothing.
We may not feel comfortable in a world filled with technology. We may not like the way it’s changing things and, even more, how fast it’s changing things. We may not like the way it pushes against much of what we’ve been doing in schools for eons. But our kids don’t have a choice. And if we’re going to fulfill our roles as teachers in our kids lives, neither do we.
I have no disagreements with these ideas, Will, and the webcast of the Kaiser Family Foundation research was really quite good. I recommend folks take the time to watch it. I found it quite balanced. However, when I watch the video the Kaiser Family Foundation has listed on their page, it does make me wonder where good parenting skills are going. In schools, we help kids make good decisions in the hopes that they will begin to independently make them as well. Parents also need to be doing the same things. In the three students that are profiled in that video, I ask, “Where are the parents?”. Life seems out of balance…yes to me. Of course, it is life as usual for them. We do know that multitasking takes a toll on the quality of our thinking… and our work and our ability to manage time and our ability to prioritize, and…. I just worry that there is a little too much unbridled apathy by some parents and that kids are being influenced and shaped by media (corporate America) in ways that should bother most parents. I hope the three students profiled in this video are not typical, but if so, we have our work cut out for us. Indeed, we have no choice but to understand what is happening to continue to meet the needs of students today. They need a great deal of help in understanding ways in which they can harness their media and technology prowess for significant and productive goals beyond fun, entertainment, and socializing. Teachers/leaders need to step up… and now!
I think it’s important to point out that it isn’t just about “this generation of kids in our schools [being] the first not to have a choice about technology.” This is also the first generation of teachers who also do not have a choice about technology. While this is mostly (I hope) being dealt with in teachers’ colleges for new teachers, I still wonder what more we can be doing for teachers who have been at it for twenty years.
Reminds me of something that happened when we were updating the ditsrict technology plan a few years ago. In interviewing students, we asked “how often do you use technology?†and her reply was, “All the time! Except when I’m at school.â€
It’s staggering how slow things change.
We sooooo need enlighted, forward-thinking school leaders!
Although I haven’t read the Kaiser report, I don’t follow your surprise in teachers being left out of the list in the second quote. In my observations, most teachers do not actively research the impact of increased media technologies on youth; this is what I understand the quote to mean. However, teachers should follow the research in order to help them assess the appropriateness of these technologies in their classrooms.
Here’s an idea for teachers who refuse (or drag their feet until their retire) to modernize their classrooms: FIRE THEM. NEA and teachers’ unions need to get out from behind the slugs who are filling way too many positions in schools and support linking test scores to salaries, performance evaluations linked to relicensure, etc.
Same goes for administrators.
I’d agree school leaders need to address those teachers who seem unwilling to learn how to use technology to deepen and enrich the learning environment of their classroom. Change happens at the top. Find principals who get it. If the principal doesn’t buy in it’s never really going to happen. You may find a few brave souls blazing ahead in spit of inept administrators but our dollars would be better spent training / educating school leaders.
A very pertinent point indeed; I couldn’t agree more that there is no longer an “option” as to whether or not technology must be fully embraced as a teaching method. As one about to enter the world of education, I am glad I saved the courses of “Computer Applications in Teaching” and “Digital and Multimedia Uses in the Classroom” for my final year. They are really setting the theme for the future of education, and people like you (through your books and blogs) have been very helpful to young educators like myself. You’re Skype visit to our classroom was also very enlightening, and showed a glimpse of the endless uses of technology in the classroom. My question is not whether or not I will utilize technology to help teach my students, but simply how far I will be able (or allowed) to go with it. You might like to follow my journey at anewmodernteacher.blogspot.com
I agree with the substance of this post, but, more to support your point than rebut it, no recent generation of schoolchildren in the U.S. has had a choice about not using certain technologies. Print, for example. Who had a choice not to use books? Or paper? Or portable writing implements?
The point is twofold: (1) technological media transition is not something new to human society; (2) the new technologies, as you suggest, must and will be integrated into “everyday” education to the point that they become invisible. Electronic technologies will one day seem no more technologies than pencils and books do to us. But pencils and books have dramatically reshaped the nature of education, as will the still-developing technologies of the electronic age.
Right on. This sense of history is sorely lacking from too much writing about technology. So far, electronic technologies have changed our world in small ways compared to the vast restructuring of consciousness, commerce, culture, and curricula affected by the wide availability of the printed word.
I know that by now, in 2010, it’s become somewhat trite to say that you’re amazed by a toddler’s skills with a computer. But I was *astounded* when I gave my son an Apple eMac for his 3rd birthday. He could use a mouse straightaway (the other computers in our house are laptops with trackpads) and knew what to do with it straight away.
The biggest challenge for me is not to make him technically proficient in these things, but to make sure he is able to synthesize and deal with the amount of information coming his way. To use another Shirky quote, it’s not ‘information overload’ it’s ‘filter failure’ that I want to prevent!
Agreed. Youths are so exposed to computers now. Feels like they grow up faster lol
I laughed when you mentioned the meeting with the teachers and no one (except you) was using technology to talk about the integration of technology. Same thing with me last week. District Tech Vision Committee: Chart paper and State Tech. Standards from 2000. I’m not sure how to move forward with this group. Do they really think the four people in the room have all the answers? How do I help them (and our District) move forward?
This report brings up several points that sadden/worry/bother me – number one is that these students are being “entertained” by media for over 7 hours a day. Who’s got 7-10 hours (multitasking or otherwise) a day to be entertained?! Is this why many students expect to be entertained without effort in real life? The study didn’t actually differentiate between active learning and passive entertainment when plugged in, so quite possibly the real picture isn’t so awful.
I would like to know how much time is spent with “achievement media,” “learning media,” “creation media.” I would much rather see students spending 7-8 hours a day at school immersed in “learning media” and a lot less afterschool time with entertainment — though it’s cool with me if my kids listen to their iPods while doing their daily chores. That’s media multitasking in a positive light 🙂 Hopefully another study will bring more detail to this portrait of teens’ media use.
It is inevitable this problem. We cannot stop technology from improving, nor can we ignore technological improvements. We can however, integrate learning with gaming so its can be beneficial too.
Since, technology is forever changing we as educators have to change with the times. No longer is it okay to plan lessons that do not immerse students in technology. The students of this generation are digital natives and most educators are digital immigrants who have to learn the native language of today. I myself struggled at first, but realized that if our students are to competitive in the world today we have to move forward and embrace technology.
Will,
I agree technology is moving fast and is changing the way we view the World. It is increasingly becoming important to move with the fast technology, afterall we are all living in the modern 21st century. Before becoming a lecturer, I have never ever thought that technology is also affecting education. I work in the medical field, and I often see we are constantly moving towards the best technology gadgets out there to treat patients. I am now trying to catch up using advanced technology in my teaching! It is confusing, alot to take in, but it is very challenging and exciting to know and see how technology shapes people’s learning….
I agree that technology is essential in all classrooms. To connect to our students we must speak to them using their language. In addition, it is important that we understand that technology is useful but we cannot completely rely on technology. When we plan our lessons using technology we must always create a back-up plan as technology always seems to fail when we “need” it the most. I am sure this is common knowledge, but I have seen many instances when teachers are not prepared with a back-up plan.
I agree that technology should be embraced by teachers and students alike. Even though I grew up more with these technological advances, it is still a lot even for me to keep up with. If we don’t have our students embrace techonolgy now, then when it comes time for them to use it they will be completely lost. We should prepare them for there future now, because they will be using it in just about everything they do.