Blogs on a Wing, Pt. 2

Wow. I have been scanning the Pew Report and it says that half of teens create content on the Internet. When I first read it, I was a little suprised, but after thinking about it for a little bit it makes perfect sense. Think of how many kids you know that have myspace. I know I do. They have a blog feature on there, not to mention a spot where you can post bulletins. Although it may not be the most intelligent content that you can read (OMG so bored fill out this survey thx) something is better than nothing. It means that their brains are being engaged on some level, cause as much as I think I might, you really can't write on autpilot. You need to be consciously thinking, because your fingers can't move themselves. Along with blogging, it says that 33% of teens have created or remixed some sort of artistic content. I know people who have made movies and placed them on YouTube (Phil, even though it may just be him getting his new monitor). The point is that kids are using their intellect and artistic sides to lead the wave of new technology, not the parents. Parents follow the lead of their children when it comes to technology (except my parents, they think that AIM is going to download viruses onto our computer).

The second Pew Report deals with social networking, websites like myspace and facebook come to mind. It says that 55% of teens have a profile on a social networking site (I know I have two). 91% of people who use these sites use it to stay in touch with existing friends. I know this is definitely true for me, cause I am friends with people I have not said a word to since I graduated high school. Technology is allowing us to connect with our friends in a way that is actually practical, because I know that I don't want or care to call every person that I went to high school with. And what's a better way to get to know a class mate then through the Facebook? I know that I use it to keep track of all my friends, even though I feel that Facebook is slightly invasive sometimes (I don't really care what people write to each other on their walls) it still helps me remember birthdays and other important events such as that.

Looking at "Redefining Literacy" and the questions about how well our students are being taught compared to what is being taught, and especially after the information I have been reading over the past couple of days, I feel that he is on the right track. What is being taught in our schools? Reading and writing, arithmetic and science. This is all well and good. But computer literacy is also key. When I was in high school, I had computer classes, but I never learned anything of substantial value, just how to type and how to use Excel (which in my field may prove to be useless and now that I think about it, I still don't really know how to use it anyway). In the future, especially with the rise of blogs and wikis now zooming in from the horizon, kids will need to be taught how to responsibly publish content on the Internet, for they will be absorbing a lot of knowledge from different online sources, so they should be equipped with the tools necessary to contribute to a learning community that spans the globe.

One question that we as educators in a computer dominated world is this: Are we going to be able to educate our students on the swift moving current of technology or be swallowed up by it? Because there are kids younger than I who make websites and understand html codes and I consider myself fairly up to date with my technology. If we plan on incorporating blogs and wikis and podcasts and RSS into our classrooms, we need to make sure that we can handle the wave and not be dragged under. For if we fail in proper instruction, then our students may be disenfranchised to the idea of using technology for educational gains, and may abandon the Internet for intellectual gains, which would be a heinous error. I think of if you were in a math class that was difficult and the teacher couldn't properly explain the formulas in a way you could understand. Would you be willing to jump back into the ocean if you don't trust your boat? (Alright, I'm done with the analogy). But I know from my personal experiences, that if you don't understand a subject (like say, oh, math) and if it seems above and beyond your capacity, there is no incentive to continue trying to master a discipline. So therefore we, as educators in the computer age, must rise to the challenge of advanced technology because as daunting as the journey may be, the reward to be reaped has vast and unlimited potential.