New Tech City, a great podcast hosted by Manoush Zomorodi, has just wrapped up their fascinating series on education and technology with a classroom survey. The key findings are really interesting. Especially #2 resonates with me: Don't asssume. Just because kids are considered to be "digital natives" does not mean that they know how to research, write, communicate or protect themselves on their devices.
Read/listen here: http://bitly.com/1aI...
and the key findings below:
1. Don't be alarmist.
Cyberbullying and sexting and all of that are real, but not universal, and it's impossible to gauge the scope of the problems without doing some real, open-minded, first-person research. That's what we believe in. That, and having their backs, technologically or otherwise.
2. Kids and adults are in a new partnership. Embrace it.
Gone are the days of authoritarian "Father Knows Best." Setting rules on Facebook or curtailing YikYak or banning Instagram can work, but chances are, the ones actually using those platforms will be able to get around it if they want to.
But you also can’t think “oh, well they’re digital natives,” they’ll figure it out. The mere presence of a smartphone or laptop doesn't mean a kid knows how to research, write, or communicate, or protect themselves on it. Don't assume.
3. Remember, kids are seeing a different world than you did at this age.
This has surfaced in every story in our series (Braille! Data! Blended learning!). So it's not just fun to talk to kids about their phones and their games, it's important. We can't decide what's best for them without their input.