Mr Bass Online

About a week ago I had a somewhat heated conversation about how technology is affecting students and their attention. Our biggest point of disagreement surrounded social and communication skills of “kids these days.” I’ll spare the details and get right to the point. Yes, kids communicate differently than many adults. Yes, there is some disconnect between the virtual and the real in some cases. However, a blanket statement about how Facebook and texting is the fall of communication isn’t just wrong… it’s ludicrous. Students today are reading, writing and communicating more than any other time in history but their communication is different than our own. I remember being in college as email was being introduced. I have to say, I was resistant. I saw email and text chat rooms as a waste of time but now it’s one of my primary forms of communication. At one time I made calls on my cell phone, now I do far more texting than talking. My communication has changed as technology has advanced and given me new ways to communicate. Yes, I want my children to be able to talk to real live people and have good social skills but I also understand that they will be tools that haven’t even been invented yet for their communications as adults.

So where does that leave us? Right now it seems that the most common approach for schools and educators is to ban the tools from use in the classroom under the guise of “removing the distraction” for students and focusing on more traditional classroom instruction. This practice makes students very successful at hiding their technology and communications and gives them great practice at playing the game of school and then going home to learn. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? By limiting their access to tools, they’re getting their education out in the world rather than in school. So, what becomes our message? Do we think that they will somehow magically figure out how to use resources safely? What about how to effectively write online? Will they know anything about copyright and ethical use? Ignoring these communication tools and processes just does a disservice.

Interestingly, I just read an article in Slate entitled “Don’t Touch That Dial!” which addresses the fact that this fear of advancing technology is not new. Anxiety has always existed, but, in this age of information and change, we as educators must also adapt.