Technology and how our children are using it

Hello all and welcome to this weeks journal entry from yours truly. I can't believe we are in the final stretch of the term. It has been an incredible ride and I have learned alot this term. I plan to continue doing blog entries once this class is over. There is alot that can be done with blogs as far as talking about your interests, likes and dislikes. Anyway, lets get down to business. This week I will be talking about technology and how our children are using it as opposed to how we used it when we were growing. I was born in 1984 and so I've seen technology advice alot in my 30 years. Even just ten years ago I never would've thought we would have these high tech smartphones, Nintendo Wii, HD consoles such as xbox and playstation and other technological advances. I look forward to the advances of the future. To our children though, they were born during a time where all this technology is already present. I took me into my college years to become efficient with a computer and all of its applications. My little brother who is 8 and my little sister who is 10 seem like they were born already knowing how to use technology. My sister even showed me something that I didn't know how to do on a computer. I was amazed at how smart my siblings are in the use of technology. Take for instance when I was a freshman in high school, one of our classes was a typing class. There weren't any computers though. We actually had to learn how to type on typewriters! Our children today probably don't know what a typewriter is. When I got to college I had to relearn everything about typing because it I had to learn it on the computer with Microsoft Word. That pretty much sums up the world of technology today. As soon as you learn something new, technology evolves, upgrades or simply changes and you have to learn again, you have to adapt or get left behind. Our children already have the right idea so everybody needs to take charge.

One of our articles this week discusses the importance of cell phones in the family household. Now when I was growing up, cell phones were almost non existent. My mom did get one in the mid 90s. It's purpose was nothing like phones are now. It was a really big phone almost the size of a house phone that always stayed in the car. My mom would use it for emergencies only. Of course I didn't have one nor did I have a need for one, but times would change. When I graduated from high school in 2002, my mother bought me my first cell phone and as the years went by I became more dependent on my phone especially once I got my first smartphone. The evolution of my cell phone looks a lot like the picture above. I don't know what I would do without it now but that's how technology changes your life. My little sister has a tablet that she knows how to use very well. She also has a Nintendo DS. Not sure what she needs with a tablet but all young kids want one nowadays. I believe in some ways that all of this technology of today has made the children of today lazy. Even in my time before Google and internet exploration was so simple and fluid to use, if I had a book report, research paper, or any kind of assignment that required research being done, we had to go to the library and use research books, encyclopedias, etc. Some books you couldn't check out and so you had to conduct your research in the library or make copies of the pages you need. The work was tougher but more rewarding when you completed the assignment. Today, information is right there for you with the push or click of a button. Wikipedia, cliff notes, not sure what other websites are out there but you can search in Google for almost everything that you need to find. That has caused a lot  of plagiarism I believe because children copy word for word instead of in their own words. There are good ways that children use technology. Ways that weren't possible a decade ago. With their learning and education I'd say technology has helped a ton with children that may have learning disabilities. I would even go so far as to say video games today help with hand eye coordination, quick thinking, problem solving etc. I'll use the Legend of Zelda game series as an example of those things I just named.

Everyone take a look at this picture above for a second. This is the evolution of Nintendo's home consoles and handheld systems respectfully. Now I have lived through every incarnation of their systems from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the current Wii U and from the Gameboy to the current 3DS. I spent years crafting my skills in gaming. My little sister and brother got into video games during the Wii era. They instantly became and attached and became great gamers. My sister and I play Super Smash Bros. (For those unfamiliar, it is a video game where you get to choose you favorite  Nintendo character and battle it out) Now I ask how were they able to pick up video games so fast, when I myself have been playing since I was 5 years old. This new generation is smart I tell you. Anyway, lets get back to some of the educational benefits of children and todays technology.

Today's technology has definitely changed the way that we learn today. Especially for the children growing up. Technology has made it possible for students to learn from anywhere and for their teachers to easily reach them. In the very near future if not right now, almost every job will require or already requires that you have some form of technological skills and as I said earlier those who don't adapt will get left behind. Individual learning and research come to mind. You can use online platforms like piazza.com to join virtual classrooms where you ask questions and get answers on any topic. I know for me growing up I was embarrassed to raise my hand when I didn't understand something and so that would have been a big help to me. I'm sure there are kids today that experience the same feeling. Technology in the classroom can also improve writing and reading skills. With word applications such as Microsoft Word it makes it very easy to write and structure a paper without fear of mistakes because you can Google or YouTube anything you have questions about. I remember for years I couldn't figure out how to get word to remove that new page it would create when you got close to the bottom of the page you were on until just recently when I looked it up on YouTube how to remove it! I do fear that kids can become addicted to tech and become isolated from the outside world but the good definitely outweighs the bad. Parents will have to teach the kids the dos and the don'ts about tech and to also teach them to take a break from tech and go outside a play. I hope you everyone enjoyed my blog this week and check me out next week on my last blog entry for my class. As I said before I will continue to write blogs long after this class is over. Until next time.