I see a big divide among students and technology. I have students who use email, they blog, check out wikis, Visit their friend's My Space accounts, text with their photo enabled cell-phone, and, at the tender age of 11, could be considered gamers.
Now take some other students, who may not have used a computer before and do not have access to any of the technology except through school. How can we best bridge such a large gap in the understanding and utilization of technology?
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5 comments:
It seems like all we hear about are the kids who are totally immersed in technology - the digital natives. It's good to be reminded that there are kids out there without the same exposure. If they don't get it at school, where will they get it?
I work in a school library and know what you are talking about. The students who have computers at home are quite advanced with technology compared to students who do not have computers at home, either because they can't afford it or their parents do not want the internet in their home. These students need technology resources available to them, somehow, to keep up with the other students. It's hard enough to keep up in today's world without an added disadvantage.
Ann
I've encountered a lot of our college students who seem very saavy with the Internet. However, when they sit down to search an Ebsco database for information they seem very lost and seem afraid to even click on anything and "see what happens" or try different things to get appropriate results.
I attended a webinar in which the speaker mentioned someone's theory that students are not as tech saavy as we think. They may seem to use it a lot but they do not use technology or the Internet in broad ways. Their experience with it is very limited to the sites that are very popular. I'm beginning to think this might be true in some cases.
They may be comfortable with it but lack the skills in seeking out information and also troubleshooting and problem solving skills. Is it simply the interface design that make databases seem serious and stuffy? Or is it something else keeping them back?
Most students are saavy when they are comfortable playing their games or visiting myspace. But ask them to use the card catalog and they don't know how. A kid told me that yesterday after he spent 30 minutes playing games on the computer. Go figure.
Technology is great if used correctly. At the library it seems the kids use it for recreational purposes. Facebook/chatting with friends and playing games. Our students need to have access to technology and education that would be comparable to students from larger cities/schools.
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