My parents, (and my grandmother) are constantly commenting about how things were different back in "their day" and many times not to long ago I would laugh at them and roll my eyes. It was not the easiest thing I have ever admitted but they are entirely right! There has been a significant change from what computer and internet usage I had when I was twelve like my little brother is now. He is currently a 6th grader and comes home every day toting a brand new MAC book the school supplied to each student grades 6-12. Although at first glance it sounds ideal putting each student on even playing ground with similar resources, and will help them become more prepared for college life as they say by teaching the students to turn work in via an online format I am not sure they understand or have truly thought about the socializing issues they are causing. Although my brother is a mild exception to the generalization that school age children are becoming sedentary and not moving around like they used to, he is only mildly. When my parents were younger and myself even we used to go outside the majority of day light hours rain or shine. My uncle used to send my cousins and myself out to the farm and say have fun, grandma will have lunch ready when you want it. For hours we used to climb hay bales, go pond swimming make forts in the woods and play hide and seek in the corn field when it got tall enough, I can remember having a blast and many days missing that prepared lunch only to appear for dinner because we were starving and thirsty but not because we were done playing. My little brothers entertainment is looking up youtube videos with his friend and texting. Not exactly the same in my book. Many days they are not physically together they will instant message in place of actually going to each others houses and making physical contact. He is not alone, recently I realized I am very guilty of being to technology based in my own life. My long time boyfriend and I work different shifts, by the time I get off each evening he is already working, it limits most importantly our physical time spent together, but it also makes it hard to speak on the phone, lunch break is so rushed and cut short for both of us it is not even worth trying anymore and so we communicate more often than not via text message which is so impersonal. On the rare occasions we get to see each other, it is horrible to say but there is always this awkward moment where we find talking to each other in a long meaningful ways difficult. I love Ryan and I know communicating is not his strong point to begin with , but it hurts me every single time these moments arise and I feel awkward with someone who knows me so well. Often I find myself discouraged and thinking if I can not communicate effectively with someone so important to me, will I be able to teach my students anything?
Through this assignment I came across some articles that were applicable to the situation at hand. One of these articles was The Real Impact of virtual worlds, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=34646503&site=ehost-live.
The article speaks about 5 main "issues" that arise from the use of the internet so frequently one of which is virtual socialization as a complement to live community. It mentions that there is a concern about communication between two people in the typical verbal way and it being hindered by the over use of the internet. The author of the article understates the issue in my opinion but goes on to give some good examples of how helpful the internet can be which support the idea that technology is not all bad it just needs to be used in the correct manner and in a correct amount. I fully agree, if we could find a happy balance I feel there would be more positivity for a happy, healthy and entertained society of young people. The article appears to be up to date with a publish date of 2008 and is done by a professor of communications at a university.
The second thing I came across shows how helpful technology can be in socialization. The video can be found at http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=174403&title=Using_snack_time_to_build_communication. In this video the instructor uses snack time to help the students communicate verbally, with sign language, pictures and with the help of technology. Each student is pushed to communicate in one way or another based on their ability at the moment. One student was learning to sign for more, one to form full sentences, one to simple identify what he wanted and one was being conditioned to use a machine that verbally spoke the words yes or no when he pushed the button to communicate his agreement or disagreement to what was said to him and in this case his decision in snack choice. I really enjoyed this video because I think it shows how helpful even the simplest technology can be in the class room, while also showing how important verbal communication can be as appose to text messaging and emailing constantly. The video does not seem to be done by an expert but does seem to be up to date with today's tactics for working on communication with special needs students.
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