Tied up in Tech

Hold on, I'm looking it up.
Photo: Flickr.com

I listened with interest to a story featured on the Today show (1/26) claiming that more 9 year olds can use smart phone apps than can tie their own shoes.*  Now, aside from a nod to the advent of Velcro this begs a look at the changes in the way children grow and view their world.

Who needs laces anyway?
Photo: thisnext.com

Most of the commentary I found on technology and kids takes a “tsk-tsk” tone, followed by panic driven, pessimistic reports of a future generation of detached, lazy, morally bent, impatient people.  But I would like to explore the idea that technology can be a positive force in our children’s social, emotional and educational development, depending (as usual) on you.

Remember when we sledded down the middle of our street, played with sticks, and stayed out all day in the neighborhood? Our parents cautioned us to be careful, not to poke someone’s eye out and not to speak to strangers. When our kids are navigating the cyber world they still need to know that they can be hurt, hurt others and invite unwanted attention from strangers. 

Creepy people are not a modern invention.
Photo: dontletthemhurtourchildren.blogspot.com

 Maybe just as dangerous to our society as a whole is the fact that our kids will shape much of their social and political worldview on-line. It reminds me of the cave allegory in Plato’s Republic. In the allegory, people are forced to face a blank wall in a cave.  Their entire reality is formed by watching the shadows that are being cast on the wall by people behind them passing in front of a fire. It’s not until they are freed to see the world from other perspectives that they understand how limited their view has been.  I see computers and other forms of technology as the cave where our children sit and view reality.  You, the parent, get to be the person that frees them, and reveals to them that “Grand Theft Auto” is not a documentary, and that there are other perspectives, moral codes, realities and opportunities that exist outside of their technological walls. 

Things aren't always what they seem.
Artwork: Spacecollective.org

In schools, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education remind us not to let our children use technology in an adult-free vacuum.  They see an enormous potential for technology in a child’s education as long as it is integrated into the child’s daily learning, with well-trained teachers and alert parents.

It is not productive to try to stop change, or our kid’s place in a changing world.  The scariest part is the lag time for parents and educators to figure out that they too need to change. Think about all of the technologies that rose up in your lifetime.  The desktop computer stands out, but what about blow dryers, insulated lunch boxes, microwave popcorn, dvds and hundreds of other innovations, large and small that have become a part of our daily lives?  It was our generation’s responsibility to learn how to live and interact with these technologies, products and other people in a new environment.  Now it is our children’s turn to explore, experiment, judge, and ultimately to determine what their world will look like.

What will they think of next?
Photo:cheapmarts.net

 

 Here’s what you can do to help them:

Teachers

Undergo training and fight to integrate technology into classroom curriculum.  MySpace in the computer lab doesn’t count.

Promote cooperative efforts and personal interaction around technology projects.  Design curriculum that forces kids to discuss their tech strategies face to face. 

Parents

Facilitate personal interaction with other actual live children who are in the same room as each other.

Monitor tech activity for inappropriate content. You get to decide what inappropriate means, but I will give you a clue.  It usually occurs online in your kid’s room after you are sleeping.  

Continue learning new technologies as they become available so you can figure out what you don’t know.

Kids

Go out and play, wouldja?

Photo: unplggd.com

Kids can’t tie their shoes but they can use technology with a comfort that ensures a very different world in our future.  As parents we can help ensure that it is a world where people are connected by technological innovation, but also by human interaction.  And probably lots of Velcro.  As for their shoelaces, don’t worry.  There’s an app for that!

Photo: macworld.com

*As far as I can track down the story is from a report by Megan Gibson on Time.com about an AVG study.