The amount of time children spend using technology stood out to me. Although I do see this in my everyday life just seeing the numbers shocked me a little. Especially when children are "media multitasking", spending seven and a half actual hours but in reality its ten hours and forty-five minutes.
Were you surprised by anything you saw?
Yes, I was surprised by the statics associated with various ethnic and racial groups. I never realized this could be a factor in the amount of media used by a student. It seems like most families have some kind of media whether its a TV, computer, smart phone, or video games. I am just shocked that certain ethnic/racial group would use it almost double the time of another. I was also surprised by the fact that the TV is still the most popular form of media with students. I honestly thought it would be the computer.
Do you think having information such as this available to you will help you reach your students on a greater level?
Yes, I believe it will be helpful to me as a future educator. The research done by the Kaiser Family puts into perspective just how much I will need to integrate technology in to my lessons to keep the students focused and wanting to learn. Classrooms are definitely not completely lecture based anymore. In some ways I think it will be a little difficult to integrate technology into a math curriculum but I am up for the challenge.
Should we be cautious about the research findings or take them at their word?
I think we can take them at there word but also realized that the amount of time spend daily using media will always be raising. This research has confirmed what I see in my everyday life; at home, at work and at the school I volunteer at. Children of all ages need "screens". Sometimes its hard to get them to do anything without some screen time.
Do you thing students were portrayed positively or negatively by the findings?
I feel that the students were portrayed positively. Positively in that this is how they are and they do see a problem with it because this is how they grew up. With all of these "new medias" at their finger tips. Therefore they don't really know any better. The future generations will have so many cool media devises that us teachers might even be replaced with robots or computers ourselves.
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| *Some of the children in my life and their many "screens"!* |
What a great graphic showing kids with screens! Don't fret about integrating technology into your math class. It will be easier than you think. Keep your eye out for the term "flipped classroom". Essentially it is a model where teachers create short videos about concepts that they want kids to learn. The students study the materials at *home* and then discuss/practice in school.
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