For ISTE 2014 in Atlanta, I will be presenting on the “Myths of Technology and Learning”. As I am really thinking about what I will be sharing at the conference, I wanted to write a series of blog posts that will help myself and others “rethink” some of these statements or arguments that you hear in relation to technology in school. I will be writing a series of blog posts on different myths, and will be posting them on this page. I hope to generate discussion on these topics to further my own learning in this area and appreciate any comments you have on each idea shared.
A fear for many is that the continuous interactions that we have with one another through technology will replace face-to-face interaction.
Sometimes it seems that we forget our own childhood and that we had many peers that had trouble with interactions before mobile devices were the norm. Technology did not inhibit them from speaking to others, nor do we need to necessarily think less of someone who may be an introvert. People have different strengths and some actually thrive in isolation. Their issue or our issue?
What some teachers have done is use technology to actually give students a voice and options that they didn’t have before. I thought it was brilliant to see one teacher use Google Forms to do a simple “check-in” with students to give them the opportunity to share what is going on in their lives to ensure that she could help them in any way possible.
What this actually facilitated was the opportunity for the teacher to get to know her students better through the use of technology and she saw it as a way of actually enhancing their face-to-face interactions. Some students are fine going up to a teacher and sharing some of the struggles that they have in their lives, but from my experience, those students would actually be in the minority.
Instead of accepting that some people are more open than others, we have often tried to force students talk to a point which would be our ideal. Many educators, including myself, used to give marks for “participation” in class discussions to push our students to talk. What this would often do would force some kids to speak when they are totally uncomfortable, and not facilitate anything that would be beneficial outside of the classroom. With others that continued to not talk, tying marks to their “lack” of participation, only makes them feel worse and punishes them for sometimes being shy. Is this really helping the problem?
We have to see that for some students, technology actually can provide them the voice that they have never had before. I spoke to one student that said the use of social media actually inspired them to start speaking publicly because they developed confidence through a medium that worked for them. I think of how many students would benefit and feel more comfortable talking in public when they would be allowed to use a medium that works for them first.
Then you have the other argument that the constant use of technology actually takes away the ability for some students that are already social. The reality with many people are social, means they will actually connect both online and offline. Social media has not made me any less social when in an “offline” environment. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I now feel that I am always comfortable going to any conference on my own as I will know people there that I have connected with through Twitter. Instead of simply going to workshops and being by myself, I now can easily find a group of friends and connect with them in person. This only started happening for me when I started using social media and if anything, it has actually made me more social in face-to-face settings. Before I would have never gone to a conference on my own, and now, I don’t even think twice about it.
What I have also seen is that technology and social media has actually given people the opportunity to connect with others that have similar interests or experiences. I was moved, as many were, by the video of two girls that were both born with one arm, connecting continuously through Skype. Although they had never met, they considered each other “best friends”, and talked constantly, even though they were on opposite sides of the world. The moment they finally met was inspiring, and to say that this relationship is lesser because it started and grew online, would most likely be an insult to these two, as it would be to others who have met some of their best friends and partners online.
It is pretty amazing to see the opportunities we have to connect, see, and learn about one another because of technology, but sometimes the ease of use leads us to take it for granted. As I see my nephews and nieces grow up through my brother’s sharing of their lives, our conversations are much richer and deeper each time I see them. I know more about their lives and feel that even though I am living far away, I am still able to watch them grow up. I would take opportunities to see them in person over online interactions, but since I do not always have that option, I will continue to enjoy connecting with them through technology in-between visits.
Technology can give us the opportunity to enhance face-to-face interactions, not replace them. We just have to take advantage.
