Camp, Jeffrey Van. "Study: Kids learn how to use the Web before they can tie their shoes"
http://www.fox12idaho.com/Global/story.asp?S=13870950
Jan, 22, 2011
According to Jeffrey Camp, kids today are learning how to use computers, phones, and video games well before other basic skills. Camp describes how, for example, 58% of kids surveyed could play video games while 43% could ride a bike. Camp uses other statistics to show that more kids know how to use a computer or basic phone apps before they learn how to tie their shoe. According to Camp, kids are learning how to use today's technology faster than basic life skills.
From what Camp is saying, kids are learning how to use technology well before basic life skills. By the time kids do learn those life skills, they have advanced their skill with technology. Essentially, this means that in our new age of technology, the kids of today will quickly learn how to use our technology, certainly faster than we did as it first emerged. This is most likely due to the simple availability of the technology, such as the web or a phone app. There are many programs for parents to use to help teach their children online. This also introduces kids to the Web in the first place.
This article fails to mention, however, those that do not have access to the Web or similar technologies. If, according to this article, kids are learning new skills so soon, then it is important to make such skill-learning available for other kids also. Creating and maintaining facilities to help teach kids about technology, both old and new, will become very important very soon. While teaching kids the why's of technology origins, such places can also teach children new technologies.
This brings up one of my questions concerning the article. Plenty of statistics are provided for kids that have access to these skills. What are the statistics for the other kids, being those without access? How serious is that gap? What can be done to fix it?
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Hi Taylor:
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you found some interesting articles for your initial, exploratory, stage of research. Great!
The idea behind your exploratory phase of research is to identify questions that you could look in to, and that will also speak back to your work at the Discovery Center in some way. Because of this, I particularly like how Camp's article helps you raise questions about children and their access to technology. Similar questions could potentially be raised about childrens' access to rich educational environments, and it seems like it is precisely this need that the Discovery Center is trying to address? Similarly, how are children encouraged to view science differently at the Discovery Center than they may be in other educational contexts?
I did notice that both of your sources came from Fox News. While Fox is an excellent resource for a lot of things, you'll want to try to branch out into other types of scholarship as you continue with your exploratory research. Different organizations and different types of media tend to have a different slant-- so it's important to get a variety.
Keep it up. I look forward to your identifying a researchable question and pursuing it at some point in the near future!
This is my informal response. There is a lot of good information about how technology can affect kids at an early age, in both good and bad ways. I thought that your topic did relate with the Discovery Center, because the Discovery Center deals a lot with technology.
ReplyDeleteFrom an English Writing Class stand point, I thought that you did a good job your citation and also with the other information that follows throughout your research. The only thing that I saw that you may be able to work on is maybe not repeating yourself so much. But, other than that you did a great job.