Technology in the Classroom: Think of the Children!

A few weeks ago we discussed some striking trends in media consumption. Specifically, we noted that Millennials age 14 to 25 now turn to social media as their primary source of news at a rate that will soon eclipse television, perhaps by the time you read this blog. We’ve also seen that Americans are trending toward using mobile devices exclusively for online access, and that some homes don’t have desktop or laptop computers at all anymore. Naturally, these trends are being driven by young people who have time and again proven to be the innovators and opinion leaders of the technological revolution in American society.

In this country, young people have almost always been the drivers of technological innovation. Alexander Graham Bell was 29 years old when he and Thomas Watson made the first telephone call (source: http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-graham-bell-9205497#passion-for-shaping-the-future). Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrated his “electrical image” device, which we now know as television, when he was 21 (source: http://www.farnovision.com/chronicles/tfc-who_invented_what.html). And, of course, there’s Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, two of America’s most prolific college dropouts. Gates was 20 years old when he founded Microsoft (source: http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520#early-life) and Jobs was 21 when he and Steve Wozniak started Apple (source: http://www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805#early-life). The list of young innovators grows with each passing year. Our young people are the big thinkers, the minds that have the capacity to grab hold of the future and pull it into the present.

This unbridled ability to think without limits has also created problems and issues worth considering. Now that the world has been blessed with the inventions of computers, mobile devices and the Internet, we have become the keepers of this technological power. We work to keep these technologies safe yet ensure that they can be used to the fullest ability. We struggle with conversations over how much influence any one person or group should have over its use and contents (source: https://www.fcc.gov/general/open-internet). We regulate it just enough to create some sense that our most vulnerable citizens — our children — will not be harmed in its use (source: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act).

In many ways, we are still in the “Wild West” era when it comes to Internet safety and digital citizenship. This unfortunately means that children are at an elevated risk of exposure to cyber threats and obscene content when interacting with technology and a free and open Internet. The fine line between Americans’ First Amendment rights and the rights of all children to be protected from harm continues to create heated and fluid conversations within private organizations, all levels of government, and individual homes.

This is a conversation that is happening the most in our schools. As a communicator for a public school system, I hear discussions happening continually on the issue of technology, our deployment of it, and how we should use it responsibly. The interesting thing about this conversation point is that it affects everyone in a school. All of us are charged with the responsibility of being good stewards of the resources that have been given to us. This means that we must give the best knowledge and information we have to our children so that they can learn it, analyze it, and synthesize new information on their own. But, we also have a responsibility to create a digital fence around our children so that they can explore and learn without fear of anyone compromising their experience or their safety.

The benefits of technology in the classroom are becoming clearer. As students are encouraged to use devices at school or even bring their own from home, teachers and administrators must simultaneously curate the best educational tools available through the Web. These technologies create opportunities to engage students who might not otherwise benefit from more “traditional” teaching methods that, frankly, were designed with greater concern of uniform approaches than individual minds.

At the same time, however, there must be layers of vetting and researching the apps and websites that we use in the learning process, then there must be additional layers in place to ensure that these apps align with responsible safety and security policies. The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) has stated that “no one is exempt from the threat of cyber attacks,” and parents deserve “assurances that student data are protected” (source: http://www.cosn.org/about/news/national-education-organizations-launch-effort-build-%E2%80%98trusted-learning-environment%E2%80%99-us-1). Education advocacy groups like the National Education Association thus emphasize digital citizenship and the need for educators to build “responsible use” policies for students as well as teachers (source: http://neatoday.org/2012/07/19/should-schools-embrace-bring-your-own-device/).

For any of this to actually benefit children, however, there must be a desire to bridge the “digital divide.” Technology is a means of information sharing, and it is ultimately up to the student to decide what to do with that information once it has been given. But, it is unjust to limit the ability for any child to gain access to the information that comes by way of technology. There is a growing concern that an overreliance on technology at schools may breed a new social stigma among children where instead of “being teased for clothing choices, now, perhaps it is because the child cannot afford the next-gen iPad” (source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/bring-your-own-device-scheme-launches-at-school/).

I think that we will bridge that divide in time as technology costs become lower and lower, and we should encourage innovation projects that seek to bridge the digital divide. A great example of this is seen in the rural town of Piedmont, Alabama, where the school district in 2009 established a program that gave a laptop and free home internet access to every child in grades 4-12. Since the program’s implementation, the number of students taking college entrance tests has more than doubled. Their test scores are now above the state average. Enrollment in the school district has jumped 20 percent. Apple even recognized Piedmont’s high school as the only Apple Distinguished School in America (source: http://www.digitalpromise.org/districts/piedmont-city-school-district).

This is the promise that comes from harnessing the power of technology in a meaningful way for our young people. When we remove the limits to access and simultaneously encourage responsible use of technology, the innovators of tomorrow are more prepared to create the “next big thing” that inspires us all.