It is more than complicated ...

 

It is more than complicated ... 

There is a pervasive feeling in schools that our students know more about technology than we do. They must, right? 95% of their conversations seem to be rooted in technology: TikTok, 2k, Instagram. So then why is it when we pull up a GoogleDoc in class they are unable to copy and paste a table? 

Marc Prensky, an American education author, popularized the term 'digital natives' to describe students who were born into the digital age. He described them as the perfect students for a technology based classroom- parallel processors who prefer random access over step by step and are more connected. 

While in 2001 when he first published his work, this meant students had access to bulky computers and Nintendo Game Cubes, today's youth are living with a very different  level of access to technology. Ipads, XBoxes, smart phones: the whole world in their pockets. However, as Danah Boyd points out, this access does not really mean they have the appropriate skills. 

In her book It's Complicated, Boyd argues that the oversimplification of seeing ALL students as digital natives can lead to harmful consequences. She argues that this rhetoric is "often a distraction to understanding the challenges that youth face in a networked world." 

Boyd points out that students have a wide variation in knowledge and skill when it comes to technology, and this variation has many different root causes :  general interest, access, means ect. When we group all of our students under one term and assume their skills we are ignoring the fact that all students have different stories and we are ignoring the impacts of social, racial, and financial inequity. 

My mom, Beth Hanna, has been a public school teacher for over 15 years. While discussing these readings with her she noted that they had removed 'computer class' from my old school. The justification for this move was deeply based in Prensky's misplaced belief that all students are now born with the ability to do anything on the computer. My mom talked about how she now has to take time out of class to explain things she never did in the past: logging in, copy and paste, highlighting. 

Her anecdote is why I align more with Boyd's perspective. When we look at professional guitar players, we do not assume their children with automatically know how to shred because of why their parent is. Guitar, like using the computer, is a skill that must be learned and explored. 

These readings have forced me to take a look at what I, and 8th grade science teacher, am doing in my class to support responsible use of technology. Many times I assume students know how to navigate between tabs and utilize all features google has to offer, but this is not true. I want to be more intentional around introducing these skills in my class. 

Next year, I am already planning to start a club for students interested in STEM careers, but I am now looking to expand this idea to incorporate basic coding lessons through Google's Code Next Program. There is also the Girls Who Code program that offers free curriculum for a female coding club.