Journal #9

“The Kids are All Right” by John K. Water

Three years ago, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation began research as part of a $50 million digital media and learning initiative. Initially, the study hoped to better understand the effect of digital media on students’ future learning. Shortly into the study, researchers realized they would be looking on learning in more distant future, possibly five, ten or even fifteen years. As the study progressed, the realized they were gaining valuable information on what was happing now in youth culture and how this could be used in education. When the first results were published, earlier this year, they were described as “the most extensive ethnographic study of youth and new media to be conducted in the United States". The study included in 28 researchers, 800 young people and parents and 5,000 hours of observation of network communities such as My Space, Facebook and You Tube. The observation focused on the key elements of learning and the collaboration of participants in a digital environment. When studying the students’ participation in online communication, the researchers created three categories to define the online activity. “Hanging out” refers to the casual socializing that can be fluid between online and offline activities. Often this communication occurs with friends or acquaintances allowing them to “hang out” without geographical restrictions. “Messing Around” describes search activities where students are looking for information about a particular interest or subject. This activity might begin as play or curiosity, but can often lead to learning. Lastly, “Geeking Out” activities involve areas of high interest for the student. Often the activity involves a students’ passion and generally this means there is a high level of commitment on the part of the student. This is the area that desperately needs to be explored by teachers. The results show the students are benefiting from digital media becoming tech savvy and self-driven learners. By paying attention to these online activities, teachers can find a bridge to learning. Teachers should be learning and participating in these new technologies. Students are more than happy to help the teacher when the teacher has questions.

Question #1
Although the article suggests teachers to ask students for help with new technologies, is this really a good idea?

I think that asking for help can be misconstrued by the students to mean the teacher is not good at his/her job. Students might lose respect for a teacher if the student knows more information that the teacher. However, there are a lot of kids that would feel respect by being asked for help by a teacher/superior.


Question #2
What are the potential for trouble for teachers’ involvement in digital media social activities?

When engaging in activities outside the normal classroom environment, teachers have to maintain the role of an authoritative figure. Teachers cannot lead students to believe that they are friends. If students get too comfortable and or know too much information about their teacher, they might lose respect.

Waters, J (2009, March). The Kids Are All Right. T-H-E Journal, Retrieved April 7, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/the/magazine/archives/