Reading this week’s articles brought back a childhood memory that I hadn’t thought about in years. When I was an elementary student in the mid-1990s, one of my teachers had us read an article as part of our current events homework. The article was entitled, “Will teachers become obsolete?” or “Will teachers be replaced by computers in the future?” I can’t remember the exact title, but it was something along those lines. We had just begun using computers about one period per week in a special “computer technology” class, where we mostly played educational games or worked on articles for a class newspaper. I remember even as a young child thinking that the article was completely ludicrous. I thought to myself, “Of course we need teachers, because they’re human beings. A computer can’t do everything a teacher can do!” In retrospect, I can see that what was behind the author’s argument was a fear of the unknown. With the rapidly expanding inventions and usage of technological tools, who knows what the future will hold? To what extent will our lives be permanently altered? Will these changes be for the better, or will there be unforeseen detrimental consequences?
In my opinion, it is these very same types of questions that are behind the apprehension towards incorporating gaming and social media into curricula. While I do believe there is validity to concerns about children spending too much time playing video games or in front of a computer, this doesn’t mean we should completely negate their value. Likewise, while I am one of those people who gets a bit worried about children being on social networking websites where they can be coming into contact with dangerous people, that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to use social media in a healthy way to enhance the educational experience. Since these activities are already so deeply engrained in our culture, it seems that it would be a bit wasteful to not capitalize on their educational potential.
Speaking from personal experience, I have an almost-ten year-old brother who has autism and is an avid video/computer gamer. The types of games he plays always involve some sort of journey or race to reach a final destination, while overcoming a variety of obstacles to get there. I know that my brother is learning, without realizing that he is learning. He is simply enjoying his adventurous games. I often notice that he is developing the types of skills described by Klopfer, et al (2009), especially the “relaxed approach to play, the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving.” A great example of how this shows up outside of video games is when he takes various items, such as books, blocks, or other miscellaneous items from around the house, and creates expansive “domino” tracks in a variety of formations, always trying to make them increasingly complicated. The types of video and computer games he plays reinforce his creativity and problem-solving skills, as well as his desire to continually reach the “next level” of the challenge. So what’s the harm in that?
As for social media, I agree with Will Richardson’s take on the McArthur Study when he states that we should consider education as “a process guiding youths’ participation in public life more generally.” This brings me back to a very important concept that we’ve discussed in this course: Digital Citizenship. In this day and age, it seems almost irresponsible to not reflect what’s going on out in the world, and in our students’ lives, in our classrooms. I completely understand the concerns about using websites such as Facebook, for example, due to privacy issues and the challenge of keeping students on task. However, I do think using social media in a way that is similar to what students do at home is possible, especially with websites such as www.ning.com, which offers much more privacy and structure. I am a big believer in having the classroom be a community, rather than a room full of individuals, and incorporating social media is a way to enrich the experience of being a classroom or school community.
**In case you’re interested in using Ning for your classroom, check this out:
http://about.ning.com/resource-center/best-practices/ning-facebook-alternative-for-building-a-custom-community/