Watching kids use technology

The public library on a rainy Saturday morning is a popular place for kids. It was easy to find children interacting with technology: looking up books on the library catalog (for themselves and for others) and entertaining themselves with computer games.

Many teachers have a classroom website available but don’t use it; many adults are not drawn to technology as much as children are. Kids are more comfortable with technology than adults because they have grown up with it. (One child playing computer games was only 2!) Kids will try things on computers, without caring if it’s right or wrong. They’re not hampered by the concept of a “fragile” or special machine that will break if they don’t follow the rules. “Orange shirt”, who looked to be about 8, knew how to use pull-down menus, type in appropriate keywords, and search within the results for books with appeal. He wrote down call numbers and found the books on the shelf.

“Black shirt” (9 or 10) was looking for a new book, so he read through pamphlets, and then searched the database for interesting books. He recommended a good book for “Orange shirt” that he located on the computer: they argued about who got to type in the search words. These children were excited to be in control of the computer, motivated to discover more information.

Two kids came into the library, ran to the computer area and sighed in frustration when they saw all the computers where Internet was available were in use. Mom suggested using the other computers with educational games like Bailey’s Bookhouse, to no avail. They hovered around the 3 computers where Nick Jr. games were available, until one boy got up to leave: he had not even fully stood up before the newcomer had sat down in his vacated seat.

In order to be successful at these games, kids need to know how to navigate the computer game or program they are using, what the goals are, and how they achieve those goals. They achieve their success through experimentation, spending time on trial and error in order to determine what works. They learn to recognize patterns (“every time I catch a flower, I get a bonus”), organize complicated information (“arrow keys make the character move left or right, space bar and arrow key together make it jump” ), and communicate their findings (“hey, I just made it to the third level by clicking on the blue star!”)

Technology helps to engage students, keeping their interest. It promotes independent learning, so every student can progress at their own pace. It helps develop competencies that are not usually measured, such as how to dynamically explore information and process several streams of information simultaneously. Even though our traditional assessments don’t typically measure these skills, they are useful skills for our information-laden world.

The trick is to figure out when you can incorporate technology: my goal in teaching will be to use technology when I can justify that it will help teach the concepts I want to convey. In today’s world of iPhones, Twitter, and YouTube, it’s easy to get caught up in technology for technology’s sake. What is important to remember is that teaching is about ideas and creativity. If the technology supports the communication of the ideas and development of creativity, then use it. However, if it gets to the point that we are supporting the technology, then it’s time to find a more appropriate tool.