Feedback from my peer Beth:
I was very pleased to see a reflection of your changing thought on this topic. Your identification of the difference between surviving and living is very Interesting! Some insight into what you mean by ‘living’ would be valuable. You have well articulated some risk associated with technology use for young people, however I would love to hear about what the positive learning aspects of technology for young children are. I am also curious to hear what your thoughts are in regard to your reliance on technology in contrast to the generation you will be teaching.
Rewritten post below:
Could I live without Digital and and Communication Technologies?
According to a study by IT Trade Association CompTIA, around 75 percent of educators think that technology has a positive impact in the education process. Educators are recognising the importance of developing technological skills in students so they will be prepared to enter the workforce once they complete their schooling.
A five year old child I babysit for is in preschool and uses iPad's at his school for spelling, addition, multiplication and drawing. He uses the same apps he uses at school at home and is always practicing - his parents have noticed a significant improvement. He can recite to me his 6 times tables, I only learnt my times tables in Year 3 and I definitely wasn't confident enough to be able to recite my whole 6 times tables till the end of Year 3. Either this kid is the next Doogie Howser or all kids these days are at an advantage from the help of technology.
At the preschool I work at we rarely integrate technology into the classroom. The five year old students don't know what times table are, let alone are capable of reciting their 6 times tables. It makes me wonder, is my preschool disadvantaged compared to the school the child I babysit goes to?
I instantly thought to myself that yes I could live without technology as a whole. Discussing the question with other pre-service teachers, I very quickly learned that no, I most certainly could not survive without it or be able to successfully attain a job as a teacher as it would close to impossible to find a school these days that don't incorporate technology within the classroom.
With all the positive aspects that come with technology there are also a lot of negative aspects. According to Do.Something.org nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. Other negative effects of technology include, scams, isolation, lack of privacy, exposure to sexual content is more likely to happen for kids at a young age, developmental issues, etc (Hosale, S. (2013). I believe that with all the bad that comes with digital and communication technologies the good out weighs the bad. Introducing technology to young aged schools students and teaching positive learning aspects of technology to them will support them in using technology for the greater good.