Technology & the 21st Century Classroom

Part 1

It’s a typical day at an American high school campus. Groups of students walk around wearing earbuds, or sneaking looks at their personal digital assistant (PDA), formally known as the cell phone. They check their Facebook and Twitter pages, they send off a dozen text messages, they blog, and they read updates on their favorite musical group, all in less than a few minutes. However, it is inaccurate to say that all students are “plugged in.” A typical day in an impoverished high school would not the same level of technology use. The digital divide is real and it is an issue educators must mindfully consider. By prohibiting technology educators miss opportunities to model their practices and teach context-specific skills. Furthermore, the students who do not have access to technology at home are completely cut off from learning these necessary skills needed to operate in the 21^st century global marketplace. It is because of this digital divide that educators must accept students’ use of technology. Educators should also work for funding to make technology available to all students, and find ways to implement all forms of technology into the classroom.

The fast-paced world of technology is all pervasive, and yet not all schools are using or teaching it. In the article, “Plato’s iPod: Can Hand Held Electronics Be Valuable Tools of Learning?” Day Rosenberg explains the dichotomy teachers grapple with:

Do we cast the latest incarnation of electronic novelty into the teacher drawer half-filled with silly string and chattering teeth and the like, or do we contextualize these powerful new communication tools into the category of notebooks, calculators, and pencil boxes? In other words are they simply highly sophisticated tools of goofing around, or can they be serious tools of learning?” (2009, p. 93)

The consensus in current research holds true to the theory that technology can and should be used in the classroom. By teaching how to use technology, and using technology to teach, teachers can better prepare their students for the 21^st Century global marketplace.

The 21^st Century Young Adolescent

By using the deficit model, it is easy to argue myriad reasons against the case for technology. “Challenges exist with MySpace and YouTube,” Rosenburg points out, “but the real problem is that it’s hard to be open to the idea of embracing such technology when most of what we hear is the negative” (2009, p. 94). By focusing on the positives, an array of compelling affordances can be uncovered. Before delving into how technology can be used in the classroom, a clear understanding of the 21^st century student is imperative:

• 65% of students classify themselves as a “regular or occasional” player of video games (Jenkins, 2005)
• 80% of students who use the internet are members of social networking websites, 70% of which use the networking for school related purposes (Richardson, 2008)
• Students author over 2 billion blogs online (Renard, 2005)
• According to a study performed by Kaiser Family Foundation, “30% of young people say they either talk on the phone, watch TV, listen to music, or surf the Web for fun ‘most of the time’ while they are doing homework’” (as cited in Mustacchi, 2008, p. 67).

Technology is embedded into the fibers of today’s teenagers; they are “digital natives” (as cited in Thieman, O’Brien, Lee, & Hinde, 2009). They are born in the light, “from the first flash of the camera at the moment of birth, […students] arrive at school full of knowledge, thoughts, ideas, and opinions about their world and their universe,” as quoted by Marc Presnsky in “Turning On the Lights” (2008, p.41). With schools implementing internet filters, banning the use of smart phones, and not providing sufficient teacher training on technology, the modern classroom is “turning off the lights” on 21^st century technology. The learning of students is greatly affected by this; Prensky quotes a teenage boy as saying he has to “power down” when he gets to school—in a literal and an intellectual way (2008, p. 42).

Part II: Avenues of Technology

Are there benefits to asking students to “power-down” in school? Does technology really distract students, or are students learning within the context of their gadgets? Rosenberg (2009) argues that students are learning from their technologies; however, most of this learning does not happen in the schools (where it is likely to be prohibited), but instead at their homes and in their free time.

Gaming

A 2001 study showed that 84% of 12 to 17-year-olds own a video game console, and 58% played for at least one hour every week (Jenkins, 2005, p. 48). Gaming (both video games and computer games) has since increased in popularity. The modern video game can be quite complex. From role playing games (RPG’s) like Second Life and World of War Craft, gamers engage in complex virtual worlds where they are challenged but not overwhelmed, are given instant feedback and reward, and are given the power of complete autonomy. These characteristics are tough to find in standard homework, which may explain why “young people find difficult games enjoyable when they find difficult schoolwork merely frustrating” (Jenkins, 2005, p. 49).

Jensen, in his study “Getting Into the Game,” analyzes why gaming seems to be more compelling to students than the work done in the modern day classroom. He found that gaming:

• Fosters authentic engagement through immersion
• Sequences tasks to allow early success
• Lowers the threat of failure
• Creates a social context, connecting learners to peers who share their interests
• Are multimodal  (2005, pp. 49-50)

A gamer has intrinsic motivation; they control their environment, space, and learning. Teachers should apply these methods into their own curriculum in means to more fully engage their students.

Blogs, Social Media and Civic Engagement

Making a positive digital footprint can be empowering and life-changing for 21^st century students. In the article, “Footprints,” Will Richardson speaks of a shift in teaching due to the new literacy that technology has evoked. Instead of a “supply-push” model where teachers deposit knowledge into students’ minds, the 21^st century demands for a “demand-pull” approach. This approach “requires students to own their learning processes and pursue learning, based on their needs of the moment, in social and possibly global communities of practice” (2008, p. 18). This is clearly seen in the trend of youth-led grassroots organizations based online, and through the use of activist blogging. In the activist blog, “Twenty-Five Days to Make a Difference,” 10-year-old Laura used the blogosphere to create her own movement in memory of her grandfather. The blog became so popular that she was able to continue the project for over a year. Through the use of this blog, Laura effectively organized a community, and raised thousands of dollars for local charities [Richardson, 2008, 18]. Young adolescents have the opportunity to be more civically engaged than ever before, and they can do it all on their own. The possibilities of blogging are endless, if implemented into the classroom.

Part III: Implications

Today’s youth are more plugged in than any generation before them. They are masters of their online spaces and constructors of their online identities. How are students learning to navigate these potentially treacherous spaces? And who are they modeling after? Most youth are born into it, and are brilliant self-learners. However, just like many aspects of their lives, youth benefit from guidance from adults. “Students need to develop a critical eye,” Mustacchi says (2008, p. 68), “and schools need to teach them how to become literate in the multimedia experiences that routinely bombard and sometimes exploit them.” In the 21^st century, it is imperative that our dark and technology-restricted schools turn on the lights; by shying from technology in an effort to “protect” students, schools do more harm, especially to youth who do not have access to technology. Students are not learning how to effectively navigate these complex digital landscapes. They are not learning how to harness the positive affordances of technology to help structure learning, both in school and in their free time.

Schools must use their available technologies to match the learning methods of their “digital native” students. This entails using the internet for research, implementing the methods of gaming into the classroom, and allowing the use of hand-held devices in the classroom. By accepting the technology, teachers can model appropriate use. Today’s youth are global citizens, sharing themselves to people all over the globe. Teachers have a unique and exciting role in the implementation of these technologies; they can “turn on the lights” in their classroom, and turn on the minds and passions of their students.

Conclusion

Technology is here to stay, and it is only going to become more pervasive and more central to the way we communicate and live our lives. The 21^st century “demand[s] that we prepare students to be educated, sophisticated owners of online spaces,” (Richardson, 2008, p. 19). Not only should students learn how to use the technologies (most will already know, being “digital natives”), but they should learn how to navigate within the technologies to produce the best outcomes. Teachers can bridge the gap between what students learn at school, and the skills they acquire by using technologies at home. By placing our emphasis on modeling technology practices, perhaps the banned technology can be removed from the teacher drawer, and be handed back to the rightful owners—America’s students, the digital natives and technological leaders of tomorrow.

References

• Jenkins, H. (2005). Getting into the game. Educational Leadership, 62(7), 48-51.
• Manzo, K. (2009, April 1). Students see schools inhibiting their use of new technologies. Education Week, 28(27), 10.
• Mustacchi, J. (2008). What’s relevant for YouTubers? Educational Leadership, 65(6), 67-70.
• Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.
• Renard, L. (2005). Teaching the DIG generation. Educational Leadership, 62(7), 44-47.
• Richardson, W. (2008). Footprints. Educational Leadership, 66(3), 16-19.
• Rosenberg, D. (2009). Plato’s iPod: Can hand-held electronics be valuable tools of learning? Independent School, 68(2), 93-95.
• Thieman, G., O’Brien, J., Lee, J., Hinde, R., (2009). Participatory media and citizenship education: An opportunity for social studies to help youth have their say. American Educational Research Association Conference.

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