My kid, your kid, but what is iKid? This much is true, this iChild , who may have less than 4 years of heartbeats, has a foreign language, where the old castle system is quickly fading in its ability to interpret. However, it is the native tongue in the new castle domain. Do you remember? The new castle is simply the new day and age where classrooms are wall-less, timeless informational incubators, where students learn about the world by having "a hand in creating it," says Josh McHugh from his blog. What is this language? I'm still decoding it myself, but it sounds like, "MySpace," "Blogging," "Wikis," and other social technologies.
iKid, in all reality, are those who will soon become ourLeaders, ourTeachers, ourCommunity and ourWorld. "Children, by actually creating their own learning environment, would retain far more knowledge than they would from ordinary teaching methods," explains McHugh's article. But, there is a dilemma. According to McHugh's blog, "A recent survey by CDW Corporation shows that teachers are more likely to use technology to ease the administrative requirements of K-12 education than to utilize it in instructional applications." Today's average teacher is ill-equipped for the task of having a class full of iKids who learn in iWays. Further, students within the classroom have a different mindset toward learning and their time. First, it is quite egocentric. Second, it must entertain. Third, it must contain multiple chunks, like a well-masticated swallow, which permits for quick and easy digestion. And fourth, and perhaps most essential, it must be connected to the internet. This is not an easy task on the part of teachers.
Therefore, some suggest that the only way to peel them away from other iRelated materials in hopes of capturing attention and interest, and therefore learning potential, is to join the iWorld and provide opportunities to contribute to this land of "i."
Resources teachers have used to enhance student participation in the iWorld:
One response to McHugh's article reports, "Finland is ranked highest on international math/science high-school exams with Asian countries like Singapore, China, and Korea not far behind. If we want to prepare "iKids" for the global market (it will be in it's upcycle when they are adults) then implementing open source tools are a must. Educators need to "digitize" their classrooms so that our children can one day flourish in the sci/tech sectors." No doubt, digitization is essential; however, I have also read that Finland is ranked highest on their reading scores. Here is my point:
The iWorld, which is a part of the new castle (as I've defined) requires something that every other tool requires, namely literacy. Though many students can access the iWorld in productive ways, there is still the ever-important ingredient that supercedes the iWorld, in my book. Namely, a child needs to know the workings of the English language and develop literacy skills necessary to permit them into the realm of the iWorld with the necessary maturity and amour so as not to harm themselves or others. If responsibility readiness is underdeveloped and educators cave in to an iKid's interest readiness, it is a recipe for disaster.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts about iKids. I do agree that at present time educators use technology to ease the admin requirements rather than for instructional purposes. But! I think that will change over time. As technologies are improved and made to be more user friendly, they get used more often and for more things. I always cringe, however, when I see "rankings" of other countries as it applies to education. What they don't tell you is that many of these countries pre-select students who can go to school (like in the case of China)thus, biasing the outcome. In the U.S., every child gets a K-12 education regardless of there intelligence. And when you have a country as small as Finland it is always easier to make changes such as the implementation of technology. I just think that the U.S. has it tougher than other countries because we have more hurdles to overcome. That's not to say we should not have a better education system or better educated students because we should (we spend more than most countries). Finally, I agree that literacy 'supercedes the iWorld.' If they are to understand and appreciate the tools of iWorld, they must first be literate; they must be able to understand and make connections. Well done.
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