Week 5: BLOG #2 Youth & Digital Access

TRIANGLE
In the article, Digital Divides Research; its main focus is inequality, access and society. There has always been a gap between those who have technology in their homes and those who do not. During this research inequality was observed. Inequality has persisted for some time but, when it comes to technology it creates a gap. For instance, concepts of inequality in terms of possessions, status and profession have still been relevant in many cases. Some of the children that live in lower income household do not have a computer, vs. those who are middle class and are always exploring different alternatives to have fun. Technology access should be seen as a process with many technological causes and not as a single event of obtaining particular technology. There are several types of access, first a computer user has to acquire operational skills, then the individual has to develop and apply information skills and finally strategic skills. Usage access is the final stage and ultimate goal of the process of technological appropriation in its applications. Non- users are relatively scarce due to the lack of money and skills that they might have. Another striking result from digital skills research is that people learn more of these skills in practice, by trial and error, than in formal educational settings. There are different types of access to technology, but in this research the most educated get an opportunity to do best with technology access. Society has different believes some believe that without education there is no high income, but the truth is that society has shaped the world into what it wants the world to be. Current computer and internet have notoriously statistics. Technology will be changing constantly and some of the change that will occur is for the best of its people.

SQUARE
I agree that technology has many important aspects in children; this is because they build many skills. School is a great place to learn some of these skills. For instance, many of the teachers teach their students to write a resume. This is extremely important for the student because they are learning how to construct a resume and skills.

CIRCLE
In the video, Virtually Equal, it is interesting to know that many children have the access to technology. But, this is not true for children that are living in poverty, because some of these children have limited access to technology. One of the issues that children are facing is that some are becoming addictive to some games that the internet has. This could have a negative effect in the children. What can be done so that children do not become addicted to the internet?

Week 5: BLOG #1Youth and Tensions in Education -Fostering Digital Innovation or Digital Narcissism?

TRIANGLE:
In the reading, Getting over the Slump, it focuses on academic performance, digital media and the challenges that are associated with in it. Many of the highs school students are not learning the skills that they are required. Their performance has changed in the past years. Academic performance varies among children. For instance, fourth-graders can decode, but many of them cannot read to learn because they are unable to negotiate the language and its content. According to the reading, Getting over the Slump, kids are already attracted to digital games and anything that is has digital media. Many times digital media can become effective when its combined with teaching. This will allow teacher to begin to study different trajectories toward mastery by giving students constant feedback based on this knowledge, and then assess learners in terms of trajectories. Many children are being mentored at their homes while other only learn in school. This is a huge disadvantage to students that live in a home where no mentoring is available. Many students today, especially from low-income families, do not get early language preparation for schooling The other gap is a newer emerging one, which is connected to the skills in our rapidly changing world. It is a digital gap, between those students who can leverage technical skills and technological knowledge. These challenges will always persist.

SQUARE
In the video, Interview with Mark Bauerlein, I agree that teenagers do not care as much about literature as what they did before. This is because teenagers are more into social network and this gives them less time to study. Many teenagers like to have friends and have fun, but this is harming them as a whole because they are in their own world. As Mark states, friends are not going to help you learn your vocabulary. This is true but, technology has shaped teenagers in a different way.

CIRCLE
It is interesting to know that technology is changing the world around us. In the video, Special Reports, many believe that teenagers do not care about school as much as they did before. It is interesting that social network has been more important than school. How can teenagers learn the importance of being more concentrated in school and their career instead, of their computer and cell phones?