Who is Leaving Whom Behind?

Students are using the web in ways that teachers are not considering. There is a site called http://www.fanfiction.net/book/ where students are writing about books they have enjoyed. Some are writing new chapters, others are suggesting alternative plot twists, and some are just sharing why they enjoyed books or characters. There is a lot of reading and writing going on at the site. The site has just cleared the statistics, which showed something like 300,000+ posts just for Harry Potter.

A young girl named Laura wanted to do something special in memory of her grandfather. She created a blog called Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference. http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com/ Laura has exceeded her own expectations. Her ClstrMap shows that people from all over the world have responded to her “caring” blog.

Children are teaching their parents how to use cell phones. One of the cell phone companies has even spoofed this with a back to school commercial.

Kids are publishing video and music to the web. Kids have created many of the helpful tutorials on the Internet. How many teachers have published anything?

Young people are playing games with people half a world away. They are experiencing all types of simulations through virtual worlds like Second Life.

Students are networking with MySpace and FaceBook. Some are even creating online study groups.

How many teachers are taking advantage of what is available via the web in their classrooms? The students are taking advantage of these tools when they get home!

There was an article I read online that talked about the way kids read today, it’s online. Students like to read from a computer screen. They read about all kinds of things. The parents don’t understand because they like the confines of the book covers.

Kids today are leaving their parents and their teachers behind as they explore the world through the Internet. Smart teachers will talk to students about what they are doing on the Internet and with technology in order to know how to reach students on their terms. If their interests are with cell phones, we need to find a way to use cell phones in schools. If their interests are in virtual games, we need to create them. If their interests are in making movies, movies need to be a way an assignment can be completed.

The students who graduate in 2009 will be the first graduating class of digital natives. Have their needs been met in school? Or have the students left their teachers (and parents) in the digital dust?