In this post I will discuss the difference between a typical teacher and a connected teacher. I will also write about the implications of the digital world for myself, as a teacher, and for the learning of my students. The digital shift has been developing for several years now, but has the impact of COVID 19 accelerated the digital world of education?
When looking at a typical traditional teacher, resources and teachable information was sourced from a limited number of connections. Teachers would look to curriculum documents, colleagues, popular media sources (television or radio), print resources, or knowledge from family members or the community. In comparison, a modern, connected teacher will have access to all of the above, plus many other digital avenues for resource gathering. Some connections may include: blogs, wikis, video conferences, computer chats, social networking services, online communities, or digital photo sharing, among others. With the availability of so much more extra information and methods to stay connected, does this create an environment to have better teachers than in the past? Undoubtedly, there is more information available, and quicker access to it, but how does this translate to the teaching quality in schools? Along with teachers, students also have access to this multitude of connections. How has this impacted the lives of students?
As I write this, I am thinking about my connected self as a preservice teacher. I find myself to be connected to all of the items I listed for the traditional teacher, as well as a few items of the connected teacher. I have taken part in some video conferences, social networking, or digital photos sharing. It is obvious that I am also connected through means of blogging as well. A significant cause for me to branch out and access online connections, was due to the COVID 19 pandemic. I was no longer able to access information in person or traditionally, so I became forced to explore other means. Each time I do this, I learn something new. I may discover that modern methods are working better for me in certain areas, and I may choose to adopt them in part for my classroom teaching. I may also become overwhelmed or frustrated by some of my modern connections, and abandon them altogether. Regardless of whether I like everything I see and use online, it is now part of my life, and consequently, some of it will rub off on me and be used in my teaching methods. It is important to understand that things we are exposed to frequently, soon become familiar to us, and we then become more comfortable with their use. This is the part that teachers should understand about their students. Whatever the students are using and accessing daily, will inevitably be brought into the classroom with them. This is the main reason why teachers need to remain up to speed with digital advancements; because the students are using them.
The connections used by a typical student of today, may include the following: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, television shows, Netflix, Reddit, YouTube videos, TikTok, Tumblr, video calls, discussions with friends and family, photo/video sharing, among others. It is evident that young people of today source a lot of their information digitally, and spend a significant amount of time behind a screen. If used with discipline, this can become a huge advantage for students of today, and provide access to rich and diverse knowledge. But on the other hand, there are also negative consequences from spending too much time online.
The following website contains quite interesting reader-friendly information, derived from a 2018 surveyed analyzing the digital well-being of Canadian families. Check it out:
There are a few points from this survey that I would like to draw your interest to.
The top rule that parents set for their children is how much time their child spends on digital devices. This would indicate that parents feel the need to limit or reduce the amount of time their children are accessing a device. Despite the benefits of having access to rich digital knowledge, perhaps parents feel that too much access is harmful to their child. Or perhaps what the children tend to access is not rich at all, but all of the “noise” that takes place online.
Another statistic that I found to be unsettling, is that 43% of parents reported that their children never use a digital device during family meals. This number should really be presented on the flip side, saying that over half of parents report that their children DO use a digital device during family meals. That is a large number, and if children cannot even put down their devices for meals, I would agree that this is concerning.
Continuing with the statistics, the top parental concern across all age categories is misinformation online, followed by sexual content, violent content, and cyberbullying. Just as there is good information online, there is a flood of bad information to be avoided. Furthermore, access to the online world can lead to conflict within the family. Parents reported that the biggest source of conflict across all age categories was excessive use of digital devices, and almost half of all parents said that it was difficult to get their child to stop using digital technology when they asked them to.
So if there are problems at home with digital well-being, and parents are experiencing difficulty controlling their children, how will students learn digital responsibilities? Who is responsible for teaching the younger generation to regulate themselves, and to guide them towards meaningful online experiences? Well…according to the survey, 31% of parents are turning to their child’s school and teachers for digital parenting advice. Additionally, 81% of parents agree that it is important for their child’s future that they think critically about how they use digital technology. Guess what fellow teachers, this burden will fall on us. We are the ones responsible for teaching a significant portion of the digital literacy skills to students. Everyone, get out of the stone ages if you are in them, and brush up on your own digital literacy skills. Now is the time to enter the online world and build your own connections, educating yourself along the way. On that note, I wish you all good luck!
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