Week 2: Parental survey discussion

I completed my survey of a parent’s view of modern technology by conducting an interview with a parent and I have to admit that the responses I received surprised me. Being an advocate of technology in the classroom I believe that it is a positive step towards educating the new generation of digital natives. A generation that have grown up surrounded by technology that may be effecting the way that they think and therefore learn (Prensky 2001).

While my interviewee thought that the inclusion of modern technology was a positive step they also believed that if used incorrectly the learning that could be achieved by using the technology may not be as effective. They thought that by using technologies such as educational games the children might be so involved with the game play elements that they may not actually be learning at all. I disagree with this view as it is the immersion in the learning experience that these games offer that can in fact enhance the learning taking place (Prensky 2001). It is the way that these technologies are used by teachers that will dictate how successful they are as teaching and learning aids as well as the quality of the technology itself.

One comment that really surprised me came when we discussed interactive whiteboards. While my subject again believed that they were possibly a good thing they seemed to think that they were used as a distraction for the children, a way to keep them entertained for ten minutes and could in fact lead to ‘lazy teaching’. When questioned further the cause of this thought was revealed, the interviewee had only seen the whiteboards used at the end of the day as an activity to entertain the children while they waited to be picked up by their parents. While the games that the children were playing were educational the children were not being lead in their activities by a teacher and had been left to their own devices.

This brings up an interesting point for me: if the parents of children do not know how the technologies are being used within the classroom how can they be expected to embrace them. I would suggest that parents and teachers discuss how they are using these technologies and how they would like to use them in the future, not only would this provide a home school link that would be beneficial to the children it could also have the advantage of parents being able to help at home and suggest new ways in which the schools could use them.

One way in which this could be achieved would be to hold a demonstration and question and answer session with the new technologies as the focus. I recently saw this done in a school for the teachers on an inset day and it was very helpful for all the teachers involved as many themselves were wary of the technology and how to integrate it into their classrooms. If this idea could be expanded to include parents it could allay the fears that many parents have of digital technologies.

Prensky, M (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently? Online at http://learn2.winchester.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/229927/mod_resource/content/1/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives.pdf accessed 04/02/2014