Is All our Technological Progress Hurting Our Posterity?
"The Dumbest Generation?" and "Where Are We Headed" in the PBS’s Digital Nation
Summary:
Each of these video segments deals with the adverse effects that digital media is having on our and the newest generation. What is argued initially is that educators are seeing a “dumbing down” of students in college, high school, and even down to the elementary level. This loss is seen in the way that student write – “in paragraphs rather than essays” – and in the way that they read – sparknotes, short books, how much they read, etc. They cite data that shows test scores in reading and writing may be going down as a result, and suggest that technology and media is to blame for all of this. The other side of the argument is also offered here, though. Many of the people speaking say that students are learning different by the standards of previous generations. They also admit that there may be some loss that comes with this, but there is also societal gain, and that this loss has come with every new technology. The best example I thought was their reference to the Homeric poems, which in print are thousands of pages long, yet used to be cited from memory. They say that this ability to memorize single things in this volume was lost with the inception of print, but they also point out that this loss comes at the feet of great gains (print). One additional thing that they show is how society is adapting to technology in education, especially video games. They show an elementary/middle school that is based on simple games to encourage learning and exploration. There is also multiple Army recruiting buildings called “The Army Experience” walled with Xboxes playing shooter games aimed at teens that play video games.
Inquiry:
I have mixed reactions to both sides of the argument presented here, and think that a middle ground is more of the right path for society. We’ve all grown up with books, and very few will doubt that kids who read more do better academically. Children are reading less and less as technology becomes more prominent, they are tempted with games more and more, and I believe the claims that the video makes about kids learning differently. I think that these learning differences can be a bad thing, but only when taken to the extreme. I recognize that the advances in society outweigh any small learning loss that comes as an effect, but I still think that as a society we should encourage kids to read physical books, play outside, and just be unplugged. I find more and more that my digital life can be more of a burden than a benefit (sometimes), and I fear that children who grow up totally wired may never catch themselves and see what there is outside of digital media.
I think that our generation (and even more so with the people just a few years older) has a unique position in that we were mostly raised on books and more classical forms of education, and are just recently (last ~10 years) seeing technology being a major part of our life. We all grew up knowing what cell phones were, but they were simple then, never touch-screen smart phones with internet access. This is all that children might ever see even five years from now. We have seen both sides of the situation, something that our children will never see. But is it a bad thing?
Questions:
1) If you were the parent of a young child now, what kinds of digital media would you encourage? Specifically, what new media do you think are most beneficial to children’s education today?
2) One could argue that video games, etc. are good for children “in moderation”. Can this argument be made with books? Is there a point where reading too much can be just as bad as playing too many games? What makes the difference between these thresholds?
3) How did technology influence the young generation before ours (lets say pre-cell phones), how has it influenced us, and how will it influence the next generation (i.e. someone who is being born now)? What will be the defining educational differences between these three groups?
P.S: did anyone else notice Henry Jenkins’ part, and/or the Wooden Mirror? They seemed like fun Easter eggs as I watched.