Computers in kids bedrooms

On my way home from class on Tuesday evening I was listening to the John Tesh radio show on 93.1. He was talking about how there are more computers in kids rooms today than 5 years ago. One reason for the change is that with so many parents using computers now, they don't want to share the time and eventually buy their children computers for their rooms.

John Tesh shared a lot of interesting information and scientific studies but he stressed that computers should always be kept in a shared room so parents can monitor where kids go and who kids are talking to. Funny, I used to talk on the phone when I was a kid. His concern was of course how predators are now in our homes and no longer the stranger on the street or park.

This made me think of our class and the websites we visited. Many of the sites appeared legitimate but it took a little investigating to be sure. Children are so vulnerable to the information they search for that they can easily be persuaded to think that the town of Fredricton was really founded by Amish fisherman.

Perhaps we should take our students to the PBS site and have them take the license quiz. Many of the middle school students I work with really don't understand the impact of want can happen if they give too much information about themselves online. It really is up to us to teach them how to be safe, especially if they have a computer in their rooms and isolate themselves there. It's so easy to click the minimize button so parents don't see where they are or who they are talking to. At this point, kids are about one or more steps ahead of those of us who are not technologically equal. That's a scarey thought!

Amazing Hero Art

There was an assembly at my school last Friday called Amazing Hero Art. The artist, Rob Surette was flashy and exciting and had a very positive message in his program. Other than how fast he painted the portraits of Abrham Lincoln and the others, he kept the students and staff amazed and interested by using Power Points to teach the history of the people he was painting. With each new portrait, a new slideshow began. The slidehows included music and video that added to what he was painting. Each picture or song in the show was a clue to whose portrait he was painting.

One of the topics in the show was about the inventions. He focused on Thomas Edison and how the invention of the lightbulb changed the world and helped to create movies. It was incredible to see how technology has changed in such a short time. We've gone from the invention of the telephone to communicate with people to computers that can send an e-mail to friends, family, or business clients at anytime of the day or night to cell phones that we can use for e-mail and storing music on.

Rob Surette listed his top 10 inventions as part of his show. The one that struck me the most was the computer that types what a person is thinking. What a great thing to have for those students who have special needs and have no other means of communication. For the people who cannot speak or write, but can think. This would give them a means to communicate without boundaries. If only Helen Keller could have had such technology? Think of all the kids with autism, cerebral palsy, readers and writers that struggle with getting the words out and how technology like this computer could change how we as teachers can help them.

I'm sure that the thought computer has its downfalls too, but it just goes to show that there is still so much out there that we don't know about and someday have to use in our schools.

If interested, Rob Surette's website is amazingheroart.com. He was inspirational and truly amazing!

Click and Jane article

I just read the Click and Jane article from the New York Times magazine and thought...What is reading? Is it black type against white pages or can it be a colorful animated game on a computer monitor? I always thought it was printed text on paper between a colorful illustrated cover with a summary on the back. But I'm a 20th century teacher in a 21st century world. I'm sure my middle school students would have a different point of view. My 8 year old daughter does.
After reading the article, I was navigating the Starfall site and she commented.."Mommy are you playing on that site? I used to play there in kindergarten and first grade during computer (class). It was the only site we were allowed to play on." When I asked her if she liked playing there and reading the stories, she said she did but "I'm too old for that now. I read Magic Tree House chapter books."
I wasn't impressed by the story I read in Starfall. I clicked on the flower story and thought the story itself was boring and difficult to navigate. There was no prompt to tell me to pick a packet of seeds to complete the sentence. I did however, enjoy the One More Story site. Even though it didn't have the fancy animation with the cute bug and monster, the story book I read in the tour was cute. I thought this site had helped readers by highlighting the words as they were being read so the reader could understand when to turn the page, click the arrow, and continue with the story. I also liked that the option to mute the voice was offered.
Maybe Roland Barthes would consider me lazy because I like reader geared books rather than the thought provoking writer geared.
All in all, I enjoyed the article. The sites were fun because I can use them at home with my younger daughter. Although, I'm sure if given the opportunity, my middle school students would have fun too!