Kaiser Family Foundation study

On a beautiful summer day, my son and 3 of his friends rode their bikes into our backyard, jumped on the trampoline and all immediately pulled out their cell phones to check messages and text. My mother-in-law and I were sitting at the kitchen window. "What are they doing?" she asked. I was embarrassed to explain what was going on. When reading the Kaiser study I was reminded again how ridiculous cell phone behavior is, and not just among the young. I thought this class was going to be about how wonderful technology is in the classroom and that I would be taught a lot of classroom-friendly tech. The more I think about how much technology has invaded our lives I am beginning to like the idea of "tech-free zones". Technology is great for limitless and fast information. Templates are readily available to help you organize thoughts and presentations. It is invaluable for communication. At the same time, technology is destroying contact by making personal contact seem unnecessary. Just as the Kaiser study mentions that students often use 2 to 3 types of media concurrently, any group of kids gathered can be limitless when you include those communicating online or by cell phone. All of this connecting is disconnecting people from the importance of personal contact. The classroom may be the only place where students have to shut everything off and just be themselves. Educators have worked for years to establish a child-centered approach to teaching. The focus should always be on the child, and then focus on the machine.