Introduction (Media tech in the classroom)
Hi there, I'm Kyrah Hunter!
(she/her)
If you're reading this, you are either a fellow classmate or my future student. Either way, welcome! A little bit about myself, I am currently a senior at California State University Northridge where I am studying to achieve my English degree and teaching credential.
When it comes to technology being integrated into curriculum, I believe that it is a slippery slope. In many ways, the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to social media, especially when it comes to adolescents being exposed to impossible beauty standards and harmful lifestyles being actively sold to them by their favorite comfort influencer. Lack of self-control and a spike in depression and anxiety amongst adolescents is not something to balk at but in an age where every company known to man has its own curated AI tool, it's almost as if it's a necessary evil. So the question remains: How media technology is too much media technology? Surely there must be a perfect balance, no?
I believe that media technology should be heavily monitored by parents/guardians but they should also be supported by educators through education of media literacy. When it comes to the home, parents/guardians must be aware of what, who and how their children are interacting in social media spaces to know what they observing and ultimately absorbing. As in the classroom, I believe that as an educator it is important to inform students of how to conduct themselves while online and to ultimately question everything. Fact checking sources and not believing something an online personality pushes on to them at face value. I as an educator want to give my students the tools to use so when they are out in the big scary, beautiful world they know how to navigate it like a pro.
Hi Kyrah, I 100% agree with everything that you have shared in your blog post. The best way to put it when it comes to media technology in the classroom is that it is indeed a slippery slope where it could either be a great way to enhance learning or promote laziness. I also agree that, although at times it feels as though the cons far outweigh the pros when it comes to having this type of technology easily accessible to students, I fear now that it has been introduced to children at such an early age, it is going to be very difficult to revert to before they were introduced to these tools. In response to the cons of having media technology in the classroom, I liked how you pointed out that parents/guardians should be heavily monitoring their children while also receiving that kind of support from the children's educators. All in all, in correspondence to what you have shared, now that technology has been introduced to students, I think the best that an educator can do is to educate the students regarding academic honesty, the dangers of the internet, and the dangers of AI when doing educational work.
ReplyDeleteHi Kyrah, great blog post! I like the little avatar you made for your blog, it looks just like you! It seems like media technology in the classroom is definitely a slippery slope indeed, but at the same time, schooling in a post-covid world is almost always integrated with things like Canvas and online schooling. I can't imagine having earned my degree without online-only classes - I might not have been able to. That said, children are clearly spending far too much time on their phones and using technology, which has easily been proven to be very harmful to children's psyche and development. I've heard of a lot of parents who substitute the internet and media for real parenting and supervision. In class yesterday we were able to discuss a little about phone-free schools. I like that idea a lot because it allows students to have a phone-free environment that forces them to focus on learning and socialization - kids mostly have a ton of screen-time at home. Thanks for the blog post!
ReplyDeleteHi Kyrah! I really like what you said about children being exposed to beauty standards at such a young age and how harmful that can be. Personally, I know that there are very strange sides of the internet that exist and that could be extremely detrimental to very young children and teens. I have seen first-hand the effects of social media on young teens and it's something that definitely contributes to the depression and anxiety statistics in teens. I also completely agree with you about it having to be monitored by adults in their lives. It's a great idea to have educators teach a lesson or two on how to conduct yourself on the internet, keep yourself safe, and how to interact with others in a safe way as well. Like you mentioned, there is a lot of fake information out there, especially now with AI photos and such, and kids are the main demographic to fall for it. Making sure that they understand how to differentiate between what is real or not on the internet is a good way of feeling secure about allowing them to be on the internet.
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