Conclusion to "Do We Introduce Computers to Children? The Pros"
published Dec. 28 and "Do We Introduce
Computers to Children? The Cons" published Dec. 30
By no means are these all the arguments for and against implementing computers in the classroom for young students, and they are not covered in real depth, but they raise awareness to some of the issues we all face. Both the Pros and Cons have strong arguments, all of which need serious consideration and answers
And this is not a debate we can allow to just continue passively. We need to come up with concrete, research-based solutions because digital technology is invading virtually every aspect of modern society, and its impact is becoming fundamental to how we work, play, and learn. Technology within education also has a huge role to play both because students need to learn it for their futures and because many students are going to learn the technology one way or another.
In the work environment, technological mistakes are paid for in monetary terms. With education and introducing technology to our children, mistakes made cost far more than damaged business. With education, we are talking about damaged lives. We need to implement technology in the classroom carefully and articulately.
The logic seems to be, at least on the governmental level, that we cannot afford for the coming generation not to be computer enabled, as this ability will be critical for our country to be economically competitive. In fact, every country is being driven to ensure its digital competitiveness. At a governmental level, this logic is difficult to fault, but it is our job as educators and parents to ensure that the effectiveness of the headlong plunge is in the best interests of all the children.
So if we are going to implement it, we need special focus on how we should and should not implement technology for students between the ages of two and eight. While we research and learn about these groups specifically, we need to focus on different academic skill levels in addition to different locations and socioeconomic statuses.
As we implement technology, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
Does the early introduction of digital content positively or negatively affect young children?
What should be the parameters of the introduction (if any)?
What content types should be employed within the introductory process?
What constitutes "good" or "bad" content and why?
What parameters define "good" or "bad" content?
In addition to focusing on young children, we need to evaluate content, educational or leisure, to verify what age groups it is appropriate for.
In conclusion, it is fairly obvious that computer based educational content is becoming a feature of schools, whether we like it or not. In the home, we see increasing evidence that even the smallest children are gaining access to computers with parents or through watching older siblings. It is unreasonable to expect to turn back the clock and bar children below a certain age from computers.
Instead, it is our duty to ensure that clear usage standards are set, content guidelines are drawn, and sites are rated at a governmental level so that children, parents, caregivers, and educators have a clear and safe basis for using computers and the Internet with their charges. Anything less is an abrogation of all our responsibility.