Digital Devices = More or Less Learning?

Most of us love the new digital devices and the connectivity they give us. Constantly schools talk about teaching children how to think as they don’t need to get them to rote learn facts as they can access them at a touch of a button. But can they? Do they?

This idea is put forward by adults who have lots of basic knowledge already and so have a good foundation of knowledge already to build on. What happens when you don’t get the basic knowledge foundation to build on? Learning becomes much more difficult and less interesting. Resulting in disengaged students.

Over the past 24 years while teaching Reading for Sure I have watched children come to us who seem to ‘know’ less and less basic knowledge as the years go by. Many children struggle to tell you what suburb they live in let alone what state they live in. Basic land features such as the ‘coast’ or the meaning of ‘the countryside’ are unknown. Very few have read, heard them read to them or seen in movies the various fairy tales that often form the basis of a lot of literature. The stereotypes in these can are found in books, movies, and plays and can be used in their own early writing compositions. Many have no knowledge of the various wonders of the world and show limited curiosity about the world they live in. Once upon a time most children loved talking about dinosaurs but very few do now.

Just recently when working with an 11-year-old boy on a persuasive text he could not recall having seen modern dance as you might see in a video clip for a song. His explanation was that he did not watch TV. He did use a tablet for viewing but the only things he ever watched were gamers live streaming, and other funny videos on U tube or for playing games. We know this boy goes camping and plays football so he does have some life experience beyond his device. With his limited world knowledge, he is going to struggle with what will be asked of him in high school when analyzing texts etc.

Teachers and parents need to understand that unless we encourage children’s curiosity and basic knowledge of the world around them, their ability to learn new information and to know what questions to ask ‘google’ will be close to zero. Don’t get me started on the fact that children do not understand that google is a browser to find information not the source of the information itself!

Digital devices put a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, but you will only go looking for it if know you don’t know something. Children need adults to encourage them to expand their knowledge and be curious and creative. Left on their own they will be limited to their games and funny videos. What a waste of potential!

How much does your child know about their surroundings and other basic knowledge? Sometimes we assume they know more than they do. They may have seen something, but have we taken the time to tell them what it is and how it works? Can your child tell you the difference between a river and a lake for instance?

 

Try asking these questions of your child. Will you be pleasantly surprised by how much they know or astonished at what they don’t?

• What street do you live in?

• What suburb do you live in?

• What city do you live in?

• What state do you live in?

• What country do you live in?

• What other states are there in this country that you live in?

• What capital cities do you know?

• For older children- Do you know the name of the premier / prime minister?

• Ask them if they know the days of the week, months, seasons?

• How many days are there in a week, month, year?

• Where does money come from?

• How do parents have money to spend?

• Do they know what their parents do as part of their jobs?

• What does ‘the coast’ mean?

• How many fruits / vegetables can they name?

• What animals can they name and what are their babies called.

• Can they tell the time on an analogue clock?

I hope you had some fun listening to your child’s answers.