Tarlow Blog
Literacy is commonly defined as the ability to read and write. In this week’s article, Tarlow and Spangler ask if today’s kids will be literate. They question how well children growing up in our technological world will be able to read. Technology has the ability to change the way we define things in our lives. Will it change literacy as well? If we look at the addition of technology literacy, it already has.
The ability to read and write is extremely important in our society. Children need to master this skill regardless of the level of technology they have available to them. While researching for children and literacy, I found two additional articles that question if we are introducing technology to children at too young an age. There are two sides to this issue. Many parents have the belief that if children start using technology early, it will benefit the child (Miller, 2005). Many things are learned more easily when introduced at a young age. If we look at the technology literacy of the average third grader, we could say that this is the case with technology. Many third graders are far more technology literate that many adults.
Some educators do not share this opinion. Healy believes that computers should be withheld until after the second grade. She points to the fact that many programs geared towards young children actually limit rather than improve education (2004). In looking at my own district, I notice that many kindergarten and first grade rooms have very little daily computer activity. In fact, in one building, three of four first grade classes have not even powered the computers on since the year began. Technology access for these students is limited to dedicated lab time.
Should children have access to computers prior to establishing the ability to read and write in grade school? Will literacy improve if students do not have access to computers in the classroom in the early grade school years? It is our job as educators to make sure children master literacy as well as technology literacy. The educational system has some control over this issue. Taking computers out of the classroom will not keep children from using them. They may have access to them in after school programs and in the home. Plus, it may be very difficult if parent organizations push the issue. We need to develop new methods to ensure our children are literate. We cannot afford to have a society that has lost the ability to communicate without the use of technology.
References
Healy, JM. (2004). Young Children Don. The education digest, 69(5), 57-58.
Miller, E. (2005). Fighting Technology for Toddlers. The education digest, 71(3), 55-58.
The ability to read and write is extremely important in our society. Children need to master this skill regardless of the level of technology they have available to them. While researching for children and literacy, I found two additional articles that question if we are introducing technology to children at too young an age. There are two sides to this issue. Many parents have the belief that if children start using technology early, it will benefit the child (Miller, 2005). Many things are learned more easily when introduced at a young age. If we look at the technology literacy of the average third grader, we could say that this is the case with technology. Many third graders are far more technology literate that many adults.
Some educators do not share this opinion. Healy believes that computers should be withheld until after the second grade. She points to the fact that many programs geared towards young children actually limit rather than improve education (2004). In looking at my own district, I notice that many kindergarten and first grade rooms have very little daily computer activity. In fact, in one building, three of four first grade classes have not even powered the computers on since the year began. Technology access for these students is limited to dedicated lab time.
Should children have access to computers prior to establishing the ability to read and write in grade school? Will literacy improve if students do not have access to computers in the classroom in the early grade school years? It is our job as educators to make sure children master literacy as well as technology literacy. The educational system has some control over this issue. Taking computers out of the classroom will not keep children from using them. They may have access to them in after school programs and in the home. Plus, it may be very difficult if parent organizations push the issue. We need to develop new methods to ensure our children are literate. We cannot afford to have a society that has lost the ability to communicate without the use of technology.
References
Healy, JM. (2004). Young Children Don. The education digest, 69(5), 57-58.
Miller, E. (2005). Fighting Technology for Toddlers. The education digest, 71(3), 55-58.
posted by mcavallaro at 11:37 AM
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