The way teenagers today use the Internet is transforming learning processes in a way that most adults, many connected with education and the educational system, do not understand.
The use of digital media and the development of technical and social knowledge, as in all changes and revolutions, represent an enormous opportunity that must be taken advantage of by the educational system.
This is the conclusion that 28 researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and the MacArthur Foundation have reached over three years after interviewing more than 800 teenagers and their parents, one-on-one and in focus groups, and after having observed more than 5000 hours of these teenagers on websites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other online communities, documenting “how” and “with” what purpose they use digital media.
Called “ Living and Learning With New Media “, the study articulates the value of Social Networking, text messages and other forms of “new media”, better than any other report that has seen for this purpose.
The report has a two-page summary, one 30-page paper and a online book with 12 chapters titled “ Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media” ( MIT Press will be offering a print version of the book soon).
“ It may be a surprise for parents to know that their children’s time online is not wasted,” says Mizuko Ito of the University of California, an investigator and one of the people responsible for the report. “There are myths about the time that teenagers spend online – that is dangerous or that makes them dangerous. But we found that time spent online is essential for them to develop the technical and social knowledge they need to become competent citizens in the digital age.”
The report shows that:
-
There is a new and significant “generation gap” in the way adolescents and adults perceive the importance of online activity: adults usually have a black vision of what teenagers do (wasn’t it always so?) online, and often see online activity as dangerous and as an unproductive distraction. In contrast, adolescents perceive the social value of online activity and feel highly motivated to participate;
-
By participating online, adolescents navigate complex, technical and social worlds where they develop the technical and social knowledge they need for full participation in contemporary society;
-
The social worlds where adolescents participate have new types of dynamics: online socialization is permanent, public, involves the management of elaborate networks of friends and acquaintances and is always “on”;
-
Teenagers, more than adults, are highly motivated by learning from their network members: the Internet provides new types of public spaces for teenagers to interact and receive feedback from each other, sharing knowledge and experiences;
-
On the other hand, most teenagers do not take advantage of all Internet learning opportunities because they only explore social aspects and neglect other learning opportunities, usually the less popular ones in their circle of friends and online acquaintances.
Personal note (like all Blog, okay!:)):
Social Networking and Digital Media bring functionalities and new rhythms but, like almost everything supposedly new or new, some distancing and common sense makes us see and realize that they change perspectives but in essence, the way we socialize and learn is a human and non-tech characteristic.
If we look back, generation gap has always been present. Whether with movements and moments like Camusian existentialism (Camus marked me more than Sartre), Summer of 68, “flower power”, Punk, Gothic, cinema, technology, the main challenge ends up being in the factor “time” and “amplification”. Today, different generation gaps are created within the same generation and given the excess of information, as parents and educators, we have a greater challenge than in the past: not to let ourselves be overcome by the various “gaps”.
Most of the social tools available in the online world “amplify” or “accelerate” characteristics of any social tool, namely the focus on what is “most popular” in our social circle.
As parents and educators we continue to have the same challenges as always: helping to find the best spaces for the development of specific skills, where they can extend their knowledge networks with common interests.
That is, our usual role as parents!