Technology Influence On Children

The world we live in is ever changing, and the children of today are growing up in a society where the day-to-day life of a child is drastically different than the childhood their grandparents experienced; very different, in fact, from even their parents. Technology and innovation has changed the way we as a society buy, sell, and communicate; it has even changed the way we entertain ourselves. Forgotten in the past are the days of shared telephone “party lines”, antennas that offer only three television channels, cassette tapes, pagers, and “bag satellite phones”. Today people have the freedom to surf the internet, pay for purchases with their cellphones, video chat with someone from across the world on a computer, or stream music (or directions

The majority of students today have been learning via technology since they were able to hold a toy. Educational toys are huge in the marketplace today, and many are technology centered (such as IPad apps for toddlers, leapfrog for kids, and toy smartwatches). These toys appeal to young children’s curiosity and make learning fun. Later, as children grow and become pre/teenagers they are given laptops, computers, and cellphones; all of which put a world of knowledge at their fingertips. Today students live in a world where they can rapidly “Google” a question to find an answer, they can search the internet from their phone, or they can communicate with their friends instantly through various applications; not coincidentally, this is the way students have become comfortable with gathering their information. The way in which we educate our children must at least relate to the method of learning they are accustomed to. To be the most, effective teachers need to create lessons that incorporate technology and appropriate media – through the use of computers, videos, hand-held discovery devices (like motion detectors in Science), and even cellphones (when used appropriately). Effective lessons can incorporate technology; and, in return, those lessons will not only allow students to quickly find and process needed information, it will allow teachers to judge students’ understanding quickly and efficiently (i.e. through the use of virtually polling, assignment grading software, etc.). Also, in an effort to capture student interest, educators need to vary the way student interact with others to