Anbishop1989's List: TEAM A 2.4 Digital Research

• “Young people are born into technology, and they’re used to using it 24/7,” Small said. “Their brains are wired to use it elegantly.”
• Small said the Internet trains our minds to have a “staccato” train of thought, jumping from idea to idea, like we do from Website to Website.
• On the other hand, technology trains the brain to be nimble and to process new ideas quickly. We become more open to new ideas, and communicate more freely and frequently.

• IS THE INTERNET MAKING US SMARTER?

   

  In a study called “Your Brain on Google,” Small and his peers tested the brain activity of two groups — “Internet-naïve” (mostly 65 and older who had very little experience online) and “Internet smart”– while reading a book versus conducting a Google search.

   

  In the “Internet savvy” group, there was twice as much brain activity in all parts of the brain while they were conducting a Google search than while they were reading a book. And in the “Internet-naïve” group, after a week of Googling subjects online, there was a significant burst in frontal lobe activity, which controls short-term memory and decision-making.
• “Searching online is brain exercise.”
• Technology can train our brains in positive ways, he added. Surgeons who play video games, for example, make fewer surgical errors. Those who play video games have improved reaction time, better peripheral vision.

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• "When they spend a lot of time with the technology searching online, they're sort of training their brains to teach the way they search," Small said.

   

   When young kids use technology, Small says it does strengthen information processing in the brain.

• It's possible that the developing brains of today's teenagers are going to be the most adaptable, creative, multi-tasking brains that have ever existed. There is evidence—from adults—that playing video games improves a range of cognitive functions such as divided attention and working memory as well as visual acuity.

• video games can help people see better, learn more quickly, develop greater mental focus, become more spatially aware, estimate more accurately, and multitask more effectively. Some video games can even make young people more empathetic, helpful and sharing.

• The advantages to having technology in the classroom are impossible to ignore. Technology may enable children to learn more in a shorter period of time. Students in technology rich environments showed greater progress in major subject areas, and more positive attitudes toward learning and self-concept. Basic skill training using technology even showed greater achievement than having smaller classroom sizes. There are also new technological advances to use video games to treat ADHD, one of the biggest issues facing our schools today.

• Through the use of technology, children learn technology skills, while enhancing social and cognitive development.

• Technology Skills

  As children use the computer and other forms of technology, they have the opportunity to meet the following technology standards. Established by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), these standards are for children ages prekindergarten through second grade (2000).

   
  1. Use input devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, remote control) and output devices (e.g., monitor, printer) to successfully operate computers, VCRs, audiotapes, and other technologies.
   
  2. Use a variety of media and technology resources for directed and independent learning activities.
   
  3. Communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate terminology.
   
  4. Use developmentally appropriate multimedia resources (e.g., interactive books, educational software, elementary multimedia encyclopedias) to support learning.
• • Work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers, family members, and others when using technology in the classroom.
   
  • Demonstrate positive social and ethical behaviors when using technology.
   
  • Practice responsible use of technology systems and software.
   
  • Create developmentally appropriate multimedia products with support from teachers, family members, or student partners.
   
  • Use technology resources (e.g., puzzles, logical thinking programs, writing tools, digital cameras, drawing tools) for problem solving, communication, and illustration of thoughts, ideas, and stories.
   
  • Gather information and communicate with others using telecommunications, with support from teachers, family members, or student partners.
• Computers offer a unique environment that might encourage children who typically do not interact with others to do so. “For many children the computer is a catalyst for information sharing, language development, and decision making” (Tsantis, Bewick, & Thouvenelle, 2003, p. 7). Children engage in diverse social interactions when using the computer including asking for help; directing others’ actions; providing information, assistance, and instruction; managing turn taking; acknowledging each other; commenting on each other’s actions; and disagreeing (Heft & Swaminathan, 2002; Shahrimin & Butterworth, 2002). Although children seem to naturally assist each other when using the computer, one classroom developed rules to assure interaction. These included finding a friend (children were only allowed to play at the computer with a friend), helping a friend (pointing,
• discussing, providing information, and sharing the mouse), and taking turns (a timer helped to determine when it was the friend’s turn) (Medvin, Reed, Behr, & Spargo, 2003).
• in one kindergarten program the families were invited to send emails to their children. Since the children were not yet proficient readers, they had trouble reading the messages. That was when they discovered that Michael, a child with autistic behaviors, could read. Each day he went from classmate to classmate reading each of their messages. While in the past he’d been ignored by other children, he was now sought after.
• • Computers are motivating for young children, increasing their time in on-task behavior. For example, one study found kindergarten children were on-task 90% of the time when they were on the computer (Bergin, Ford, & Hess, 1993).
   
  • Computers provide consistent and frequent reinforcement (Parette, Hourcade, & Heiple, 2000).
   
  • Computers allow children to work independently at their own pace (Parette et al., 2000).
   
  • Software programs often provide extensive scaffolding of learning. Scaffolding is very important in developing cognitive skills.
   
  • The computer provides unique opportunities that may enhance learning. For example, computers can allow children to access the “largest information bank—with the broadest range of quality and utility—the world has ever known” (Parette et al., 2000, p. 245). With the computer, children
• can participate in simulations and manipulate variables that might not be possible in the real world (Scoter et al., 2001).
• The best academic results are found when the use of technology is clearly related to other classroom activities and curriculum. For example, when children are using a software program that manipulates items, the teacher places the concrete items on the table next to the computer or incorporates the items into classroom activities (Haugland, 1992). Research indicates that using a computer with supporting manipulatives increases children’s skills more than using only the manipulatives or the computer alone (Clements, 1994; Haugland & Shade, 1994).

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