What age is appropriate for children to begin using technology? It’s inevitable that children will have to begin using technology at some point in their early years of learning. Are younger students mature enough to handle technology that we use on a daily basis? Here is a website that will give insight on what age is appropriate for children to begin using technologyhttp://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm.
39 Comments
George Pincock
4/9/2012 11:03:07 am
I think the answer to what you call technology. To some of the older generation calculators and microscopes were technology, but for our younger generation technology refers to the latest Ipod, Ipad and newest social media site. I think if the technology is geared towards education we should try to incorporate it into our curriculum. If it doesn't we should try to leave it our or utilize it as infrequently as possible.
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Ryan Mansfield
4/9/2012 10:36:19 pm
Agreed. At least what I have seen so far, kids today have no idea as far as the basics and how things work from the ground up. From the ground up I am referring to the basic ideas of mathmatics, science and espcially reading, writing and sentence structure. Kids struggle so bad in today's college relm in the area of expressing their ideas in writing it is not even funny and I think alot has to do with the lack of writing and writing expectations.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/13/2012 04:19:03 am
I agree with the fact that children today struggle with basic skill such as mathematics and reading and writing skills. I believe along with you that the expectations are lower than they once were. Along with lowered expectation teachers are not taking as much necessary time to teach children the correct way to set up a sentence and write a well written paper or even a paragraph. Because of this, today's college students struggle greatly with writing term papers. This scares me for the future when there is talk about taking out handwriting skills in the classroom. Once that is gone what is next?
Jeremy Esry
4/13/2012 12:01:33 am
I think you hit it on the head with this one George, as long as the technology is used for educational purposes I think it is great for younger children to use it and learn, however a problem with today's society is that we use technology as a scapegoat to "entertain our children" so that we do not have to and in return they gain nothing from it.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/15/2012 06:49:46 am
We are seeing a lot of college aged students unable to write complete sentences, or thoughtful paragraphs. This is disturbing, but I don't think it's because of technology- I think it's because students are slipping through the cracks of our educational system. Teachers are teaching classrooms that are way too big and harder to manage, and cannot reach every single student. Clickeres are helping in the classroom to quiz students to see if they are "getting" the concept, which in turn lets the teacher know if she/he needs to review the concept as a whole for the classroom or work individually with students to review it. In the past, teachers weren't able to know who had it or who didn't until homework OR even worse test time. By then it was time to move onto the next topic . . .
Matthew Clanahan
4/15/2012 09:51:19 pm
@Cara: I can't even beging to express how right you are! Like you said, I don't really see it as a fault of the technology. It's the lack of one-on-one interaction with educators. I was homeschooled, and used technology a fair amount for educational purposes; however, I also received one-on-one instruction at a level teachers could not have achieved in a public (or even a private) school. Many of the problems we see are a result of increased class sizes.
Ryan Mansfield
4/18/2012 12:17:46 am
If we are using technology for entertain purposes for our children we are leaving them out on what is going on around them and not preparing them for what they will need to know.
Ryan Mansfield
4/9/2012 10:29:36 pm
I am not sure there is an answer to that question. I think in today's world especially with the way technonology is progressing, it is going to be damn near impossible to keep kids from being exposed to technology. I think the closest thing to a possible answer would be to limit kids access to technology and how they learn. Unfortunately this is going to be fairly difficult considering it is fairly easy for parents and teachers alike to simple have kids watch a movie or have them play on the internet to occupy time. I feel that kids today need to have more of a basic instructional platform learning from the ground up as far as mathmatics, science and writing skills without the use of technology so that kids actually have an idea from the ground up and start to incorporate technology as they get older.
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Audrey Crabtree
4/10/2012 12:45:43 am
I think if we, as a society, used technology for its educational positives, we would be a lot better off. Children could enjoy learning and parents wouldn't have to stress about what they are doing online. Technology is a great resource but we aren't using its potential
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Christopher Sandefur
4/9/2012 10:37:01 pm
This is a great article. If the technology is geared towards the advancement of the student then technology should be used to its full advantage for all ages. Technology use by younger students should only be used when they have been educated on responsibility of using technology. I believe when it comes to basic skills of writing and math students should be limited on technology.
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Nick Camp
4/9/2012 11:27:19 pm
Coach Sandefur, I also agree that when it comes to basic skills of writing and math students should be limited on technology. The problem is, I remember while I was in high school we hardly ever actually wrote paper but typed them instead. Very rarely would a math teacher show you how to work out a problem, but would be quick to show you how to plug it into a TI-83 to get the answer.
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Stacy Crommie
4/12/2012 12:47:39 am
I agree that basic skills need to be limited on technology but mainly in the writing department. There are math and word games online that can help make math and spelling funand easier to retain. The main thing technology cannot help with is writing, which is too important to bypass.
Audrey Crabtree
4/10/2012 12:47:31 am
I agree for the most part, but I think thier can be some fun math games out there online that would help kids a lot. It all comes back to using technology to its full advantage but thats hard considering all the junk you can find online
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George Pincock
4/10/2012 11:44:50 pm
With out a doubt I believe there are beneficial things online for students to use. However, letting those things have to be a supplement and not a replacement for the basics. Unfortunately the society we live in is allowing for supplemental material to become the basics.
Robert Thomas
4/11/2012 03:58:53 am
I agree with that the basic skills of education need to be done on their own. If the students can do it the hard way then later down the road in their education technology can come in and help the students out when they need it.
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Audrey Crabtree
4/10/2012 12:41:26 am
From reading the article, I gathered that technology can be used at a very young age. As long as the technology is used in the correct way. The younger the age, it sounds like, the more interactive it has to be. You also have to know what the child is capable of even learning. If you give them something too advanced, then it won't work to its full potential. I think when I have kids I will allow them to use technology for educational purposes only. As they grow and become more educated on technology will I then let them use it for entertainment purposes. This excludes movies of course.
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casey costa
4/11/2012 04:09:26 am
The article did make good points about having to tailor the technology to the age group to make it beneficial for them and not harm their development in other areas. I like your idea of gradually incorporating entertainment as part of technology later rather than starting with that aspect.
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Melea Shimkus
4/10/2012 01:45:18 pm
Dr. Perry, from the article, talked a lot about the timing in regards to children and technology. I agree with him, it's all about timing. If technology is designed for children, then obviously it could help them. But the technology that we use, adults, is not beneficial for children. It can also depend on the individual child and what he/she is ready for. Another thing that Dr. Perry brought up was that technology should not be used to replace social interaction, and I completely agree. Technology should be designed to aid, not replace. Too many people rely on sitting in front of a screen and expecting to learn new things or have technology do things for them, but people need to be willing to do a little work and learn things for themselves.
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Kelli Miller
4/11/2012 03:07:07 am
The timing issue brought up in the article is an important facet that often goes un-noticed. Often times teachers give students homework, teach lesssons, or introduce their lessons without gauging where the students are in their abilities. I agree that technology can help them and be very beneficial at any age; it is the substance for which they learn is key.
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Nick Camp
4/11/2012 10:11:50 pm
Melea, I'm glad you brought the point up that technology should not be used to replace social interaction. As we all know humans require social interaction, over the years that social interaction has kind of taken a back seat. It's easier to text someone that it is call, or have a sit down conversation.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/10/2012 11:54:06 pm
It all depends on what you're calling technology . . .
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Popi Stevens
4/11/2012 03:09:06 am
Good Point! Technology is very broad and it depends on what we are talking about. My 2 nieces use Ipad's and Itouches and they are (3 and 4 years old). The crazy thing is the are better at using the two than i am.
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Thomas Buehler
4/11/2012 12:48:37 am
I think that all technology will be beneficial in the right hands. Teaching our students to used technology appropriately will help them to grow and develop in our current technological era. If these students are taught the correct methods for using technology then they will use it in a positive manner. In school supervision will help ensure that they are using it in the correct way. The issue begins when they are unsupervised and free to explore on their own. Besides content blockers, I'm not sure there is a way to prevent them from coming across explicit material.
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Nick Camp
4/11/2012 10:13:14 pm
Tom, you couldn't be more correct. We mus teach students to use the technology appropriately before we let them run off with it.
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Kelli Miller
4/11/2012 02:58:40 am
I agree with the majority of the class and with the article in that when children are steered in the wrong direction and placed in front of a television screen or a computer screen with no supervision or direction, then they obviously are not getting the proper education regarding technology.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/12/2012 12:42:12 am
I completely agree that monitoring what they are watching and then using it can actually improve their cognitive skills, making something passive very interactive and beneficial. Sesame street is an example. We will watch it with our daughter, and then whenever an opportunity presents itself we say, "remember when Elmo talked about..." or "Telly likes triangles, can you find a triangle in our house". Stuff like that.
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Matthew Clanahan
4/15/2012 09:59:01 pm
Excellent examples of a positive use for educational technology. I grew up with Sesame Street and other PBS shows, and I'm grateful for the lessons they (and my parents) taught me.
Popi Stevens
4/11/2012 03:06:45 am
Technology is being made more and more for children now-a-days. It is important though to teach youngsters how to use the technology properly. I also think it needs to be supervised. I am not sure what age is appropriate for children to use technology (that is a hard question), i think if they are monitored, done in moderation, and taught how to use it properly i suppose they should/could use it whenever they are able to use it properly.
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Melea Shimkus
4/11/2012 11:42:40 am
I agree with you, children need to taught how to use technology properly. I also agree that children should be supervised when around technology. The part about moderation is key when dealing with children, I think. Like the Dr. from the article said, technology can be beneficial but there is such a thing as too much.
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Robert Thomas
4/11/2012 03:41:10 am
I dont know if you can put an age number on when children should and should not be able to use technology. My stace is on it is that children should be able to figure things out on their own the best they can. Dont get me wrong technology can be very helpful in learning just make sure you are able to learn to get things that need to be done in more ways than one.
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Nick Camp
4/11/2012 10:14:00 pm
There is more than one way to skin a cat...
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casey costa
4/11/2012 04:07:18 am
I feel that children need to be introduced technology at an early age such as first grade. I don't think there should be a large emphasis on it by any means at this age, however it does need to be introduced. For example when I was in elementary school this is when we began to learn to type, but the class was only once or twice a week. Things taught at a young age stick the most, such as language, so I do think kids need the basics, but still need to be balanced by other hands on experiences.
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Heather Kirkendoll
4/12/2012 12:17:26 am
I think the this all depends on the type of technology. Some types can be extremely beneficial for children, and others can cause harm. For example, my daughter has a little leap toy that tells her how to write her letters and she uses the little pen to draw dot by dot the letter. It has helped her with where to start on letters. On the same note, I do not like it when I see people sign their four year olds up for their very own facebook page. Why do they need a facebook page? Also, I think it is important for parents to be involved while students are using their technology, this helps put the socialization in there as well, and the parents know for certain the activities are innocent and appropriate for their children.
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Thomas Buehler
4/15/2012 05:31:43 am
This is a good point Heather. A young child has NO need for any type of social networking. I'm not a parent, but I feel as though I would be apprehensive to let my children have access to the internet without my direct supervision. I would like to see an advancement in the technology that is built to prevent children from accessing explicit material on the internet.
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Cara Barth-Fagan
4/15/2012 06:31:04 am
My 8 year old neice has her own e-mail through the school she attends. Her mother sends us a note to e-mail Ali to congratulate her on special occassions/events. I think it's neat that she's got an e-mail and she's learning how to write letters/e-mails. She usually only writes one or two sentences back, but she's still learning how to interact with the software.
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Stacy Crommie
4/12/2012 12:30:15 am
I believe it all depends on the type of technology;like it compared tv watching to accessing a computer. There are technologies that can be beneficial at as early as an age as three. They have "leapfrog" products and such that are educational.
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Jeremy Esry
4/13/2012 12:06:32 am
I think the answer to what is the appropriate age for children to start using technology just depends on each different individual. I think first and formost the child should develop some human interaction skills before we put technology in their face. If a child can interact and respond to adults so therefore is mature enough socially I think then it is an adapt age to start introducing educational technology to them. One of my biggest pet peeves is to see a young child engrossed in a television show or movie and not associate with the outside world at all.
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Christopher Sandefur
4/13/2012 12:41:52 am
I agree that a lot of interaction skills are being lost with technology advancement. Most children these days rather be tied to technology instead of being engaged outside.
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Elyce Lamphere
4/13/2012 04:31:43 am
The question at what age should children use technology. I think it should be when is a child mentally prepared to use technology. I know the brain learns the most at the very earliest of ages, but I feel we should make sure we monitor what kind of technology our children are using. Once again technology can be a good thing, but in moderation.
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Student BlogThis blog is for class conversations for ED 514 at Central Methodist University. These post are by the students of ED 514. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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