Summary: I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately that have been talking about the disparity between the use of technology at home versus school. Students are doing things at home on their computers that they are not able to do at school. With the whole debate about myspace and ethical use of technology it is vital that we empower our students in the use of technology in as many ways as we can. David Warlick mentioned in a keynote I attended that students are beginning to think of all things as 'clickable' even their parents. This resonated with me as I thought of what that really meant. Students are beginning to get used to having power. Power to find out what they want at the click of a button. I'm used to that power. If I want to know I find out. If students want to do something or find something out at home they 'click'. If they want to find out something at school they ask the teacher who may or may not know but they are not given that freedom to continue 'clicking' until they have explored their wonderings to their hearts content. In this podcast I interview two students, one in primary (elementary) school and the other in intermediate school (year 8). These students discuss the difference between their use of technology at home and school. I can add to their discussion though, as they are my children. One mentions that she uses the computer to find out stuff she is interested in and then rearranges that information to help her process it. The other mentions that he likes to find guitar tabs and make music on the computer. I can also add that they do a lot more than this. They explore their world and answer their questions, they create their world through the making of music and movies, they share their world through posting these on youtube and they connect with others through ichat and skype... and much more. Listen to how they use these powerful technologies in their classrooms though...
