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Digital Media in School: Pros and ConsCan digital media (smartphones, tablets, computers) make a positive contribution to learning at school and help educate young people sensibly and competently? Or do the dangers outweigh the distractions of actual learning, commercialization, and data misuse? It is yet unclear whether digitization will be introduced successfully in schools in the future. Digital Media in School: the ProsSmartphones, tablets, computers — of course, digital media are part of the everyday life of children and adolescents. Young people, in particular, use the devices for communication, obtaining information, and as a leisure activity. Conversely, it doesn't mean that digital media will fill the entire lives of children and adolescents. Digital media is one of the many important components of your everyday life. Part of the Reality of Adolescents’ LifeIn educational contexts, the use of digital media in class is controversial. The general agreement is that the reality of the life of children and adolescents plays an important role in both subject didactics and higher educational standards. To provide high-quality education, teachers need to know what motivates students and what they do outside the classroom. In other words, digital media should be integrated into the learning process and perceived as an additional opportunity. Besides, the discourse about digital media frequently complements analog and digital offerings. That creates the impression that the concepts are mutually exclusive — as if a well-tried analog lesson were to become a purely digital entertainment offer. Critics are concerned that the classroom could become the entertainment section of an electronics market. However, the elementary advantage of digital media lies precisely in the extension of the didactic tools of teaching. Apps, videos, and the latest technologies are particularly suitable for differentiation and individualization of the lessons. In short: as different as the children are, so different are their abilities and their cognitive access to a subject matter. Therefore, diverse learning methods and technologies are necessary. Digital media, which are based on intelligent technologies, can achieve a much faster and easier adaptation to the respective level of an individual kid's abilities. It doesn't mean that a child gets a tablet and is left on their own in the classroom. Working with digital media always requires content-related follow-up communication and in-depth discussion in the group. Not a Substitute, but a Useful AdditionDigital media will not replace the teacher but serve as one of many different possibilities that the professor can use. The focus of school work remains the same: the teaching of subject-specific competences. Apps for mathematics or picture-book apps with built-in read-only capabilities are as much a teacher's tool as textbooks. Accordingly, digital media shouldn't be integrated into the curriculum at all costs but rather be put to good use. If a teacher considers digital media meaningless, they can always choose other options. The task of tutors is, therefore — the development of flexible didactic concepts in which both analog and digital offerings are taken into account. Learning Media Literacy in SchoolThe process of obtaining information from children and adolescents has changed as a result of the everyday use of digital media. Digital media enable a direct and quick exchange and a wealth of different information channels. The confrontation with diverse attitudes and opinions requires a strong media and reflection competence, which cannot be learned at home only. Due to the combination of information and reflection, digital media have the potential to promote opinions and democracy. However, users can only exploit this potential if they have extensive knowledge of the opportunities and difficulties of the technologies. Media education projects on topics such as fake news or cyberbullying prepare children and adolescents for a digital media future in which they will inevitably and naturally live and work. Being natively digital means growing up being surrounded by that kind of media. It does not mean having competence in dealing with them from birth. Therefore, it is important also to use school lessons to develop or expand such competence. Digital media create the opportunity to do so in a more individualized, differentiated, and life-like way than purely analog lessons. Digital Media in School: the ConsIf one were to look at the demands of employers, IT sector, and business associations, they might get an impression that the only goal of educational institutions is complete digitization. Ideally, it should start from kindergarten. It is rarely differentiated by age, type of school, subject content, or (educational) goals. The question here is not how teaching and learning processes can be digitally mapped. The Federal Government's "Education Offensive for the Digital Knowledge Society" has already formulated it militarily and hierarchically. Five-year plans and compulsory digitization does have its charm. China is already doing it — take, for instance, their robot-educators in kindergartens. Technological Déjà-Vu?Arguments in favor of digital technology had remained unchanged since 1984 (when PCs were introduced at schools). All institutions will need computers and have to go online to be modern and innovative. The actual goal can be formulated as follows: "How do you put the same amount of material into the students’ heads with as few resources as possible?" The fact that after more than 40 years of computers in schools, the value of digital technology cannot be conclusively proven. The alternative culminates in a few concrete questions. What exactly should be learned with the help of computers? Do students achieve learning objectives better with machines or with books? Why do computers have to be connected to the Internet? What data is generated with their help? What happens to it? Data is the "currency of the 21st century, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation is the legal framework for data protection. Learning is an Individual and Social Act, not a Technical OneWith the advent of the Internet, no teaching materials are provided in a library. Instead, the technical infrastructure is built up, especially for surveying and controlling people. The goal here is to create individual user profiles. The psychometric measurement of the individual is the basis of automated schooling and testing software. It can only be achieved by using better equipment in schools. The "hidden agenda" is automation and standardization, commercialization, and privatization of educational institutions.
1 Comment
6/24/2023 11:16:22 am
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