Ba, H, Tally, B, & Tsikalas, K Childrens emerging digital literacies: Investigating home computing in low and middle income families. CCT Reports, Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.cct.edc.org/report_summary.asp?numPublicationId=37.
The site I have to share with you today is going along the same lines as the Carvin, 2006 posting I put up the other day (http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/05/does_home_internet_access_impr_1.html). Both Carvin and this article talk about the effects of internet use on literacy levels in students. That means, for the students who don’t use the internet very often, the lack of literacy skills.
I found this article interesting because it identified, based on a study they conducted, some factors in students’ lives that help shape their computer use.
Here is a summary of what they found:
Elements of social environments that shape computer use:
1. parents attitude towards using computers
2. amount of skill and experience of parents
3. amount of leisure time
4. computer habits of peers
5. computer habits of family friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.
(Ba, Tally, & Tsikalas)
Elements of school environment that shape computer use:
1. HW assignments
“In all the schools attended by our participating children, teachers help students develop digital literacy through homework assignments” (Ba, et.al.).
2. Direct instruction by teacher
For example, in the CFY partner schools, some teachers provided instruction on MS Word and on using the Internet, while in the middle-income schools, a library-media specialist offered group computer instruction on how to do an Internet search and then evaluate the information found. (Ba, et. al).
(Ba, et.al.)
This article reiterates the effect of parents on a child’s computer use and knowledge.
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2 comments:
This just solidifies what the last article was talking about. There are so many contributing factors to the use of technology. It's hard for me to imagine, because my parents were always really in to technology. We have had a computer for ALMOST as long as I can remember. I remember playing games where I learned to count money, recognize patterns, read, and I will have to say that the majority of my world geography skills came from playing "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" I also learned how to use an almanac from that game, practiced reading, used logical reasoning...look how many skills were rolled into that one game! It is hard for me to decide how to feel about the teachers assigning things as homework. I would like to know if there was a lab available after school for the students who did not have computer/Internet access at home. It made me think about the poor kid who had to drive 60 miles to go to the library to apply for college. Then on the other hand, I feel like if you don't "make" people do things, then they won't do it voluntarily. If parents see that kids need those tools to use for homework, it may give them more incentive to invest in a home computer/Internet service as well. So many things to ponder. There's no panacea for this problem, we can just do the best we can I guess. Thanks for sharing!
Sabrina
Hi Jenn,
I also am a bit up in the air regarding technology use for homework. I have many students who do not have that access primarily due to money. Thinking they can go to the public library is also sometimes not feasible because the parents are typically working and the child is at home with the eldest sibling.
I usually make my technology parts of homework optional for those that have the access. I encourage technology use a lot, and we use it frequently in the classroom for exposure. However, I wish they all had access at home. Good article!
Annette
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