Week 5, Blog #1 youth and Digital Innovation

Three major points surrounding literacy problems and technology failures amongst children and young adults in America seems to begin with vocabulary.  First, James Paul Gee of ASU discussed what is known as, " the fourth grade slump".  He defines the fourth grade slump as the transitional period, (usually occurring at approximately the fourth grade) when students experience an advanced and more scholarly literacy change in English within schools.  English literacy turns the corner into an "academic English"  vs. "everyday English".  What this means is that the children who do not have a strong vocabulary and have not been exposed to a reading the complex academic language in textbooks will struggle to get through high school.
A second issue of concern is the newly emerging gap connected to the skills needed to adapt to our ever-changing digital world.  In other words, it affects those students who cannot acquire/do not acquire the technical skills and "know-how" to advance and master technology.  As James Paul Gee points out, "More important, it is about who has access (and who does not) to well-designed learning systems and mentorship." (Gee, 14).  This naturally leaves children who's families do not have the wealth to spend on technology at a disadvantage.
Third, does the rise of technology set the platform for the educational deficits in young Americans?  Mark Bauerline states "the digital age stupefies American children". His reasoning behind this claim is linked not to the advancement of technology which in his video he agrees has many positive educational benefits, but rather is linked to the manner in which adolescents choose to use technology.  O Connor's article states that ninety percent of high school students spend less than an hour a day on homework, yet on average they spend just under five hours every day in front of various social networks such as emailing, texting, Face Book, Twitter, etc.  (O' Connor, 2).

The good news is, there may be a valuable resource that may "mentor" our children, (as Mark states in his video).  Teachers may hold the key to closing these gaps.  By using the valuable technology we have and repurposing it to promote academics and literacy while at the same time teaching children to become technologically proficient. However, this just doesn't fix the issue that Mark bring forth with the fact that technology has made this "millennial" generation dumb.

Sounds like mentoring is an easy plan, however a couple key areas that Mark and James point out are that teachers themselves are not necessarily the most digitally driven mentors.  Teachers have been schooled themselves to rely on literature and classroom textbooks to teach their students.  Also another area that would need to be addressed is the cost basis for technology.  How do we ensure that all students would have equal access to digital equipment and  the latest technology?  And lastly as Mark so eloquently points out, its not so much a problem that the "Millennial" generation does not know anything, "it's that they don't care that they don't know anything!" (O'Connor, 5). Is this an accurate perspective? My opinion, you don't know what you don't know! 

Works Cited:
Gee, J. P. (2008). Getting over the slump: Innovation strategies to promote children's learning. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from www.joanganzcooneycenter.org 

O'Connor, E. (2009). The dumbest generation: How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (or, don't trust anyone under 30), by Mark Bauerlein. New york: Jeremy P. Tarcher/penguin, 2008, 24.95 hardbound. Academic Questions, 22(2), 234-239.