INFORMATION ABUNDANCE

Children and young people like to spend a lot of their free time in front of the screen, because of the information and other things they learn with just one click.

But has the computer replaced the book? Not necessarily, because the internet is a world where students can learn on one hand, and with a book, on the other. It is not true that the book culture has become fragile, as it can in fact be used alongside technology.

There are teachers who encourage students to read with a pencil in their hands, so that they can take notes, ask questions, and critique as they go. It is the same when students read with a “mouse” in their hands: they can actively respond to what’s been put in front of them; they are poised to participate; they take responsibility over the quality of information and correct it publicly if it is wrong.

This is what is called as participatory culture, which has been facilitated by the new digital media in a way that stretches far beyond the imagination of previous generations.

The technology nowadays has brought cultural expression down to a human scale. There is an exchange of stories or songs, a space has been opened where all can be welcomed as potential participants. According to research, the communities of practice which grow up around this participatory culture are powerful sites of pedagogy, fueled by passion and curiosity and by a desire to share what we learn and think with others.

Literacy is a social skill. We must understand how information becomes as important as knowing how to put your ideas into words, sounds, or i mages.

There is a distinction between mass media and technology. The medium is more than simply a technology, but includes the social and cultural practices that have grown up around us. A television set is not only an electronic appliance; much of our experiences have emerged with television. With the internet, on the other hand, we can perform activities through this new information infrastructure.

Right now, we are evolving towards a more robust information system where groups working together can solve problems that are far more complex than can be confronted by individuals.

Schools should be allowed to develop and refine their individualized expertise, by providing complex problems which require collective effort to r esol ve.

Schools need to prepare young people to use these new resources creatively, effectively, and responsibly if they are going to prepare them for the lives they will lead in the 21st century.

— oOo— The author is Teacher III at Sinura Elementary School