- My young person's favorite thing to do on the computer is "Connect with friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Twittter (posts, photos, etc.)." These social media sites obviously facilitate social interaction between my cousin and her friends.
- My young person asks for help from her friends with these sites if she cannot figure something out on her own. So not only is social interaction facilitated through the site, but in person or on the phone if she can not figure out everything with the sites.
- My young person said that she "figures things out" if she does not know how to do it. If she still cannot figure it out, she ask a friend.
- She also admitted to "googling" answers in school. At some point as a students, the idea of "googling" an answer had to come to her so she "messed around" and figured out it was a valid solution.
Geeking Out:
- I know this partially because she mentioned "posting pics" in her interview, but mainly because I am friends with her on some of the social media networks that she is active in, but this young person is very good at editing and doing photograph collages. She will put words and different photos together; she'll change the lighting and make the photo look neat. It seems to be something she enjoys. She primarily does these collages and edits of friend photographs.
Schooling:
- Her schooling experience with technology seems pretty typical. She writes papers in word. She creates an occasional PowerPoint. She wishes she could submit things online and create YouTube videos in school.
My interviewee is into picture-editing as well. My student also likes social networks such as Facebook. I thought we were supposed to make our own categories though, so my categories are a little different than others. But our interview subjects seem like they would be friends.
ReplyDeleteSocial media sites generally seem to make up a large part of middle/high school students out-of-school technology usage. But, as you stated, these sites require skills much more complex then simply typing. These students are also using digital photography, video, and editing skills.
ReplyDeleteMy interviewee also mentioned that she taught herself, or asked friends to teach her, many of the online activities she participates in today. This is a life skill that is essential to today's workplace. As teachers, I think we need to find ways to incorporate this self-drive into our classrooms. Students are much more capable of taking responsibility for their learning than we give them credit for.
Great post!