Week 8, Activity 1

After reading my peers' case studies, I made the following generalizations about how young people who live in the Appalachian region use of digital technologies outside of school and the implications for educators:

1. Technology is used and accessed.  I know some still think that majority of young people in the Appalachian do not have access to technologies outside of school.  This is obviously not the case.
2. Social media is at the heart of digital technologies outside of school.  Students enjoy sites like Twitter and Facebook.  They interact with their friends through these sites.  Students are comfortable with the applications within these sites.  
3. Social media is not used in the classroom.  Although social media is the most popular technology outside of school, social media is not present in the classroom.  It seems as though students are not excited by technology in school. 
4. Gaming is more social that solo.  Students are involved with gaming, but it is not the anti-social, sit in the room and play Mario by yourself gaming.  Students can interact with other students through gaming, even if that other person is not in the same room.