I love technology and it amazes me how many advances have been made over the past fifteen years in mobile phones, computers, televisions and Internet technologies. I love how easy it is to always be connected, to always have Google at your fingertips through some device or another whether it be via a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, computer and so on. I must admit I feel a bit lost when I don't have that link to the web. I have embraced technology so much I really have forgotten that it is a relatively recent thing to have this wealth of knowledge there so readily available.
If I think back to when I was a kid in school and university (I graduated in 2001 so it is not that long ago) we had to consult encyclopedias and spend hours in the library pouring over books to find the answers to our questions. It really is amazing and fantastic how technology has grown, everything we need to know is literally a click away thanks to the Internet. Surely, this has made learning easier and dare I say it, more fun which can only be a good thing.
It does make me question how different life for my twenty three month old will be. He is already a whizz at operating my iPhone and iPad and has no problem using them to play his apps or load up his favourite television show on the iPlayer. I love the fantastic educational apps that are available for his age to play with. Apps that teach counting, colours, letters etc. Just as my mom used to teach me things with flash cards, I teach my son through playing with apps on my iPhone and iPad and I do believe he has learnt a lot from them. He can already count to ten, name a variety of shapes and colours, recognise most animals and their sounds, can do puzzles not to mention the ease at which he actually operates these devices which leave some older people baffled. He literally is growing up with technology and the knowledge it brings at his fingertips and I find that really exciting. I do however wonder at what what point will he become the teacher and will be teaching me about the latest technologies and whether I will be able to understand them. The world of technology is growing quickly and with each generation a new leap is made leaving the previous one struggling to keep up with its advances. It is a fast paced world these days and nothing stays new or the latest for very long. It is always about the next big thing.
Unlike some people who fear that living in such a wired world is bad for kids and will turn them into lazy computer playing zombies I think differently. It is all about balance like everything else in life. I do not for a second believe that because we live in a world of gadgets and technology that children will stop reading books, riding bikes or kicking a football if they are encouraged to do so. There's fun to be had in all of these activities and each one has a place in the world we live in. There is nothing wrong with making life easier through the use of new gadgets. New technology just like riding a bike with gears instead of one without, has not ruined the experience of cycling, it has just made it easier and what is so wrong with that?