Classrooms in 2015 are full of gadgets, apps and devices that their teachers (let alone parents), did not grow up using themselves. Kids learning on these tools will most likely be using different technology when they're grown up. In the meantime, every click, swipe, grade, and decision feeds into a giant pool of data that will end up... yeah, who knows where.
So adults have a steep learning curve when it comes to kids in the digital age. The best way to start understanding what's happening? Talk with them.
To that end, we're revisiting a conversation from earlier this year that kicked off a series on education and technology. Meet 16-year-old Grace, who shared nine lessons about being a teenager with a smartphone.
If you've ever known — or been! — a teenager, you should take a listen.
More Resources for a Critical, Thoughtful School Year
For Talking to Teens
Middle school teacher Dierdre Shetler took the conversation with Grace and adapted it for her own classrooms in Phoenix. She helped us write a curriculum you can use too, which we call: A Classroom Activity for Tweens and Teens Everywhere.
For Talking to Schools
A checklist of questions you should ask of your school as they introduce new technology into the classroom.
Some help cutting through the buzzwords.
A very, very popular app raises questions about student data and privacy.
For Philosophical Debates
Visually impaired students raise some important questions about reading, technology, and what it means to rely on a smartphone for literacy.
Anti-plagiarism software lets us test whether it's even possible to have a unique thought.
For Those of You Who Listened to Grace
We hear teenagers, tweens, and the adults compare their experience to Grace's in diverse classrooms around the country.
