ble ways to use technology gives them the tools to function well with it for life.
2. You’re Speaking Your Students’ Language
Sometimes for bad, and sometimes for good, our children are nearly always using some form of technology outside of the classroom. Even when we try to limit it to a healthy amount, there is still significant technology influence because that is the world we live in.
While this does have its advantages and disadvantages, there is one really good aspect to this. Kids know how to use technology very intuitively.
In fact, I think most of us have, at one time or another, gone to our teenage children to ask them for tech support on some issue we were having on our own computers. And they were more than likely pretty quickly able to solve it for us!
This is actually a good thing because it means they are adjusting well to the world outside of their circle of influence. Once they get past the training of their youth and school, they will be fully functioning in this area. That will be a great advantage to them in their adult life.
So next time you want to throw their computer/tablet/gaming console out the window because they won’t get their homework or chores done, first remind yourself that this will be helping them to be productive members of society!
And this leads perfectly into my next point.
3. You’re Helping Your Students Prepare for Life Outside of the Classroom
Because technology is so prevalent just about everywhere in the world, allowing your students to become comfortable with technology and learn how to use it responsibly is key. Actually this is key both in the classroom and in the home. And the more they learn to form good habits around their electronics, they better they will handle them as they get older.
This is not to say that safeguards and standards don’t need to be in place. Certainly like everything else, moderation is important. And unfortunately, even as adults we realize how addictive electronics can be, even to us. This is generally even more so for younger kids.
But the bottom line is that because technology is so prevalent throughout the world, your kids and students will not be able to live successfully without it. They will need it to pay bills, set up services in their home as well as accounts around town, do their banking, schedule appointments, the list can go on forever.
The more we equip them to do this at an early age, the more they will glide into their real-world life with little difficulty. Except for maybe the apocalypse, or the occasional power outage. Although, even with a power outage we have a generator that keeps our electronics and some critical household items up and running. But that is kind of beside the point, except to say that we can prepare our students for just about anything when we are demonstrating it to them in real life.
And one of the best parts of this: the earlier you teach your students this, the more fun they have “playing adult.”
4. Technology Bridges the Gap Between Generations
This is one of my favorite reasons for loving technology in today’s world. We are all using it, why not use it to bring us all together?
Whether we are playing games, working on something around the house that requires technology, or helping them with their homework, we are bridging the generation gap in a way that both sides can understand the other.
I have loved when my kids came to me and asked me to play a certain game with them. I wouldn’t be so sure about it, but it ended up being so fun playing with them. Would I have done it on my own? Most likely not. But the experience of hanging out with my kids, who actually asked me to hang out with them was golden.
And this equates just as well to the classroom. Playing games that adds an electronic component to it can make it easier on teacher and kids to figure out or implement. Working it out together teaches communication skills, teamwork, and understanding between different people. These are truly great qualities to teach across generations.
And it shows them that humanity is basically very much the same in all of 