Okay Boomer

“Ok boomer.”

A new catchphrase brought about by the newest generation, poking fun at the Baby Boomers. This came about partially because of the technological chasm between the two generations. Despite being part of that new generation, I will admit that technological growth can exceed our ability to learn the new skills to go along with them. Even I have trouble with new apps and media, and I have practically grown up with it. That being said, I, along with the other new teachers who are entering the field, will need to adapt to ever-increasingly difficult and complex technology that will enter our classrooms and curriculum. While our students may become the experts on how to operate the tech, we must be the facilitators to show them when and how to use it.

This is where Maha Bali’s article comes in, “Digital Skills and Digital Literacy: Knowing the Difference and Teaching Both.” The two main topics she discusses are technology in the real-world and using judgement online. These are two very difficult lessons to teach without compromising the safety of our classrooms, which should be the number one priority. And, while I agree with Bali when she says that we shouldn’t be “throwing students into public domains” because of the potential risks, we must also recognize that, coe graduation, that’s pretty much what we’re going to do. On top of that, students will most likely be involved online to some capacity anyway, beit through social media or video games. There will always be problematic users online who make the environment unfriendly, so I believe the best approach is to teach students how to a.) respond to this conflict and b.) avoid becoming the problem.

It is important to remember that online argumentation is completely different than face-to-face argumentation. Online, there is so much potential for misunderstanding, especially since most discussion takes place using just text. It’s hard to discuss concisely when so much can be lost in translation. Overall, the most important skill we can teach students to use online is precise language. They should read and reread everything before they post it, and they should try to read from the perspective of audience members coming from different cultural perspectives.