The other day I walked in the house from a long day at the office and saw my youngest daughter on the couch with books laying around her. I said “hi”, she said “hi.” I put my bag down then heard her start saying something else. Except this time, it was much longer and I could tell it wasn’t intended for me. I walked over to the couch to see what was going on and noticed her phone sitting in her lap.
My first inclination was to fuss at her for playing on her phone while she’s supposed to be doing homework. I looked closer and noticed there was another person on the phone. I immediately recognized the interface and figured out she was on FaceTime. My thoughts were still focused on her playing around versus actually working on homework. I asked her what she was doing and she quickly replied, “I’m studying.”
She then turned back to the phone and continued her discussion with her friend, noting page numbers and content they were going over. I was surprised by her answer.
Studying?
A bit of pride then rolled over me as I looked on. I never told her to do this. I never put this tool in front of her and told her to use it for studying. She and her friend figured it all out and made it happen. I slowly turned away, happy with what I was seeing while also amazed at the possibilities available to our kids today. I also found my oldest daughter doing the same thing a few nights later when I walked upstairs and went into her room. She was on the floor talking to a classmate studying AP Lang.
The ability to have a personal face-to-face discussion with a classmate/friend via your phone is a tremendous tool. What used to require extensive planning, determination of available days, coordination with parents, and transportation amongst houses can now be accomplished with the press of a button. Kids can now work together via live streaming video to quiz each other for an upcoming test or just to work through nightly homework.
Technology and education continue to evolve and the ability for face-to-face video interaction at this level will only continue to grow. Online video courses have been around for quite some time, but personal one-on-one interaction is really starting to take root. With tools becoming more and more readily available and easier to use, it’s only a matter of time before this studying method becomes commonplace in houses across the globe.
It’s not just limited to FaceTime and iPhones either. Tools such as Google Hangouts and Skype not only allow individual interaction but also create the possibility of establishing small study groups. The best news for parents is the cost – it’s FREE. These additional tools allow platform, hardware, and location independence. You can use a PC or Mac, a phone or a tablet. Physical boundaries and location no longer constrain interaction. The study group can be made up of kids from around the world if needed.
Thinking beyond kids interacting with other kids, what about the possibility of kids interacting directly with educators? I’m not sure if teachers would be open to it, but imagine if you could schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions using FaceTime, a Google Hangout, or even set up a small lesson via Spreecast. If you are a tutor, why not take your business online? Schedule sessions using these freely available dynamic tools. The possibilities are endless as we start to leverage the computing power sitting in our hands. Seeing my kids fully embracing technology and taking studying to new levels just reaffirms my love for tech and the innovative thinking it fosters.
Work with your kids and find new ways for them to learn. Explore and engage with online communities and resources to determine alternate methods of learning. Use one-on-one video interaction to allow your kids a more dynamic learning experience while also building their personal relationships and to a greater extent their technical skills.
Cool story. Also love how you gave your kid time and credit to see what was really going on, even though you thought she was playing around. And indeed, it’s amazing what opportunities technology can give.
Thanks! Yes, gotta give them the benefit of the doubt initially. Always good when you can report they were doing something beneficial and not screwing around too much. A little bit of distraction is ok, but not too much.
Great post Jeff. I am constantly amazed at my kids’ use of technology. Even our 2 year old can navigate an iPad better than her grandparents sometimes. Skype has been an immeasurable tool for us in staying in touch with family or being a part of an event where we can’t travel. It’s good to see that kids are using this technology for something other than social use as well. Very cool.
Oh man Chris, my nephew who is 2 was playing Temple Run on the iPad the other day and I was amazed. They can process so much at such an early age. Quite amazing and really a testament to the design and engineering skills at Apple (and other solution providers).
great they just figure things out themselves. Mine are the same. we just received a request to scan the homework page to my son’s classmate, since he forgot his at school. Both parents were amazed that the boys telling us what to do.
Haha…funny you should mention this. My youngest was running copies the other night for her friend who happened to leave her homework at school.
How old are your children?
one tween and one teen
My older kids attend a virtual school so they use a lot of technology on a daily basis. But Facetime for studying or working on group projects isn’t something we’ve tried yet. May be a great alternative to chatting online and waiting on a response! Thanks for sharing!
Another technology tool that kids are using is KIK. My Junior HS daughter is in the IB Programme (yeah, international spelling and all) at school and they have a group KIK for each class. When somebody has a problem, issue, or whatever…they send out a group message and get back rapid responses. No more forgotten homework. Assignments zipped back and forth. Photos of notes shot across the ether.
As a techy-nerd I love that she’s using the tools available to her. I might not quite be comfortable with the 24/365 texting, constant loud music, studying with feet hanging over the back of the couch, etc. but I have to say that her grasp of the information she’s learning as far above my back-straight, feet-on-the-floor, sitting at the table variety of studying.
It’s a different world and I’m glad my kids have learned to live in it, even if I’m still struggling
Yep, heard of KIK as well. My oldest basically lives in group chat mode. She’s pretty much abandoned Facebook and other social networks. She’ll surface from time to time to post something but usually it’s via text. Maybe there is a better level of obfuscation (I know you like tech like me so figured you’d enjoy that one) via text messaging. The good thing about it all is it keeps you in the loop. I don’t know how I’ll be able to determine what’s “hot” after my kids leave the house.
When they leave is when the “hot tech” really starts to get into gear. We’ve started using it for all sorts of collaboration, communication, and the like. My oldest was in the UK last year and after two landline/oceanic phone calls we figured out vastly better ways to coordinate and communicate that not only were free, but were video as well. We did the same with another daughter in Argentina and one in Chile/Antarctica.
It’s rough keeping up, but when our old and hairy backs are pressed against the wall we can draw on our vast knowledge and *almost* keep up.