Myths of Technology Series: “Don’t Talk To Strangers”
by George Couros • • 0 Comments
For ISTE 2014 in Atlanta, I will be presenting on the “Myths of Technology and Learning”. As I am really thinking about what I will be sharing at the conference, I wanted to write a series of blog posts that will help myself and others “rethink” some of these statements or arguments that you hear in relation to technology in school. I will be writing a series of blog posts on different myths, and will be posting them on this page. I hope to generate discussion on these topics to further my own learning in this area and appreciate any comments you have on each idea shared.
As kids, we were continuously told “don’t talk to strangers”, and this generation has been told the same thing. Times have changed and we have to really rethink this notion.
If you really think about it, everyone you are close with now was a stranger at one point. Not only does that notion come to play, but as adults, we have to realize that it is much more common for people to meet someone online first. Online dating has moved away from being “taboo”, it has become the norm. If you took it even further, many people probably meet friends online first. My time connecting online, has actually helped me to connect with some of my best friends in the world. Similar to online dating, many of these friends that I have become closest with have a list of qualities that I was drawn to that I may not have necessarily met if I was only open to “offline” connections.
Kids are also starting to create those environments for themselves as well. Danah Boyd discusses in her book on “Networked Teens”, how kids are using social media to connect with peers that have similar interests. One example I have seen was a student in a small community who had a unique interest in gaming, use his Instagram account to connect with other gamers. None of these people were in his class, and could have lived in different countries, yet they were all people that this student identified with and gave him a sense of belonging. There are many kids in our schoolsMyths of Technology Series: “Don’t Talk To Strangers” | Connected Principals: