My survey on attitudes towards using popular culture
canvassed opinion from a parent on their views. Largely their responses
reflected the opinion that technology and popular culture within schools can be
beneficial for learning.
An insightful comment
was made when the parent stated that technology such as the internet,
television and iPads should be used,
but “only as a support reinforcing basic
concepts which have already been established by conventional teacher-pupil
interaction”. This revealed the parent viewed that technology should have a supplementary/enhancement role within lessons, rather than forming the initial stimulus for learning. The
parent justified this by adding “technology
should not replace a teacher; one size does not fit all and an iPad doesn’t
have the flexibility of a teacher to adapt for different ability levels”. The
fundamental concern for teachers is: how are we going to differentiate digital
activities we engage children in?
Parental concern also seemed to result partially from fear that
over-reliance on technology will take children away from social interaction in
learning. This was supported by the parent’s admission that they felt their own
children spent too much time ‘shut in
their rooms on digital devices’ at home.
However, when asked about the use of popular culture texts to
motivate children, the parent held less reservations. They praised the popular
graphic novel series ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ for keeping their son engaged in
the reading process and enhancing his vocabulary. Reflecting on this, ‘popular culture creates
a shared frame of reference that children can draw on’ (Arthur, L, 2005; p167). As
a prospective teacher, the wealth of learning experiences teachers could foster
through using childrens' literary interests seems too good an opportunity to
miss.
Bibliography
Arthur, L.
(2005) ‘Popular Culture: views of parents and educators’ in Marsh, J. (2005) Popular Culture, New Media and Digital
Literacy in Early Childhood. Oxon:
Routledge Falmer
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