Adventures in EdTech

In one of my earlier blog posts, I did some back-of-the-napkin math on just how much time we are spending online, and as a result, how many ads we are consuming every day. I framed that information based on internet use, and while spending more time on the internet might have streamlined the ability to take in ideas and advertisements, this is not a new human experience. The internet is far from the only form of media people can engage with (think radio, television, print, etc.)-it just happens to be the most common flavor for many in contemporary society. If we look at media as a complete idea, between the internet (and all the ways we can access it), TV, radio, print, etc., our engagement with media stretches far beyond the 6 hours per day I wrote about before. As this article from Statista states, estimates were made that by 2020, Americans would spend 13.5 hours per day engaging with some sort of media. This article breaks down the difference between digital and traditional media...

Shoutout to one of my favorite pandemic binges (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), for the inspiration for this title: https://www.youtube.com/embed/H09aVaZ4ydk?start=5&end=13 As my years in the classroom go on (and I sadly find myself with an ever-growing age gap between myself and my students), I am always intrigued by how the lives and experiences of my students are changing-I think it’s honestly a fear that soon will come the day that I am truly ‘out of touch’. I know what I often hear from my own students, trends I see as far as lifestyles, how they communicate with one another, how they claim to spend their free time, but I realize that might not be indicative of students their age across the country. Luckily, there is a variety of reports that can offer greater clarity to we educators who want to get more insight on just how much time our students are spending on social media, which apps they prefer over others, or even just knowing what in the world our kids are referring to when they us...