But the kids know more than we do!

I've been to a good number of meetings this year (both formal and informal) that involved discussions about the best ways to use technology with children. I really enjoy these conversations, and I'm excited about all the possibilities that the digital domain presents for teachers and students in schools. However, time and again I have heard teachers turn a phrase that disturbs me a bit, and it goes something like this: "Sometimes, I think the kids know more about technology than we do. We should be learning from them!"

Really?

I mean......really????

Okay, there are two ways to look at this, I'll admit that. On the one hand, it is fair to say that the children of this digital generation probably are a bit more acclimated to certain technologies and devices than some adults. If an adult hasn't had a chance to play with a new iPhone and a child has, then the child will have a bit more experience with the device and could therefore be considered to "know more" about iPhones than the adult.

On the other hand, just because a child has played with a device and knows a good number of its apps, that does not automatically mean that the child "knows more" about how to use that device than an adult might. I try to point this out to teachers who make the claim when I'm talking to them. A child who has played with multiple devices, has e-mailed and IMed numerous times, and who has a social networking page is not necessarily better prepared to explore ways to use that technology to create products and respond to the world than his or her teachers.

I often joke, "Just because a kid can tell me about hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches doesn't mean that I'm going to let him or her try to fix my bathroom or car." Knowledge of a tool does not trump the knowledge of how to use tools to create things. Surfing the web a lot doesn't displace a well-earned Master's degree; having your own webpage doesn't counter a decade of experience in education; and when your first impulse is to "ask Google" or "go to Wikipedia" (two of my students' common solutions), that doesn't hold up against the knowledge about how to evaluate resources and refine research.

Yes, I agree that the children of the modern world know quite a bit about technology. What they do not need are teachers who defer to that limited knowledge and are afraid of knowing less than the kids; instead, they need teachers who are ready to show them how to use those technologies to be a integral part of the world.