In this article, the author discussed important points of how technology become a powerful tool to teach students in today's society. Adolescents at the turn of the twenty first century are being raised in an Internet- enabled world where blogs, social net-working, and instant messaging are competing with face- to -face and telephone communication as the dominant means and methods through which personal interaction takes place. Apart from the obvious benefits of information at one's fingertips, entertaiment value, and speed of correspondence, participation on- line has valuable utility in teaching youth various social and emotional skills that are essential to successfully navigating life. He also emphasizes how important is to teach the students the positive and negative sides on the use of internet.
The Internet has become an essential part of daily life. While the Internet is an expedient mode of communication and has provided access to a wealth of information, it can also be detrimental to the well-being of children due to numerous online hazards. In one hand,online activity exposes children and adolescents to a wide variety of criminal acts. On the other hand, the Internet has now moved risk- taking behaviors into the behavioral arena. The majority of today's youth are using the Internet as a healthy venue for social interaction, sharing of ideas, artistic creations, photyography, school work, online journaling, or blogging.
This article examines the relationship between effective students learning with the use of the five containers:blogs, iPod, Instant Messenger, You Tube, and video games. I understand that teaching must be interesting and reliable but how much technology and access does a child really need to learn? Does a middle school child or younger possess the maturity,judgment, and social skills to use instant/ text messaging and social websites responsibly? Do their peers? When does too much technology begin to hurt a child? Is it healthy for a child to come home a nd plug right back into their social network versus having some time with their family?
All these questions show me that educators, administrators, parents, and students working together must find ways to combat the negative exploitation of technologies that otherwise can be wonderful tools for education, information and communication.
