Last night, I watched PBS Frontline’s Digital Nation. This special program talked about living, learning and socializing in a digital world. What struck me about this program was the divide of how people approached the issues of digital overload. Should we embrace the notion that children’s brains are wired so differently than ours that WE, as teachers, need to change the design and approach of delivering content? Or, should we be alarmed that self-proclaimed multi-taskers don’t have the attention span to sit and read a book or have the ability for analytical reasoning? Are the things we have been teaching for the last 30 years still relevant? What new concepts and skills SHOULD we be teaching in this new era of unfiltered information?

You can read a quick synopsis of the program to get more detailed information.

I am encouraging the teachers at my school (and parents everywhere) to watch this program online to see the different perspectives of this important issue. In addition, there are several digital workshops available for parents and teachers.

One last thing… in 2008 PBS Frontline ran another program called Growing Up Online. This eye-opening program discusses the online worlds that children are actively engaged in and how parents and teachers are coping with how these social tools are transforming the childhood experience. While not necessarily appropriate for students, this program is another must for parents and teachers.