Despite industry efforts to spin things differently, printed media is dying. Newspapers are struggling to stay in business. In schools and universities, text books are being replaced with iPad’s. United Airline’s pilots are now carrying iPad’s into the cockpit, instead of 38 pound flight manuals. Even cursive handwriting is being dropped from most schools.
But in case you still think printed media isn’t going anywhere, take a look at this video of a 1-year old. It was taken by her father, a software engineer in Paris. It shows the toddler first using an iPad…and then becoming confused when printed magazines don’t respond to finger swipes. It’s a nice glimpse into the future:
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Dave i was one of your student and bought couple of your products but i saw a change on your blog since you change the template. There are not many comments since this template change. I really expect every end of the week your video tip of the week
appauling!!!! as an educator it is essential all children are exposed to a variety of texts in order for them to become critical thinkers, and effective readers…. this child is seriously missing ou ton a good head start in life by not having exposure to the printed word…dont say i didnt never told ya so..wait till she is in school, it will all come out then exactly what she has missed out on, swipping an ipad isnt learning
There is nothing nice about that glimpse into the future.
It started with children not knowing how to tie their own shoes in the 80’s when velcro hit.
Sheesh.
I am an educator and I am not appalled; I am excited.
I don’t see this as an example of a child not having access to other forms of information, rather a preference of that child wanting to interact with the world around them in a different way than ‘traditional’ forms of communication. This is simply another step in the natural progression of humanity. Our forefathers are probably lamenting our lack of skills in many areas (building a house of our own, growing/hunting/slaughtering our own food, passing along oral traditions instead of relying on written records, etc…). The times, they are a-changing. This child will most likely grow up knowing how to read, how to turn pages on a magazine, and how to write with hands and writing implements. However, this child will also demand more interaction with the information consumed and will get it. Text, graphics, sound, video, animation, and more will be part of the sensory input experience for an entire lifetime and this child will have a head start over others. I welcome these children to our school and district. I encourage them.
Critical thinking and problem solving begin here and we see it happening live in the video. Experiencing and learning the difference between the types of media. Why do we insist on holding onto antiquated ideas and concepts? For the nostalgia? I was reprimanded in school repeatedly for my handwriting and now I can honestly state that I hand write perhaps one single page of text in a year (if you combine all my notes together). I type as my main form of written communication now. I only wish I had been exposed to it earlier. There are many other examples of how we’re stuck in the 1950 model of education and need to change.