The silent schoolhouse

This week I conducted a presentation on the classroom benefits of Web 2.0 applications to a group of graduate education majors. These digitally savvy twenty-somethings, about to enter the teaching profession collectively expressed concern over the lack of social interaction skills of the net-generation.

"I understand today's kids text, IM, and visit profiles on MySpace" said one self-professed gamer. "But can they work together collaboratively and interact face to face?"

I responded by asking if the present model of education fosters social skill sets and verbal communication? I know three of my 13yr. old daughter's teachers outside the classroom and they all report what a good girl Allison is because she is so quiet and respectful. By my calculation, Allison utters less than 2 words per classroom hour!

A recently released study by Christine Wang and Cynthia Carter Ching, titled "Social Construction of Computer Experience in a First Grade Classroom: Social Processes and Mediating Artifacts," finds that students engaged in classroom computing are developing critical social interaction skills. Their research was based on the theoretical framework of social interaction theory by Lev Vygotsky.

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