Technological Literacy: The Most Important Gift We Can Give to Children

Few things are as inspiring as watching a kid soak up information. They can process new ideas and concepts at a staggering velocity. From a young age, the children of the world are bombarded with things to learn. These learning experiences come from a wide range of sources: for starters there's the education system itself, the ubiquitous advertising industry, and the unparalleled influence of parents. Despite the positive or negative influence of these large-scale educational efforts, there's a much deeper education going on behind the scenes. Both implicitly and explicitly, kids learn on their own, and they teach each other what they know.

For the better part of the last three decades, that's the main way kids have learned about technology. Like sex education in the 1950s, technology in the 80s and 90s was a subject most parents hardly ever broached with their children, and was only taught in schools in the most broad, generic terms.

This is also the chief method by which kids learn about poetry. By writing in journals on their own or having quiet discussions with a few friends, most kids develop a deep but quiet passion for poetry at a young age. It's only when these children grow up, usually past their teens, that they discover poetic mentors and a community of like-minded writers.

In this way, the poets and geeks of my generation share a common trait: they're almost exclusively self-taught. And while this particular manner of learning has served today's young adults well, we don't have to teach today's children in the same way. Today's technologies are readily accessible to children and adults of all backgrounds in a way that was unheard of even in the 90s. We have the tools to completely revamp the way we teach our children about technology.

The kids of the 2010s can have something that we never got: a cultivated technological literacy. Some teachers have already begun this process, but there's lots of room for improvement. What my generation proved is that kids will learn a subject in spite of the lack of education about it, but it shouldn't have to be that way. The tools we have now--laptops, smartphones, ebook readers--are simple enough that even the most confirmed luddite can quickly learn how to employ one in the classroom.

The more we incorporate technological literacy in classrooms, the easier it will be to advance poetic literacy as well. These new technologies are primarily ones of text, of writing and storytelling. As kids interface with text more than ever before, it's the perfect time to introduce them to increasingly creative ways to do this.

A great example is the way Middle School teacher Neil Kulick is using wikis to introduce collaborative poetry to his sixth graders. [Many thanks to Twitter friend and educational technologist Al Rowell for finding this story.]

Literacy cascades, and greater technological literacy can lead to greater poetic literacy. Consider the recent study done by the National Literacy Trust, which indicates that children who blog are more confident writers in general. The interactive nature of blogging allows kids to get feedback on their writing; they get a sense of purpose, and a taste of having a real audience.

This kind of efficacy can increase a child's sense of self-worth and give them the fuel to embark on a lifetime of learning and writing. In other words, teaching literacy of all kinds can change lives. Learning about technology, and about poetry, doesn't have to be something that happens in hushed tones and behind closed doors, and it certainly doesn't have to happen in the middle of the night on web forums and by instant message.

Technological and poetic literacy can and should be taught in the classroom. Parents and teachers should be engaging kids in conversation on these subjects. We've built this incredible world where communication can happen instantly and frequently, and we have a responsibility to give this world to the next generation in a way that is intentional, clear, and expansive.