BY KATHRYN DAVIS

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found most teenagers average over 7.5 hours a day (or about 53 hours a week) using some form of media technology. Because of the constant growth in new technologies and 24-hour accessibility, parents and teachers may worry that their teens’ time and attention is being squandered. Television has evolved into hundreds of channels, there is a plethora of video games to choose from and teens can connect to the Internet from just about anywhere using their Ipods and cell phones. Instead of focusing on the negative impacts of all this screen time, however, let’s take a look at the positive aspects.

In the classroom

Students learn best when they are active participants. Many teachers utilize video and computer games to enhance and reinforce skill acquisition in the classroom. Today’s educators have access to tools of technology that can provide students with enormous educational opportunities. “Critical to the success of any technology is the manner in which it is strategically integrated into one’s classroom instruction,” notes Dr. Brian Chinni, supervisor of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Montvale Public School System.

There are many ways teachers can utilize technology in classrooms. There are games and simulations that enable students to explore and create materials that they could not work with directly. For example, Immune Attack enables students to learn about the human body in a kind of guided exploration. Discover Babylon promotes exploration by allowing students to time travel through Mesopotamia using skills in reading, math and writing. There are a number of Web sites that offer students similar benefits. Web sites such as forguts.com allow students to perform virtual dissections. Chemsense.org gives students the chance to experiment with chemical processes. According to the Center for Implementing Technology in Education, multimedia technologies available today give students a chance to interact directly with information on a whole new level, going beyond the classroom and changing, recreating and developing content as they develop their understanding of the scientific method.

“Perhaps the most transformational technology has been that of the interactive whiteboard,” says Chinni. “(They are) utilized specifically in conjunction with powerful interactive instructional software applications.” In Montvale schools, these applications include a Web-based learning platform called EduWave, designed for use from kindergarten through Grade 12 and beyond. Discovery Education is a multi-media based learning system with CDs, DVDs, print resources, video streaming and on-demand applications. This system puts over 2,000 core-curriculum standards-based videos at teachers’ fingertips. Study Island offers writing applications, special needs support, traditional assessments and interactive games based on the content standards, as well as real-time progress reports and test preparation activities for the HSPA and the NJ ASK. The activities are designed to keep students engaged and motivated, using several thousand questions that change constantly. Two of the benefits of using these programs are that students can move at their own pace, and many of these applications can be accessed in and out of the classroom. “This instructional technology has literally changed the way we teach and learn in every Montvale classroom,” says Chinni.

In addition to classroom learning, students are also using technology to stay informed of their academic progress. “Our students know they can visit their grades online to see how they are doing,” explains Lesa Brinker, director of curriculum, scheduling and technology for the Hasbrouck Heights Public Schools. “No one is in the dark about how our students are doing academically.

In addition, Brinker says the district uses Qwizdom at both the middle school and high school. This interactive learning system uses two-way infrared communication, providing instant assessment and feedback for every student.

Online anytime

A study by the Pew Research Center shows teens aren’t just wasting time online. Their study found 31 percent of online teens get health, dieting and physical fitness information online. A surprising 62 percent of online teens also get political news and current events online.

Teens are also taking advantage of Web sites that offer unexpected benefits. Freerice.com gives visitors a chance to do something benevolent while achieving academic growth. The site offers questions in five subject areas: art, chemistry, English, math, and four foreign languages. For each question answered correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations World Food Program in partnership with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

At teflgames.com, learners of English as a second language can play games and try a variety of activities at different levels to improve their English. Many educational programs made for television have companion Web sites that offer teens unique opportunities to explore topics they may find intriguing. Sites like americanpresidents.org/ and pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/ offer a more in-depth examination and the chance to review videos online.

In addition to videos and extensive biographical information on www.biography.com, this Web site also features a very unique activity called “Dead Celebrity Soulmate Search.” This online game asks visitors to answer a series of questions, and then matches each player with a famous name in history. Hints are given about the player’s “soulmate” and a factual biography is available at the end of the round.

Another benefit of computers is that they offer teens a chance to develop their writing skills because of the ease of editing and revision. In addition, there are many online resources teens can use to practice and improve proficiency. Teens who visit teenink.com will find opportunities for online publishing.

Not just games

The positive aspects of video gaming include developing problem-solving abilities and pattern recognition, creating and testing hypothesis, using inductive reasoning and logistics and building hand/eye coordination. While games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit are getting kids off the couch at home, they have also been used in special education settings where physical movement can be integrated into learning activities.

Many video games offer another world in a box. Experts say the benefits include the fact that they offer players a chance to step into another identity. Teens find it appealing because they can learn what it’s like, for example, to be a marine biologist or an Air Force pilot. Games like America’s Army and Cooking Mama allow teens to try out characters and activities in the safety of a virtual environment.

Into the future

An increasing number of high schools are using an online system called Naviance to help students prepare for secondary education. “It’s a fabulous resource for students to research colleges,” says Laura Moore, a guidance counselor and the Naviance Site Manager for Ridgewood High School.

There are three different aspects to Naviance. “The first occurs in junior year and that’s college research and planning,” explains Moore. “The second feature of Naviance occurs during senior year when they actually go through the college application process. They do everything online.”

Students can put in all the criteria for their search, such as the size of a college, its location, athletics, academics, etc. and get back a list of schools. “The nice thing is,” says Moore, “after they get the list, they can get a college comparison. It not only compares colleges. It will also compare students to the college. They can see the average GPA, and SAT and ACT scores for students from their high school that have been accepted at each school. Students can also produce a scattergram, a chart that shows this information in a graph with an X and Y axis.”

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