Student Technology Interviews

My apologies for the low volume.  I only realized how low the volume was set after I went through the videos when I got home for the weekend.  Basically, I asked my students about how they used technology at home.  I asked them if they had a game system or not, and if they had a computer or not.  I also asked what they do or play on their computer and/or game systems.  So many wanted to do the interviews, which is why I had more than I needed. I actually didn't use all of my videos.   I also had around sixty or so students take a more detailed survey online about their use of technology.  The survey results are linked below.  What I didn't include in the survey was that I teach in a 100% African-American student population.  My school is a Title 1 school with a high rate of poverty. I did not give my students any rehearsed answers, and felt that they were trying please me with their answer rather than be candid.  I quietly urged them to tell me more.  The only thing I edited out of this were the constant interruptions over the loud speaker that is probably common in most schools at the end of the day.  Permissions for video are taken care of at the beginning of the year and at enrollment.  We have a lot of TV people in our building so we cover this issue right away.

Most of what surprised me didn't come from what I learned from the interviews, but rather from the surveys.  I was surprised by the number of students who claimed they had a computer at home, though a large number of them don't have internet.  I pointed out that there was no way for me to see who took the survey, nor could other students see how they answered, so I'll assume that these answers were honest.  I wouldn't mind finding time to survey the parents of these students next.  I was most surprised by the large number of students who'd rather create a project by writing it out or putting it together with paper and other materials.  I was also surprised by the number of students who'd like to orally present to their class.  This indicates to me that they don't have the highest comfort level on working with the computer yet.  This is something I can work on with them.  I'm going to share this information with the faculty at our staff meeting in two weeks.  This might give them a little insight about our children.

 Survey Results