Technology a Grandmother Can Love

One of the great joys of being a grandmother to three lively boys is the opportunity for snuggling time when we can read a story together. As a younger mom, I read constantly to my oldest two sons, not as frequently with my youngest son, and then fairly often with my two girls during our homeschool years. Interestingly, the youngest son married a woman who loves books and he read Where the Wild Things Are to her pregnant belly for weeks! 

That little guy, now four years old, absolutely loves to have reading time. However, when he was only six months old, his parents had the temerity to pack him up and move a thousand miles away! (Never mind that I did the same thing when I was their age…). Now not to worry, one very cold winter and 328 “gray” days later, they returned with their happy son – and another one on the way.

To ease the acute pain of separation, I found a Hallmark recordable book – The Night Before Christmas -

and I shut myself away in my room and read it to sweet Jude. The books are expensive, but my other daughter-in-law gave me coupons that reduced the price to about $20 per book. I recorded The Very First Christmas

for my other grandson. It gave me joy to read the books for those little boys and my youngest son and his wife reported that it became Jude’s favorite book.

Recordable books are not entirely new, but they are evolving and the selection is growing. Market demand has also helped the price go down! But what we all know is that reading to children helps them learn to read. My favorite book as a 5-year-old was Sam and the Firefly.

I learned to read it by memorizing it.

These books use simple technology and their use is expanding. Interview books are available where one person asks a question and the other person responds. What a marvelous way to record family history! Additionally, Cosmato (2013) maintained that recordable books encourage a love of reading and help children make connections between what they hear and what they see and “lays a solid foundation for future literacy skills.”

Cosmato, D. (2013). Trends worth trying: A review of recordable kids books. BrightHub Education. Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/parenting-preschoolers/122884-a-review-of-recordable-kids-books/

People Who Need People Are the Most Technologically Advanced People in the World – with apologies to Barbara Streisand

People Who Need People Are the Most Technologically Advanced People in the World – with apologies to Barbara Streisand

Our foray into the significance of social networking reveals an interesting dichotomy: social networking sites can allow for greater communication between individuals, but also contributes to less physical interaction. Social networking naysayers cite increased isolation, potential addiction, and decreased productivity. However, in his inspiring blog, Satell (2013) explores the more positive and far-reaching aspects of these new technologies. For instance, overpopulation has been a grave concern for decades and many dire predictions have been made, but even though the world’s population continues to grow, life is better than ever. Satell credits technology and specifically social networking because, “More people means more scientists and more entrepreneurs, more brains with new ideas who can more easily find other, like-minded people to collaborate with.” His fascinating discussion of Tasmania relates to isolation and not only the loss of technology, but regression. It seems, after all, people need people for technology to advance.

Satell’s (2013) emphasis on collaboration shows far-reaching effects for education, business, and more technology. He credits the theory of the strength of weak ties with enhancing and improving relationships and opportunities for connections – and the surprising twist (as the theory’s name implies) that it is not the closest connections that create the greatest prospects. I have seen this in the classroom when students are put in groups. Information is exchanged and someone who knows someone (or something) provides a necessary link that opens doors for employment, housing, or entertainment – creating a human bridge. Let’s say Student 1 needs a place to live and Student 2 has a friend who has a connection with a housing manager. Student 1 then can employ Google or some other search engine to find the specifics. This may seem like a commonplace occurrence, and indeed, it is, but social networking increases human capacity for sharing knowledge and creating larger networks.

Follow Satell’s blog at digitaltonto.com.

Ali, S.N. (2012). Social media: A good thing or a bad thing? Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/syed-noman-ali/608781/social-media-good-thing-or-bad-thing

Satell, G. (2013). How social networks drive innovation. Innovation Excellence. Retrieved from http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/09/13/how-social-networks-drive-innovation/