Is There an App for That?: Emerging Technologies & Hands-On Experiences

In my grandmother’s lifetime, she experienced innovations such as vaccinations, the telephone, television, and human spaceflight. She died just about the time of widespread Internet access and never sent an email, used video conferencing, or joined a social n

etwork. Up until her death, she cross-country skied, hiked or biked, and generally engaged in activity that required manipulating equipment over keyboards and computer mice. Most of her generation understood how to design and build things. Today, the activities and skills of children appear to lean more toward sourcing, organizing, and manipulating information. Are emerging technologies pushing hands-on experiences out of the classroom? And if so, what might be the impact on understanding fundamental STEM concepts?

I contrast my grandparents’ generation with today’s youth because I feel betwixt and between a revolution/evolution and because their generations are 100 years apart. I am as likely to

be found on the computer, corresponding internationally as to be tinkering with my bike.

In the mid 1990’s I joined a team tasked with developing interdisciplinary middle sch

ool engineering curricula. We tackled fundamental science, engineering, and mathematics in the context of gear driven vehicles and gliding toys. My experiences developing,

evaluating, and teaching engineering at the middle school level reinforces my feelings about the importance of the interactions between students and hands-on materials. I observed that students engaged in the manipulation of physical materials receive immediate feedback when the objects of their attention, such as a gliding toy, failed or succeed. They learn to diagnose and problem solve quickly. My students gained confidence in their abilities to engage in their surroundings. Their creativity, motivation, and comfort taking risks appeared to increase throughout the year.

Today, the line, “There’s an app for that” suggests that someone has thought about and solved the same challenge you face. That may be true, but I have yet to find the app to fix my flat tire. Do emerging educational technologies, such as interactive simulations, provide the same quality experience? Do they instill the confidence in us required to engage with our environment?