Back in the early 2000s, Katie Davis was teaching
fourth grade. She learned basic HTML so she could post her weekly homework and
class helpers on a Web page. Although her site was static (think Web 1.0 before
Blackboard and eChalk) she was amazed at her students’ reactions. “My students
loved it,” she said. “They were so proud that we had the only classroom
website. They were thrilled to see either their name or their picture on the
website. It was really interesting to me to see how captivated they were.”
Davis filed this reaction away, thinking that one day
she might like to explore the effects digital media have on America’s youth.
She got the opportunity while working on the Developing Minds and Digital Media
(DM2) project with Harvard professor Howard Gardner, best known for his theory
of multiple intelligences. The DM2 project explores the intersection of human
development and digital media in both cognitive and social domains.
Today’s youth, according to Davis and Gardner, are not
just immersed in apps, but they view their lives as a string of ordered apps.
They believe that all their desires and questions (“Where’s the closest
Starbuck’s?” “Who won the 1978 World Series?”) should be satisfied or answered
by an app. If an app doesn’t exist to satisfy the desire or answer the
question, then someone should create it. Further, if the required app cannot be
created, then the desire or question doesn’t or shouldn’t matter.
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