Why ‘binge watching’ is to blame for kids not learning
the conversation | Craig Blewett | 2 December 2015
A recent report on media use reveals that teens are now spending more hours consuming media than sleeping. The average American teenager is spending about nine hours a day on entertainment media alone. Is this really the huge problem it’s made out to be? Partly, yes – because while they are engaging with a lot of information during those nine hours, they are creating barely any content of their own in this time.
Abstract: Teachers must encourage a move away from passive content consumption towards active engagement with media in their classrooms. For example, rather than providing students with prepackaged course content, students can source and curate their own content using tools like Flipboard. Rather than passively watching videos, students can be actively involved in creating their own videos about the content.
Rather than simply reading content through books or ebooks, students can rather engage in conversations around the content, with tools like Google Hangouts.
Towards an activated classroom
While the binge watching trend may signal a worrying focus on consumption, research shows that active teaching and learning approaches are good for students. The future of our classrooms relies on teachers harnessing this energy, combining it with the benefits of technology – then activating learning in the classroom. By moving students from passive readers and hearers to active curators and creators, teachers can significantly impact both students’ enthusiasm in the classroom and how much they learn.
