We have all heard that our children are being educated now for jobs that don’t exist yet (if you haven’t, check out this Youtube video). Recently two studies have been released about how technology influences families and education. Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s “iLearn II” analyses the paid apps in the Education category of Apple’s App Store. Ogilvy & Mather/Communispace released findings about families and tech called “Tech: Plug in to See the Brighter Side of Life“. Both these studies point to how technology is having a huge impact on our lives and our children’s education.

Tech families

The Ogilvy/Communispace study defined 19 percent of US families as “Tech Fast Forward”, meaning that they use more sophisticated technology than the average person and are in the know and on the cutting edge of new tech. Another 42 percent are “Tech Forward” – they have integrated tech into their lives and would have a hard time without it. These families have tablets, subscribe too many different social networks, read blogs, and their kids probably play Angry Birds on their iPhones while at the grocery store.

Brighter minds, better future

Interestingly, this study suggests that Tech Fast Forward parents seem to hold a more positive outlook about their children’s futures than other parents. The study found that 62 percent of these parents think that their kids are smart enough to “save the world”, as opposed to 30 percent of Tech Neutral parents. More than two-thirds of Tech Fast Forward parents think that kids today are smarter than previous generations. These parents see that their kids are part of the “new smart” generation because their children are engaging with content and media in new ways such as through self-directed learning, interactivity and puzzle solving.

But are these new skills and “smarts” developed because of advances in how we consume media and use technology?

“Educational” value

As mentioned earlier, many parents are passing along their tablets, smart phones or iPods to their toddler and preschoolers – either using them as a babysitter or as an “edutainment” tool. The Cooney Center study found that among all Education apps, 58% percent were geared towards toddlers. But there are no firm or verified standards of the educational value of these apps. There has yet to be a study of the educational differences between kids who have used educational apps regularly and those who haven’t used them at all. In fact, the study recommends that standards need to be created for products that are marked as educational.

Are you part of a Tech Fast Forward family? Have your kids mastered the latest gadgets that you bring home? We want to hear what you think about how technology is changing education and the workforce of the future. Comment and let us know how your kids are going to change the world!