Although American parents believe that digital media skills are important to kids' success in the 21st century, they do not see a strong connection between digital media and the development of skills like communicating, working with others, and establishing civic responsibility.

Teachers show a similar lack of faith in the educational value of new technologies in a poll conducted by Common Sense Media and The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop (JGCC). The report, Growing Up Digital: Adults Rate the Educational Potential of New Media and 21^st Century Skills, tells that 63 percent of parents and 61 percent of teachers said they were skeptical about the educational claims that some digital media products make.

Teachers in the poll also indicated that they don't see educational potential in all digital media platforms. Only 15 percent of teachers said that video games had a lot of educational potential, and only 14 percent of teachers said MP3 players had a lot of educational potential. Additionally, only three percent of teachers felt that cell phones can help kids learn important skills.

"By and large, American educators don't utilize mobile technology as a creative way to teach," said Michael Levine, Executive Director of the JGCC. "This is in stark contrast to other cultures. While the Japanese deliver English lessons to students using the Nintendo DS, American teachers don't currently see a place in the classroom for mobile innovations."

Three out of four parents in the survey (agreed that knowing how to use digital media is as beneficial for kids as traditional skills like reading and math, and 83 percent of parents said that digital media gives their children the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. But parents expressed skepticism about the value of many digital media platforms, particularly when it came to whether digital media could teach kids how to communicate and collaborate, skills that are essential in a 21st-century workforce. For example:

• 67 percent of parents said they did not think the Web helped teach their kids how to communicate.
• 87 percent of parents said they did not believe the Web helped their kids learn how to work with others.
• Three out of four parents do not believe the Web can teach kids to be responsible in their communities.

Levine said the poll represented a significant step toward understanding how digital media can best be used to improve kids' lives, and the organizations hope to run it annually. "Our kids are adapting to change at breakneck speed. Adults who nurture children are trying to catch up to ensure that the new, ubiquitous digital diet is balanced and educational. The scarcity of quality research on how these new tools can be used best is an urgent national priority, especially in meeting the needs of children who are traditionally under served."

Recommendations

Based on the results of the poll, Common Sense Media and the JGCC recommend that:

• Policy-makers should support media education and the integration of digital media into classrooms, a nationally consolidated effort to fund research on the learning potential of digital media, professional development for teachers as well as a public awareness campaign for parents.
• In addition, policy-makers in both the public and private sector should create evidentiary standards to help make sense of products marketed as "educational."
• A national public awareness effort should be mounted to help parents understand that the full range of 21st century skills goes far beyond the traditional "3 R's."

Source: Common Sense Media Press Release, New Poll: Parents Conflicted About the Role of Digital Media in Kids' Lives

Slideshow of Poll Results