Pay Attention - To Which Population of Students?

I just finished viewing the Pay Attention video (see bottom of this post).  I have so many thoughts, I'm not exactly sure where to start...  How about here:

ESOL Students - Maybe I find part of this video hard to relate to because I know the majority of my students will be refugees.  I don't think that their technological background will be similar to an average American student.  Given their financial situations, I don't think they will have cell phones and ipods at their disposal. They may not even have a computer at home.  I definitely think that there is a place for technology in education for them.  I think, if nothing else, it will expose them to the technology that is out there, and get them more comfortable with it so that they can use it later in their academic careers.  But I just can't believe that these children will be addicted to technology the same way mainstream American children are.  And I think that by posting podcasts and trying to use their cellphones at teaching tools will only make them more aware of their financial situation, and more aware of was that they are different from the dominant culture.

American Students - I also found the statistics about how much time American kids spend with technology disappointing.  I can understand why the NFL is promoting physical activity and why there is a concern that kids are lacking interpersonal skills.  This topic is much too large to address in this response, but I honestly believe that this trend toward spending more and more time with technology is not a good thing for kids.

Teaching through Technology - Okay, having said all that, I think that, in a number of ways, the video is right.  If you have a group of students who all have access to the same technology, then I think you should take advantage of every means you can to interest them and make your lessons relevant.  I think it would be great for a mainstream teacher to put review sessions out on podcasts.  Students could make videos of responses to literature, reenactments of a certain historical event.  We've already seen how blogs could be used.  As long as all students have equal access to the technology, I think a teacher is silly not to use it.

I have to say though, out of all methods mentioned in the video, podcasts have me the most interested.  As I mentioned, I don't know how helpful they would be to me as an ESOL teacher, because my students will probably not have the devices to play podcasts at home, but for a mainstream teacher what a wonderful way to give enrichment.  The possibilities are endless.  And I can honestly say I'd never thought about them at all!!  It almost makes me want to change my teaching focus.  Almost....but not quite.  :D