Before this assignment, I
was pretty confident that I had a thorough understanding of Millenials. After all, I birthed two of them and felt it
was my duty to NOT be that parent who is constantly shaking their head. However,
after reading about Generation Edge and taking a closer look at who was raising
who (e.g, baby boomers raising millennials, Gen X raising Gen Edge) I have a
different perspective on the outcomes of each generation. The articles discussed substantial findings on
how future generations will use technology to shape their ideologies and skills
sets to satisfy their needs.
As a Baby Boomer I strongly agree
with Jamie McKenzie when she quotes, “high-tech childhood is inadequate
preparation for the real challenges of civic engagement in a high-tech
democracy.” However, as educators we cannot change, in a short period of time,
the challenges that are present when this group enters the classroom. Their expectation of the delivery of
education is different because the environment they grew up and live in is
precipitated by technology and that is all that they know. So as a professional, I must revert to the
adage of “meeting the student where they are” and if infusing technology into
the curriculum accomplishes this task, then that is my responsibility.
Although Prensky’s
article is dated, he is precise in regard to describing the digital natives and
immigrants. The analogies he uses regarding
the delivery of information by a digital immigrant and how it can be met with
confusion and blank stares is not the fault of the digital native. As a
teacher, I have experienced the transition from teaching a lesson using a set
of tattered overheads to teaching the same lesson by allowing the students to
be responsible for their own learning by providing a rubric and allowing them
to create a Webquest.
Additionally, although I
am no neurologist, I support Prensky in the belief that the brains of younger
generations are wired differently. This
is further supported in the article, Generation
Edge: An Early Look at America’s Youngest Generation as the author
describes the characteristics of multitasking.
Such behaviors are perplexing to the one-task-at-a-time baby boomer who
has personally witnessed young people multitask (e.g., text, drive, and
download music on their tablet simultaneously) and not miss a beat. They may run a couple of lights while driving,
but the technology is on track!
Lastly, according to the
articles, the ability to connect with people who are not in one’s immediate presence
is a factor the Millenials and Generation Edge are comfortable with. Years ago, this would have been considered a
deficit in regard to the rules of effective communication. However, it is becoming part of the
norm. Surprisingly, it appears to be a
supported fact that GenEdge will be more private than their predecessors as
they will have seen the consequences, good and bad, of streaming their dirty
laundry live on the internet. This is an example of how technology can and will
be used differently by each generation.
One caveat that the
articles did not address was the student that isn’t technology savvy at all. I
believe that they fall into two categories.
The first category is the student who doesn’t have the cognitive ability
to even use technology. My cognitive
impaired students fall into this category.
I once was teaching a lesson on acronyms and as warm up I asked what
does ‘OMG” mean when texting? 90% of the
students did not know. The other
category of students are those that want to learn but do not have access to
technology. No internet, no computer, no
cell phone. I know, I know, but yes,
there are students who fall into this category.
So, are these the students who will fall through the cracks and just
become the scum of the earth because they don’t have access to a cell phone? Who
knows!
As mentioned previously,
I realize that as an educator I have to be flexible enough to deliver teachable
lessons in the form that students can learn. Although I am currently teaching
in a center based setting for the cognitive impaired, according to my
technology advocate there is technology and manipulatives available that I
could be using to teach this population.
The sad part is that the district is not willing to supply it. A SMART board is, thus, the only technology I
am currently using. On the other hand,
if I were to teach in a regular education setting I would most definitely infuse
technology into the curriculum and not resort to old fashioned overheads. I was
most impressed with the digital immigrant engineers’ dilemma of being proactive
in getting the digital natives to understand their new program. It was ingenious that they rolled it out as a
game which provided a pedagogy for the digital natives to understand. I will keep that example in mind when I
develop lessons that I know will be received by GenEdgers. It is not the content that is subject to
change, it’s the delivery.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteI understand the frustration when the district wants you to use technology in class, but it is difficult when the equipment is not there. I taught in Detroit previously and just had a smart board to teach in class, in terms of technology. It is difficult when students do not have laptops or ipads. Most of them didn't have smart phones. Technology based lessons have to be interactive and a two way street.
Monica, I agree about digital natives being difference from digital immigrant. I myself is an Baby Boomer and have experience difficulty learning new technology. But I always have a digital native nearby to walk me though the process. I am a big fan of new ways to connect with our children and I am willing to learn ways to do it.
ReplyDeleteYou sparked my interest with your comments relating to the video about generational differences and similarities; with "similarities" defined as "traditions". I agree with this concept of "traditions". Being a part of "Generation X" (born between 1965 to 1981), working in a world of "Millennials" (born roughly after 1982), being raised by "Baby Boomers Parents" (1948-1960) and also raised by my Grandmother "The Greatest Generation" (1914-1930), I grew and learned from "traditions" as a way of life. Additionally, throughout my education and career, I have been taught with the aid of using some form of a computer generated learning system. The root to this learning was through print materials which has now evolved to new and advanced technology systems. I mentioned this to give an idea of my personal evolution of learning from my life of generational differences. I do believe this gave me a good balance to better understand and adapt from traditional ways of learning styles(digital immigrants) to the Millennial ways of learning. What's even more interesting is that I am actually involved with technology teaching to the Baby Boomer generation as well as the Millennials. What I have encountered between the two are the differences in attention span and speed of comprehension. This relates and support Prensky's article also with learning styles between the two.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point and a potential area for generational research that may or may not have been explored: looking at generational differences when children are raised by grandparents.
DeleteExactly Dr. Siko. Another interesting point is that fact that we live a society where a lot of Millennials are Grandparents. This would be something of interesting research as well.
DeleteI think the point you make about students' access to technology is a very important one for educators to consider. Most of my teaching experience has been in more affluent suburban schools, but even there I frequently run into students who do not have cell phones or reliable internet access at home. It presents a real difficulty because I think that integrating technology into the classroom is absolutely essential. Every career or college my students go on to will require them to know how to navigate technology, so I feel it is my job to prepare them for that (in addition to teaching my regular content). However, it is not fair for me to fail a student who is unable to complete an online assignment because of their socio-economic status. My solution has been to make myself available in the classroom before school, after school, and during lunches so that any student who needs to can come into the classroom and use the computer. Even this, however, isn't a perfect solution. A student getting 15-20 minutes to complete an assignment is generally not going to turn in the same quality of work that a student who spent more time at home would.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
DeleteMy point exactly in regard to the time factor that student's who don't have access to technology experience. When given an assignment that may require research or editing, for example, it is difficult for the student who doesn't have access to technology to turn in a quality product. Technology is an excellent tool but in order for it to prevail accessibility is key.
The other problem here is the 'backup plan' concept. So, if students don't have access, many people say, "Oh, they can just do it by [non-tech] means." This implies that the instruction with or without technology is equivalent...WHICH MEANS THE OUTCOMES WILL BE SIMILAR! But this is a double-edge sword. If we always use technology in transformative ways, then those on the wrong side of the digital divide fall further behind.
DeleteThe other concern I often raise with lack of access is when teachers say, "Oh, they can just come in before/after school or at lunch." As I often respond, a student from a low income area may not have means of transportation, and may be on free/reduced lunch (thus, can't just bring a lunch that day), not to mention the 'no food outside the cafeteria' policy.
I'll add one comment regarding children's brains. They're always different and have always been different that adult brains. It's called development. What we would need is to compare a Western child's brain (one exposed to technology) with the brain of a child from a remote area (e.g., indigenous tribes of Canada, the outback of Australia, or jungles of South America), and other age-congruent pairings. Unfortunately, we can't go back in time and look at our childhood brains and compare them to today's children.
ReplyDeleteLike you mentioned with your “OMG” example (which is crazy to me), I do think there is a strong disconnect over what we expect Generation Edge to know and what they actually know about technology. I’ve been finding that their knowledge of desktops or laptops is low. Many don’t have high typing skills and navigation of microsoft office or other commonly used applications are less than stellar. I’m attributing this to the rise of smartphones and tablets. It seems like this generation (particularly those born in the year 2000 or later) have had the greatest and sometimes only contact with technology through these devices. The skills that contribute to working a smartphone or tablet are vastly different than the skills required for computing. While it’s easy to assume these “digital natives” are proficient with all technology, it just simply isn’t the case. So do we combat this by only using smartphones and tablets? Or go through the process of teaching them how to use a computer- something we expected them to know,
ReplyDeleteReeves cited several sources in suggesting that GenEdgers may actually have a far less sophisticated understanding than it appears. I think your observation about lack of typing and Microsoft Office skills is an example of this. Sure, even young kids effortlessly navigate the internet and easily find and open programs that they need on a tablet or computer, but most do seem to know how to fully utilize these programs, and precious few have any idea how they work. So while digital natives may very easily use technology, can we really say that they understand it?
DeleteContext and nuance are difficult to communicate in 140 characters...
DeleteI also agree that you must meet your students where they are currently. In the event that we assume that students know the material or are able to use a particular piece of technology effectively then we have introduced a great deal of confusing into the learning environment. When we meet students where they are we get to know that student and what their strengths and weaknesses are and that is importnat if we want our students to be successful. And since the brain of the younger generation appears to function a little differntly than ours, its even more important for teachers to know their students and meet them where they are. Therefore, teachers must be flexible and have a general understanding that their current students are from a diferrent generation than their own and that they have a different way of learning.
ReplyDelete