In reflecting on the video and articles I read about the different generations and their characteristics, I had to think back a little bit since I have been out of the classroom for a few years. The majority of my experience has been with Millennials, but I can also speak from observations of a parent of both a Millennial and Generation Edge.
Being from Generation X, I can definitely attest to the fact that "today's students think and process information fundamentally differently then their predecessors" (Prensky, 2001). They expect everything fast and easily get bored. Since the majority of them have grown up with technology at their fingertips they process even new technology at a higher pace then most of our classroom teachers. Being a teacher who taught technology, my biggest challenge was making sure I always stayed ahead and in sync with my students who seemed to adapt to technology at a very fast rate. I also learned early that Millennials/Gen Edge had very few desires to learn using the same methods as we were taught in class. They have no time or patience for reading for very long and also preferred the hands-on learning approach. They also considered themselves masters at multitasking and who would swear that while doing homework, watching tv and talking on their cell phone that every action was being processed effectively at the same time. While I believe both Millennials and Generation Edge have these traits in common, they also have differences. I believe Millennials are more trusting and more "keen to be part of the process" (Fletcher/Pierpoint, 2013) whereas Edgers are seem to be more skeptical and open to questioning the process. I have really experienced this first hands as a parent of both generation. My Millennial son always seems to be more trusting, overly friendly and quick to give up information whereas my Gen Edge son is more reserved and seems to be in surveillance mode a lot. He is constantly observing every situation with a keen eye. Another difference I have noticed is that Millennials, although throughly in tune with technology, seem to spend less time engaged in online activities. Millennials spend more time socializing offline compared to Edgers who seem to be doing more and more online socialization often times limiting there face-to-face interactions.
In reading the article by Marc Prensky, I completely agree with the Digital Natives / Digital Immigrant concepts. I believe many of our current teachers find themselves trying to adapt to today's technology which is far advanced then what we grew up with whereas many of our students are "at home" with it. It is not enough for our teachers to merely bring the latest technology into the classroom, they must fully understand it and integrate into their lessons to capture the attention of this new generation. According to Prensky, "the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language." So in order to reach our students we need to change how and what we teach. The old methods that were used to teach us are no longer effective in reaching this new generation who seem to process information differently. Understanding each generation, their characteristics and how they learn is an important step in effectively educating our students.
Yes, I agree that having the latest technologies and not employing them correctly is a waste of time and resources. I experienced that first hand during my student teaching. I was assigned to train with an older teacher, I would say he was in his late 50’s at the time. He never used any technologies in his classroom and relied more on lectures and group work. There was an interactive white board in the classroom. I never saw or used a smart board before so I was intrigued by it. I asked him to teach me how to use it but he slammed me with the answer that he doesn’t know how. He explained that when the school first installed them, they didn’t really train the teachers on how to use them. I thought to myself, what a waste of a great resource. But a few weeks into my student teaching, I met other teachers and observed their classes and discovered that they knew how to use their smart boards, their projectors...and so on. They weren’t necessarily younger than my assigned teacher but they probably were more open to welcoming new technologies and integrating them in their curriculums. Therefore, some Digital Immigrant educators are more susceptible to the changes around them and some are not.
ReplyDeleteBut the problem is to what extent should we alter our teaching techniques in order to get to the students? How far should we go?
In response to your question, I believe as a teacher, our responsibility is to alter our teaching whichever way is effective in order to "get to the students." Many times this may mean the inclusion of technology, since this new generation is raised in a world that is all about technology. There is really no way for technology to be ignored and it should fully be integrated into education as our students will need these tools in every aspect of their lives as we prepare them for the real world.
DeleteUsing technology in the classroom is something that I encourage. That was a reason why I selected Education Technology as my Master program. We are moving to a new world and school is a great place where students can learn how to use technology responsibly. Students need to see all the positive things they can accomplish with using technology, so when given a device they do a lot more than spend time on social networks.As mentioned, Generation Edge tends to be more conservative, and that is ok with me. I just hope it is for a better cause. Sarah, as you mentioned, even technology immigrants can learn how to incorporate technology. It can be in small examples as a start.
ReplyDeleteRosio, you bring up a valid point about students learning how to use technology responsibly and teaching them how to use it accomplish positive things. Although, many students know how to use technology to play games and post on social media sites, a lot of them do not know how it can expand their knowledge educationally.
DeleteSo, playing devil's advocate, how come I can run circles around the two generations after me when it comes to technology?
ReplyDeleteAgain, playing contrarian, does this 'native' mentality apply to all students, regardless of exposure to technology (affluent vs. rural/poor vs. child in jungle).
Finally, the article says students consider themselves masters of multitasking. This implies that they perform tasks better when multitasking than tasks performed in isolation. The research does not support this. (google 'multitasking myth')
Good question... my only guess would be that you are technology genius compared to the generations after you mainly due to your past experiences. As you mentioned previously, you have had an interest in technology since you were young and had a lot of exposure and access to it. Technology became your interest and hobby. Back in the day when we grew up, this was not the norm.
ReplyDeleteI do not thing the Native/Immigrant terms fully applies to everyone as the person's background and previous exposures also play a key role.
"Multitasking myth" totally aligns with my thoughts about Millennials/Edger. Although I mentioned that they considered themselves the masters of multitasking, I do not believe that they are truely multitasking. This is merely their belief. The term "multitasking" infers that they are processing many tasks at the same time, when in fact according to the research they are merely switching back and forth from one task to the other quickly. "The brain does not do tasks simultaneously" (Napier, 2014). So called, multitasking, has actually been determined to take more time to complete tasks, be less productive, produce more errors and be more stressful.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creativity-without-borders/201405/the-myth-multitasking
Multitasking doesn't apply to retaining knowledge. I don't think that students can multitask when it comes to learning information and using a distracting tool such as "listening to music" or "watching television". I can, for example, multitask when I am cooking and talking on the phone. This scenario is not requiring me to retain new information but all I am doing is performing an act like a robot and talking. But sometimes, if I am more indulged in the conversation, I might forget to put salt on the food! So multitasking doesn’t give all the tasks the same importance. You can’t focus equally on the two tasks that you are doing at the same time. Something has to give. Therefore, students cannot multitask when it comes to learning. If they think they are, it doesn’t mean it’s true.
DeleteExactly on both your responses. Exposure and practice, like anything else, are important. Also, the type of practice (rudimentary vs. deliberate) play a role, which is often why we see no problems with technical skills, but using technology for thinking and learning seems to be lacking.
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