I am a mixture of the generational
categories because I answered yes to most of the questions and no to only a
couple of them. I have become almost
helpless without my iPhone to keep me organized, but I have never liked to play
video games. I have three children at home who are probably typical examples of
children today. My oldest has always had
a longer attention span and has prefers playing outside to being inside playing video
games. My middle son loves video games
and gets bored easily, and my youngest 3-yr old daughter can already work the
DVR on the satellite and use an iPad. By
observing students at school and my own children I have realized several
things:
1) All students do not love technology and
just because it exists, it may not be suited for every learner. Yes, students like iPods and video games, but
there are some tried-and-true methods that appeal to today’s generation, such
as hands-on experiments, and using manipulatives. Our change comes in knowing the learner and when
and if technology will enhance instruction.
2) I believe we do need to change, but
not for the purpose of knowing what technology is popular or cutting edge. The
device that the student uses to get information is not as important-- whether
it is a smartphone, tablet, iPad, or 5-year old pc—but how the student applies and
uses the information. Many of the low socio-economic
children at my school do not have computers at home. One day they will be
expected to get a job and function in our society and I would like to impart
some skills that will help them achieve success, and knowing how to discern the
multitude of information they will be bombarded with is a skill that I believe should
be taught.
3) It is important to change our
thinking that students automatically know how to apply technology--just because
they are exposed to more technology does not mean they can use it
correctly. The students of this generation
are used to having free access to media such as e-books, music and TV and do not
know or appreciate the meaning of ownership.
We must teach students to treat information ethically and to be respectful
of intellectual property, and to use social tools carefully.
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