Week 2
I believe that the articles
were on point when describing the various generations and that most of my
students are digital natives or generation Z children. I say this because most
are computer/internet savvy and do not have a problem in letting you know it. I
find this to be both good and bad. It’s good because technology appeals to my
student’s senses and sparks their curiosity, which results in them having a positive
attitude about technology and learning. Yet the downside is that technology
causes students to lack effective communication skills and conflict resolution
techniques when it comes to face-to-face interaction.
As teachers we must remember
that the educational system of yesterday was not really designed to include the
utilization of technology. Therefore, teachers must be open-minded about
utilizing technology and know when to use it and when not to. In addition to
using technology in the classroom, it’s important for teachers to be aware that
the basics still need to be incorporated into everyday lessons. When I say the
basics I’m referring to communication skills, problem solving techniques,
reliability of information, legacy content and participation in physical
activities.
Students today enjoy
multi-tasking and need a great deal of stimuli to stay connected to what the
teacher is teaching, so teachers must be prepared to teach both the legacy and
future content in a way that will allow generation Z students to understand and
grasps the concepts needed to transfer to everyday life. Techniques that can be used in teaching both
legacy and future content include computer games, and incorporating film,
digital images and PowerPoint presentations during lectures.
Hi Kesha,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you regarding our digital native and generation Z learners who I term as experts in the field of digital and computer technology. I also "totally agree" with you with that incorporating the basics of communication (face-to-face) through teaching and learning is huge factor with everyday socialization and people connections that we need in everyday life. This is inclusive in current work environment, team sports activities, and overall people networking. I believe that the "basic" is something that can't be totally eliminated and the same time can be enhanced for better effectiveness with current communication technologies that are use today with our digital natives and Z learners. I also believe that blended learning and communication using technology is the most effective because the basics as well as new technology seem work just as effective for "digital natives" as well as the "digital immigrants"
I agree with what you said about our current education system not being designed with technology in mind. The current system was devised almost 150 years ago to meet the needs of the industry of the day (factories and farms mostly). The system is not evolving fast enough to keep up with the changes in technology. Not only does the system have to change, but also our attitudes as educators need to change. As many of the articles point out, these students think and act differently than previous generations. While you and I may not be able to text, listen to music, and complete an assignment, some/most of these kids can. We have to be more open and accepting of the ways in which our students learn and process information.
ReplyDeleteAs I read your post, it reiterated a point that some miss. The latter generations are very visual. The influx of technology that they are exposed to in daily activities involve a great deal of visualization. I am the mother of 2 millenials so I am comfortable with the term "digital natives". I, too, am a grandmother to a 2 year old who I think is already technology savvy. It is my personal mission to infuse skills that you mentioned (e.g. communication, conflict resolution) into her life.
ReplyDeleteAnother important fact that you mentioned is the out of date educational system that everyone believes is repairable. It is for this reason, I am taking these IT courses. I believe as a professional I should stay current of what is going on in the field of education. Infusing technology is very important. As LaCema mentioned blended learning is key when attending the educational needs of the digital natives.
Hi Monica,
DeleteThat's great that you are incorporation communication and conflict resolution , as well as technology, into your grand daughter's life. Since you are making sure that communication and conflict resolution is in your grand daughters life you are helping her to be better prepared for when she begins school and you are not relying on technology to teach her these basic skills.
A few things about the posts so far. First, regarding tech-savvy, can we brush this across an entire generation, regardless of culture and socioeconomic status? Second, keep in mind that institutions are slow to change (there's good and bad sides to this); what would encourage this shift? Finally, playing devil's advocate, it was mentioned that students 'enjoy' multi-tasking. Does the research support that they actually perform well while multi-tasking? (hint: no). So, how do we balance this out, since technology often encourages multi-tasking (e.g., email just pinged while I was writing this; working on Google Docs vs. writing by hand without distraction, reading a book vs. online, etc.)
ReplyDeleteYou really touch on something when you talked about students are not getting the necessary communication and problem solving skills. In fact, I was considering teaching some problems solving techniques to the adults. Thanks for confirming what I already knew.
ReplyDeleteYou really touch on something when you talked about students are not getting the necessary communication and problem solving skills. In fact, I was considering teaching some problems solving techniques to the adults. Thanks for confirming what I already knew.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that this generation thinks they can multitask proficiently kills me. Like Dr. Siko mentioned, studies show that they can’t multitask nearly as well as they think they do - and yet a strong majority try it anyway. I admit, I’m bad at trying to multitask as well. I usually have at least 5 tabs open on my laptop and usually when I watch netflix I have a separate window open so I can browse the internet (even though I won’t be able to tell you anything about the show I’m “watching” after). I can’t even focus enough to watch an entertaining television show or movie without getting the urge to do something else. How can we expect our kids, who don’t have the awareness that this is bad, to combat this? I honestly don’t know of an answer because it’s not a simple fix. This generation expects information to be constantly streaming and when there is a leiu in activity, they search for something else. Using this logic, direct Instruction seems obsolete and yet I still find myself using it because it’s the easiest and most traditional way to teach. It’s hard to completely turn away from something so ingrained in our school system, but I’m looking for different ways of incorporating group and project-based learning into my classes in hopes that this will help in some way.
ReplyDeleteHi Sabrina,
DeleteI am also faced with the question of how do I keep students motivated to learn without multitasking and yes it is hard! For my students I am constantly telling them that multitasking is not always good because they miss out on important information/details, which results in re-doing assignments or missing out on activities and events.
I know, I feel the same way. It's hard to combat when the whole class seems to agree they are multi-tasking pros.
DeleteSabrina, I have started doing the following with my students who are trying to multi-task: if they have a questions and I see I don't have their full attention I will wait patiently for a minute then I'll ask them to come back to me when they are finish with what ever else it is they are trying to do or I will ask my students to repeat the information that I have given them. Usaually the repeating of information gets them and they have to really stop and think what it was that I just told them.
DeleteDepending on the age of the students, you can recreate some of the psych tests done to disprove the myth. They're pretty simple (e.g., work on a worksheet, then every 2 minutes answer a problem on a completely different task, repeat). Sometimes, if an often distracted student had something important to tell me, I would stare at my computer and my phone, then, when they finish, say, "What was that?" to rub it in a little (granted, I taught high school, so being snarky can be useful on occasion ;-)
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