Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Examining Generational Differences

After reading the prompt I was very glad that I wrote an initial post on this very question back when we read the articles.  Feel free to go back and read the complete post.  I will be a little more direct in this post and stick with the two things I came across that answered the question: 

"As educational technologists, what did you take away from these generational differences readings? How would you handle a colleague who bought into the notion of digital natives?"

I would tell him/her that I agree with the following ideas from Do generational differences matter in instructional design?:

"current generation of students entering higher education has information technology skills that
exceed those of the faculty members who will be teaching them, a trend that demands significantchanges in the way that programs, course, and learning environments are designed and implemented."

“points to keep in mind” when training the Net Generation, (p. 244):
• They read more than any generation ahead of them. 
• They are used to learning in a highly interactive way.
• The popularity and productivity of role-playing and other interactive activities work in
inverse proportion to their age. 
• The experts say that the Millennial Generation will make the Xers look like technological
dinosaurs. 


But aside from that, sure they are a little more technologically savvy, but they are still humans and still need guidance and instruction.  Accept the positives that come with their "native" knowledge and use technology in smart and productive ways, but don't shy away from some from some of the old-school tried and true methods as well.

7 comments:

  1. I love how simple your answer is at the end, "they are still humans and still need guidance and instruction." How very true! Whether using technology or not, our students are still humans, and need guidance and instruction.
    Nice work!
    Jaime Piatt

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    1. Jaime,

      Thank you for your reply and for taking the time to read my post.

      Jeremy

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  2. Jeremy, I liked how you highlighted the points you agreed with, yet advocate for a balance of practices. "...use technology in smart and productive ways, but don't shy away from some from some of the old-school tried and true methods as well" seems like excellent advice to me!

    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Angela,

      I try to take a practical approach to these articles and assignments. I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and reply.

      Jeremy

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  3. There are many positive things that can come from teaching these "digital natives." However, we can't call them digital experts, yet. Some of them may be on their way, but many still have a limited experience and knowledge database with technology. By using tried and true methods along with appropriate technology integration, hopefully we can create meaningful and positive learning that reaches to a variety of students.

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  4. Hi Jeremy,
    Great post! I like that you pointed out that educators should accept the positives that come with their "native" knowledge in technology use and to use it in smart and productive ways. This is a great point. If more teachers used this to their advantage, I think technology integration could be much more effective.

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    Replies
    1. Emily,

      Thank you for your comment. You can work with them or you can work against them.

      Jeremy

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