Q: Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand?
A: I rarely write anything in long hand--except my grocery list. Why? I can type much faster than I can write, I can easily “share” notes or documents I create with others, and I can easily modify documents on-line. I can highlight documents (I like to color code!) with a variety of colors without ever buying another marker!
Q: Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device?
A: “Most” of my “remembering” is done via a piece of technology or an app on some tech device. I do still have a rolodex and am guilty of using Sticky Notes to remind myself of “unusual” happenings....usually stuck to my computer!
Q: Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA?
A: I rarely attend a meeting without my laptop. I may not always use it, but I take it with me...just in case.
Q: Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you?
A: I am constantly connected at both work and home. At school, I’m in front of a computer for a large part of the day. At home, my computer is never far from me. My cell phone is a different story. During the school year, I try very hard to keep up with it so I can communicate with my teen-age son. Since school’s been out, I’ve let my phone “die” twice. When given the option, I prefer my laptop to my cell. However, it’s very “nice” to be able to text someone, as most people have their phones with them all the time. I find texting better than calling as a text can be read and responded to at the receiver’s convenience.
Q: How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time?
A: The intensity of the activities I am performing dictates how many I can do at one time. With less rigorous activities, I can perform maybe three at one. If an activity is intense, I’m down to one or, at most one and a half. When I was a child, I could not multi-task at all. It had to be totally quiet in order for me to study. I don’t know if age or teaching for eighteen years has done it, but my ability to perform numerous activities at one time has increased.
Q: Do you play video or computer games?
A: I do play video games, probably too much. My favorites are Wordy, Bubble Pop and Pathwords (on Facebook) and Guitar Hero.
Q: What generational category do you fall in or are you a mixture of a few?
A: Although I am “officially” categorized as a Baby Boomer, I find characteristics of Gen X (independent, skeptical, freedom, and multi-tasking) that apply to me too. The article by Diana Oblinger and James Oblinger contained several quotes about the Net Gen that I felt could apply to me also. My favorite quote from the reading-”For the Net Gen, the Internet is like oxygen; they can't imagine being able to live without it.”. Those are my sentiments exactly!
A thought--He who rejects change is the architect of decay.~Harold Wilson
In order to appeal to Net Gen and capitalize on their strengths they bring to them table, educators need to make significant changes in the way content is delivered. I found it very intriguing that Net Gen kiddos retain 10% of what is heard by 30% of what is seen. As students get older, it seems that lecture becomes the standard method of delivery by most teachers. Secondary teachers need to take a cue from their primary counterparts and address multitudes of teaching styles.
Another comment made in the article was worth the price of admission-”.....not simply assume that the current student cohort is like we were. “. At a recent workshop, one of the attendees told the presenter we shouldn’t be visually stimulating these kids so much in the classroom. His argument was that he didn’t learn visually and it really didn’t matter what the research showed. If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for the kids of today. To me, that is ignorance speaking. Pay attention to the research. Most of us ARE visual learners. Capitalize on that fact.
Another important point made in the article-”Learning science indicates that successful learning is often active, social, and learner-centered.”. So many of us want a “quiet” learning environment. Knowing that our Net Gen kiddos are social and active, that belief needs to be re-examined. Quiet does not always equal on- task. Not only do teachers need to embrace this thinking, but so do administrators.
No comments:
Post a Comment