Week 4 Reflections

Spanning the Generations - Implications for Practice
After reading the article, Is it Age or IT: First Steps Towards Understanding the Net Generation, I am once again amazed at how different today’s students have become since I first started teaching. This Net Generation (as described earlier in the semester as Digital Natives), have grown up surrounded and immersed in technology. It is a part of their life that has always been there (at least for them). I grew up as a part of Generation X. I attended a small 1A school where there were no computers. I remember taking a computer literacy class and thinking how insane it was since we didn’t even have a computer in the classroom. I finally got my chance to use computers in college. I didn’t have a computer of my own, so I had to constantly go to the computer lab on campus to complete assignments. After graduating from college, I bought my first computer. That was then. Technology is now in the hands of almost every individual and a natural part of our life.

I was amazed at the fact that students still felt that the teacher was vital in the learning process. I loved what one teen said, “Learning is based on motivation, and without teachers that motivation would cease to exist.” Bill Gates said essentially the same thing, “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.” Our roles as teachers will always be to motivate students and encourage them in the learning process. Our methods of teaching are the things that must change. Incorporating technology into the classroom to allow students to explore and discover new ways of learning is essential for the Net Generation. They still crave social interaction, so technology cannot be the sole source of instruction. The teacher still needs to guide and probe students in the learning process, but the learning needs to be delivered in a way that allows students the opportunity to discover knowledge through interactive, engaging activities. Teachers need to encourage students to spend time to reflect on what they have learned, how they can use this new knowledge in the future, and what they still could learn to better their understanding of the concepts.

We are products of our environment. I do agree that gradually we will assume many of the characteristics of the Net Generation as we allow technology to become more a part of our own lives. Even though I am in Generation X, I do have some of the characteristics listed for the Net Generation as well--such as the attributes of being hopeful and determined, liking the latest technology and my parents, and disliking anything slow as well as negativism. My responses to the questions posed in the article were surprising to me. In some aspects I am moving forward slowly by allowing technology to become more a part of my life. In other areas, I still have a way to go. My responses to the questions were:

• Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand? I am more comfortable composing documents online. The reduction of time spent in writing, revising, and finalizing a document to me is cut in half. The less time I have to spend in this process, means more time spent doing something else.
• Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device? I am guilty of letting my cell phone do my remembering. I don’t remember phone numbers—I put them in my contacts and dial from there. I rarely ever dial a number unless it is someone I am calling for the first time. However, I still have a physical calendar on my desk and at home that helps me remember my appointments.
• Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA? I do go to some meetings with my laptop, but not very many. If I had a compact size laptop, that might change. I do not have a PDA—yet.
• Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you? I feel like I am constantly connected, but not as connected as my students. This past year we finally got DSL. I love it. I log on whenever I have the chance to check email, Facebook, and just to browse at home. At work, the Internet is always on from the time I get to school until the time I leave. My cell phone is always with me, but I don’t use it like most people. I actually talk on it to my friends and family. I still haven’t given in to total texting. I still like hearing people’s voices.
• How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time? As a teacher and mother of two small children, multi-tasking is a necessity. Now I may not be as good at it as my students, but I can juggle talking on the phone, checking my email, watching the kids play, and cooking dinner at the same time pretty effectively.
• Do you play video or computer games? Playing video and computer games has never been one of my favorites. I didn’t grow up with video or computer games, so neither interests me. I would much rather curl up with a good book or movie any day.