Because I fall into this category myself, it is easy for me to observe that our current educational system is not always catered to today's students anymore. More than just our clothing style and physical appearances have changed - in fact, this permanent evolution is such a fundamental change that it is known as "the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century."
What does this mean? Today’s students, K through college, represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology, having spent their entire lives surrounded by computers, video games, digital music players, cameras, cell phones, and many other tools of the digital age. Because of this, we think and process information fundamentally differently from our predecessors. Some think that because of this, our brains have physically changed, but it is certain that at the very least, our thinking patterns have changed. This can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information first, or in not reading the manual for a program because we have assumed that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older generation were "socialized" differently from their kids, and are now virtually in the process of learning a new language. And according to scientists, a language learned later in life goes into a different part of the brain. Why is this all relevant? Because one of the biggest problems facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.
With this being said, ignoring the fact that I am part of this generation, educators in general should find a way to embrace this new technology instead of shy away from it. Just as we need to be flexible enough to cater to different learning styles, we must also be aware and take advantage of the background of students and their use of technology, which is something that isn't going to diminish any time soon. In math, for example, the debate must no longer be about whether to use calculators and computers but rather how to incorporate them, from key skills and concepts to the multiplication tables.
In the end, it is HOW the information is presented that is changed because of this - the information taught itself is not what is dramatically different, but the means through it is taught is what must change to suit the lifestyles and personalities of different generations of people and their environments, keeping them as engaged learners.
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Well said. I find this topic very interesting and I think it's essential that educators are aware of some of these fundamental changes in order to plan successful lessons. One thing to keep in mind since you consider yourself a digital native...it's important to keep up with technological advances or you may find yourself in the immigrant category in a couple decades. :)
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