Are students today fundamentally different than students in the past?
I believe that students for the most part are fundamentally different than students in the past.
Students today:
1. Rely heavily on electronics for a variety of reasons
a. Gaming
b. Answers
i. Thoughts
ii. Instant answers (Students today seem to expect answers that are readily available at all times whereas students in the past relied on the library Reader's Guides to direct them to different sources. Those sources were not always available, so it would be back to the old drawing board.)
iii. Comparisons
c. Curiosities
2. Think GOOGLE first, then other sources (such as experienced people or libraries)
3. Are taught more high-stakes test-taking skills
3. Have trouble reading/writing cursive; signing names
4. Complain when they are required to write something out instead of typing
5. Handwriting is not as neat as their predecessors
a. Should there be a concern that handwriting is not taught in schools and that only keyboarding is?
b. I believe that eventually all electronics will identify the users by fingerprints rather than signature. Some fingerprinting is already occurring. It will be just a matter of time when the world will operate this way.
I believe, despite the above, that kids are kids and there are many similarities.
Kids:
1. Imagine
2. Are curious
3. Can live without electronics (but when it surrounds their worlds, it becomes a challenge to do so)
The bottom line is that students today know no differently when it comes to using electronics. They know electronics and students in the past know how to peruse the library better than students today. People do what they know. I consider myself envious of the technology afforded students today. They do not realize, however, how fortunate they are to have such an extensive technological world that sees no end. I am confident that when my kids become parents, they will have something bigger (or smaller!) and better of which to be envious of their kids.
Students today:
1. Rely heavily on electronics for a variety of reasons
a. Gaming
b. Answers
i. Thoughts
ii. Instant answers (Students today seem to expect answers that are readily available at all times whereas students in the past relied on the library Reader's Guides to direct them to different sources. Those sources were not always available, so it would be back to the old drawing board.)
iii. Comparisons
c. Curiosities
2. Think GOOGLE first, then other sources (such as experienced people or libraries)
3. Are taught more high-stakes test-taking skills
3. Have trouble reading/writing cursive; signing names
4. Complain when they are required to write something out instead of typing
5. Handwriting is not as neat as their predecessors
a. Should there be a concern that handwriting is not taught in schools and that only keyboarding is?
b. I believe that eventually all electronics will identify the users by fingerprints rather than signature. Some fingerprinting is already occurring. It will be just a matter of time when the world will operate this way.
I believe, despite the above, that kids are kids and there are many similarities.
Kids:
1. Imagine
2. Are curious
3. Can live without electronics (but when it surrounds their worlds, it becomes a challenge to do so)
The bottom line is that students today know no differently when it comes to using electronics. They know electronics and students in the past know how to peruse the library better than students today. People do what they know. I consider myself envious of the technology afforded students today. They do not realize, however, how fortunate they are to have such an extensive technological world that sees no end. I am confident that when my kids become parents, they will have something bigger (or smaller!) and better of which to be envious of their kids.
REFLECTIVE POST
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
Many changes have taken place in the world since technology has entered the scene. According to Marc Prensky in "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants," students today learn very differently than students of the past. Prensky refers to students today as digital natives, those who are born during the digital age and who are surrounded by everything digital. On the other hand, Prensky refers to their predecessors as digital immigrants, or those born before the digital age. Their differences are so great that Dr. Bruce D. Perry of Baylor College of Medicine believes that brain structures between the digital natives and digital immigrants may be different due to encountering different experiences.
Marc Prensky mentioned in the same article that in addition to multi-tasking, digital natives prefer graphics over text, random access (like hypertext), networking, instant gratification, frequent rewards and games as opposed to 'serious' work. This type of behavior is noticeable in today's workforce in addition to the classrooms. Businesses are gradually changing their looks and ways to accommodate the digital natives. Some of the changes include more casual clothing styles, riding segways through the office, and managing your own time. Apparently businesses realize the needs of the digital natives. It is a win-win situation when a company recognizes those needs and they offer their (younger) employees to work within the environment to which they are forever accustomed.
On the educational side it is difficult for digital immigrant teachers to grasp the concepts of different learning styles. They believe that the way they were taught is the one and only way. They prefer to do things in order and one thing at a time. I think that eventually (and hopefully) teachers who have grown up in the digital age will overtake the teachers of yesterday to bring our educational system up to par with today's competitive society. In addition, I hope that the digital native teachers will teach and model their ways to the digital immigrant teachers, not just the students.
Life moves on is something I often hear. Marc Prensky noted that it is unlikely that digital natives will move backwards in their learning styles. In other words, they will not learn as their parents did. They will move forward. I consider myself a smart adult immigrant who will ask for help when I desperately need it. I say desperately because I like to push myself to find an answer before giving up. This is when I become the not-so-smart immigrant who wants to return to the ways when I grew up. I stop myself. I do not think that it is possible to step backwards. There is only one direction to go and that is forward.
As a foreign language teacher and an aunt to two nieces who grew up immersed in French and English, I understand the importance of students absorbing information from infancy. Kids are like sponges, absorbing everything in their site. Students today learn differently and teachers of the pre-digital age need to be aware of the differences. Whether teachers need to revamp their attitudes or entire curriculums, there is a need that the educational world change accordingly in order to accommodate the needs of today's learners, rather than continue teaching today's learners in the world of yesterday.
In response to DT Quin: I disagree with Quin's response that there is no evidence for change of brain structures between digital natives and digital immigrants. It makes perfect sense to me that based on experiences, brain structures can be different. Multi-tasking is not something digital immigrants grew up doing. They did one thing at a time in a certain order. Needless to say that some things need to be done in a certain order, the digital natives are able to do a variety of things at once. If you grew up stacking one block on top of each other while in silence, this will be the type of behavior you will prefer and know best: silence, one at a time. If you grew up using both hands, one for texting and the other creating a 3D model from your printer while listening to XM2, then your brain would accommodate that type of learning throughout your life: multitasking.
Also, I disagree that Quin thinks Prensky's article does not relate to today's society and that it is "relatively old now." Yes, in terms of technological age the article is old, but in terms of content I believe that Prensky is accurate. The terms he uses, digitial natives versus digital immigrants, clearly represent the older generation versus the newer generation. Prensky makes his points come across very clearly.
I am glad to see that Quin and Prensky agree that "education must change how it does its business," but in the meantime it needs to just take the old and transform it into the new. In other words, create an educational system where the core human values are transparent within the digital age.
In response to DT Quin: I disagree with Quin's response that there is no evidence for change of brain structures between digital natives and digital immigrants. It makes perfect sense to me that based on experiences, brain structures can be different. Multi-tasking is not something digital immigrants grew up doing. They did one thing at a time in a certain order. Needless to say that some things need to be done in a certain order, the digital natives are able to do a variety of things at once. If you grew up stacking one block on top of each other while in silence, this will be the type of behavior you will prefer and know best: silence, one at a time. If you grew up using both hands, one for texting and the other creating a 3D model from your printer while listening to XM2, then your brain would accommodate that type of learning throughout your life: multitasking.
Also, I disagree that Quin thinks Prensky's article does not relate to today's society and that it is "relatively old now." Yes, in terms of technological age the article is old, but in terms of content I believe that Prensky is accurate. The terms he uses, digitial natives versus digital immigrants, clearly represent the older generation versus the newer generation. Prensky makes his points come across very clearly.
I am glad to see that Quin and Prensky agree that "education must change how it does its business," but in the meantime it needs to just take the old and transform it into the new. In other words, create an educational system where the core human values are transparent within the digital age.
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