My Net Gen - Week 1

Reading through the articles this week, I realized how much technology is really out there, and how much I didn't know about at this point.

Each article drew on the point that our Net Generation likes working in teams, doing community service, prefers images and graphics to text, prefer Internet to phone conversations, like technology use in classrooms but not overly and still crave face-to-face interaction, and has a need for sending and receiving information instantaneously.

I totally agree.

As I continued reading the articles, I noticed the little 'Net Gen things' I was doing:

• talking on the phone while writing an e-mail
• writing an e-mail while reading an article
• watching a video while waiting for an e-mail response
• reading while chatting on IM to a friend teaching an online Biology class having an IM discussion of their own
• realizing that even though I've been on the computer most of the day, I still want to talk with my husband when he gets home, as he jumps on the computer himself...

Even with all that we may do technology-wise, I can see how those born after us have a greater aptitude for technology. My brother, a sophomore in college and 4 years younger than me, is way more technology oriented than I. Educating the Net Gen says, even a few years make a big difference in the way we see technology and the ways we see fit to use it daily. He has two monitors in his dorm room, set upon his tiny tower and an 'old-time' radio, has built his own computer, can text more quickly than I, and so forth. His speed is amazing.

When Diana and James Oblinger refer to immediacy in receiving information in Educating the Net Gen, the following comment is made. “…More value may be placed on speed than accuracy.” When referring to receiving and sending information - I agree and disagree with this comment, because there are many people and children who use abbreviations for phrases while chatting on IM. However, I know that when I chat, that I like to spell things correctly, and often send a separate IM message to correct my misspellings. I like people to think that I’m still educated, even though we are not face-to-face. This brings us back to the point about the Net Gen “believing it’s cool to be smart”.

Educating the Net Gen also mentions "…the rapid pace with which [we] like to receive information means they often choose not to pay attention if a class is not interactive, unengaging, or simply too slow. The Net Gen may need to be encouraged to stop experiencing and spend time reflecting.”

I saw this need for reflection when my Science students used hands-on exploration to discovered different properties about land and water. They would complete an experiment with their group, and more often than not, would rather talk about it than actually write in their Science journals. Forcing this reflections really helped to show who had learned what, and what concepts still needed further discussion; so I think the reflection time is pertinent.

Similarly, Miguel Guhlin mentions in Blogs: Webs of Connected Learning that “It’s not enough to read, it’s also important to write.” This is with anything in the classroom. If a student just reads text and doesn’t apply it to their own life, personal experiences, or circumstances, they are not stretching their minds and adding the information that they just read about.

So many changes need to take place in the classroom, it's difficult to see where to begin as educators. Marc Prensky put it well in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, "Just do it!" Those of us who call ourselves Digital Natives need to first understand how we learn best, and then apply it to our classrooms and our students.