Blog Reflection 4

Several questions are posed in relation to technology not just being an age related phenomenon. Ask yourself and answer the following - you may be surprised at your answers.

Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand?

I have definitely become more comfortable composing documents online. When I use paper and pen method I actually find it frustratingly slow and uncomfortable.

Have you turned your "remembering" (phone numbers, meetings, and so on) over to a technology device?

Yes, I realized the other day that I have NO idea what my son or daughters telephone number is since it’s just programmed on my phone. One thing though that I can’t seem to give up doing long hand is calendaring. I like a real paper calendar to write in appointments and meetings. I have tried to use my I phone for this, but have trouble sticking with it and usually default to the traditional method.

Do you go to meetings with your laptop or PDA?

Most of my meetings are school staff meetings. I still bring a notepad and pen with me. I like to doodle.

Are you constantly connected? Is the Internet always on whether you are at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you?

YES! My phone is with me constantly at all times. It’s my trusty companion. It’s my alarm clock so it even sleeps next to me. I can check email and face book in just a few clicks.

How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time?

I would say approximately 3 activities at one time.

Do you play video or computer games?

No, I am not really into computer games or video games, although I did have one summer that I was obsessed with Wii Tennis.

What generational category do you fall in or are you a mixture
 of a few?

According to the chart I am Generation X.  It seemed to be fairly accurate in it's description.

This article focused on implications primarily for higher education; however, the characteristics for the Net Gen remain true for students in K12. What and how do we need to change?

            This article helped define several key issues for me as an educator to the Net Generation. I feel there are many areas where we could change and improve our methods of teaching these students. We must begin to shift our own thinking to become more in tune with the way this generation learns. It seems that all this amazing technology has created students that learn differently from the way we learned growing up. First we must believe that “different” is not wrong, just because textbooks, paper and pencil worked fine for us does not mean that is the only “right” way. I believe educators must determine to have an open mind about how they teach and be willing to change to meet the needs of students.  I really focused in on the part of the article that discussed the different ways that students deal with information. Areas such as their visual spatial ability, inductive reasoning skills, attentional deployment and fast response time were mentioned. I believe these are the key areas we, as teachers, need to be aware when we are working with students. We need to be capable of incorporating technology into our lessons that help students use their visual spatial skills, allow for inductive reasoning and to remember that their attention span has the potential to be shorter than we expect.

            I honestly had not considered the social side of this generation and that they use the technology to be social creatures. They desire this interaction, and not to just hide behind some computer screen. An educator should capitalize on this in the classroom as well, realizing that blogs, wikis, and working in groups would all be engaging forms of learning for the Net Generation.

            I firmly believe that I am a better educator when I get to know my students, what they are passionate about and how they learn. The ideas and suggestions in this article will help me in the coming years as I continue to strive to meet the needs of my students in ways that work best for them.