Gen Y and younger students reliance onn technology...
It seems to me that my younger students, say those in their early thirties or younger, have embraced technology to the point of not needing to retain information. Many of them see the internet as their bank of knowledge that they can refer to at any time to gather facts, and that facts equal knowledge. Having a keen ability to do an internet search, and quote things found therein, in my opinion, does not
constitute "knowledge". While I believe technology is an excellent tool, it is only that, a tool, and like most tools, without the knowledge to know how to get things done without it makes one venerable and is a setup to fail.
Tracey ,
The other concern is whether they know how to apply the knowledge or just know where to find it.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree that the younger students have embraced technology and that this technology has given the students the opportunity to gather a lot of facts at a very fast rate. Once these facts have been absorbed, I believe that the students will naturally use these facts to aid the students solve problems that they encounter. The result is a very positive for the student.
Theodore,
and our role in this situation is helping them learn to filter & decipher what information is valuable & trustworthy.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Gen Y students need to be comfortable with accessing data quickly from a variety of sources and just as importantly they have to learn how to apply that knowledge. My role as a nurse educator is trying to help the Gen Y students think critically about clinical situations and patients so they can apply their new found knowledge to real life situations especially in the health care field. Technology is just one more tool for the students to use to best serve their patients needs.
I agree completely. The Gen Y's have the worst time retaining because they are so used to "googling" the answer right then and getting an instant response. makes test time a very difficult time
I agree- a lot of students are very quick to google the answer vs. trying to figure is out using prior knowledge.
