Gen Y
I have two daughters 11 and 15, I am amazed at thier level of knowledge about technology and how to use it.
I teach middle school and I too am amazed at my students' level of knowledge about technology and how to use it, but I'm also amazed at their lack of knowledge when it comes to researching a topic, supporting their position and writing a paper.
I have watched my 3 yr old niece simply pick up a mouse and know how to use it right away. It's amazing. They have these inherent instincts to use one after watching their brothers and sisters for a very short time! The hand-eye coordination is incredible. It just makes sense to them.
I have children(adults)in Gen-X and Gen Y. They are very different in the ways they communicate. Both have better educations then parents had in the same decades of life. Both are engineers, Ge-X is a train engineer & Gen-Y is a mechanical engineer. The Gen-X son is very people focused and loves to be in your face for attention and can debate any issue of interest.
He is hands on everything even while working with his children(2)girls. The daily stress of a family,2parents working,and children is done with lots of banter. The Gen-Y son is newly married and very tech focused. Both he & wife always have the phones, blackberrys, or internet open. If there was a long term power outage I'm not sure either could adjust quickly to doing things manually. The technology has made life easier in researching and instant information. Yet harder because the information is not retained because they do not have to retain info they just look it up a 2nd time.
I have a 3 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. I am amazed at how quickly they catch on to computor games designed for kids.
I also have 2 young grandsons that regularly use the ipad at 2 and 4 years of age. They are rapidly utilizing all of this technology from an early age. I feel they become bored easily if not engaged with technology.
I agree with their lack of basic knowledge of common sense how to look things up other than the internet. Don't get me wrong the internet is great but they should be able to go to the library, and be able to look it up in a book, or by interviewing someone with knowledge in that subject. They also have trouble with basic math skills like estimating numbers in their mind. I am not sure how to fix some of these things other than challenge them in the classroom to put some thought in the subject they are in by doing self studies or researching in there text book.
Joe,
I think forcing them to do research, but not allow them to use technology on some of the projects can help. This way they realize there is more than one way to discover the information needed.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Although I agree that Gen Y individuals have tremendous knowledge on the use of "gadgets", I have also noticed knowledge in general areas lacking. As an Instructor I see my students texting at the speed of lightning, but then have a terrible time reading and understanding basic vocabulary. Has anyone else noticed that most do not even use punctuation anymore? I have seen papers written where there is an entire paragraph written without so much as a period. Testing can be a nightmare, because many can't comprehend the questions. I am a Gen X individual myself and I love technology as much as the next guy, but I feel like all the abbreviation or "text lingo" is completely dumbing down our youth.
Angela,
I would agree for the most part. They know a lot about the "shiny things" but take them out of that arena & they struggle.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think that one of the down falls of having the internet and smartphones is that Gen. Y seems to be a very impatient generation. They want all results now, because they can just look up things on the internet, they expect everything to come so quickly and easily. I notice this with information gathering, driving, and with how quickly they want things done and in the classroom they want grades immediately, these students lack the respect of time and patience in waiting for test results... I think that they lack the skill of being patient and respecting other peoples' schedules and time.
I think that one of the down falls of having the internet and smartphones is that Gen. Y seems to be a very impatient generation. They want all results now, because they can just look up things on the internet, they expect everything to come so quickly and easily. I notice this with information gathering, driving, and with how quickly they want things done and in the classroom they want grades immediately, these students lack the respect of time and patience in waiting for test results... I think that they lack the skill of being patient and respecting other peoples' schedules and time.
It appears that some instructors are not embracing technology, delivering instruction in rote fashion without offering web-based course materials to help the GEN Y population subsume curriculum content.
Certainly, I am pleased that GEN Y students are tech savvy, but I agree with my peers that there are limitations to online learning platforms. Yes, students are able to communicate with people all over the world, yet this type of communication is less personal than speaking with someone face to face, body language and non-verbal cues are not evident.
James,
I think the key is balance. Finding technology that actually helps with the learning but not simply using technology to use it.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
