The Net Generation is comprised of those born after 1982 and they are the largest generation in U. S. history—comprising over 80 million in number. This generation has changed the face of technology in colleges and universities across the nation. This generation will be on campuses for many years to come.
While doing research I found a very good tool ion learning about the Net Generation. Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa wrote a book, published in 2007 called, Connecting to the Net. Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today’s Students. Based on the results of the Net Generation Survey (7,705 college students in the US), the book provides information on some of today’s most popular technologies: blogs, instant messaging, social networking Web sites, and filesharing programs. The 164 page paperback also looks at how students are using these technologies to communicate and develop a sense of community on campus and beyond. The authors compare generational values and offer specific recommendations for how to better serve Net Generation students in the important areas of counseling, career planning, academic advising, campus safety, disability services, parental involvement, and classroom learning.
These are some of the results from the survey:
97% own a computer
94% own a cell phone
76% use Instant Messaging (IM)
75% have a Facebook account
60% own some type of portable music and/or video device (like an iPod)
49% download music using peer-to-peer file sharing
44% read blogs frequently
34% use websites as their primary source of news
28% own a blog
15% of Instant Message users are logged on 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
As professors, our expectation is that any student who is this savvy and proficient in technology, often called a “digital native”, is prepared for great academic achievement. These students are used to virtual learning, on line education, and have every possible advantage for doing wonderfully complex academic research. So what is the problem?
Some researchers think the faculty members are the problem. If the old fuddy duddy, outdated faculty would just get out of the way, our students would accomplish great things. This is generally not the case. Every faculty member I know has welcomed (even if begrudgingly) technology into their classroom. So, I ask again, what is the problem?
According to many researchers it is the limited knowledge some students have of the technology available to them. There is a big difference between finding an old friend on Facebook and understanding how to find material needed to complete a research paper. Often students can only utilize the top layer of the technology they enjoy. It is our job to teach them to do more with the technology.
In Information Fluency it is our task to assist faculty, staff and students across the UCF campus to learn to not only find information but to EVALUATE the information once it is found. Is the source reliable or credible? Is the information reliable? Simply put, information fluency is the ability to gather, evaluate, and use information in ethical and legal ways. Information fluency encompasses and integrates three important skills: information literacy, technology literacy, and critical thinking. These three skills are not mutually exclusive but overlap. The ability to communicate information in appropriate and effective ways is another crucial part of Information Fluency.
So how information fluent are you? Have you honed you skills in evaluating information from a web site? Can you critically examine information you find on line? Do you then use the information in a way that is both legal and ethical? Let’s stop here for a time of personal examination and reflection…
Friday, February 20, 2009
Technology & Teachers
We have all heard the various jokes about how many ______ (insert the name of some group here) it takes to screw in a light bulb. The punch line is usually funny and everyone enjoys the joke. Jim Lengel, Hunter College School of Education, Boston University asks, “How many teachers does it take to screw in a new high-tech low-consumption halogen light bulb?” The answer: “Don’t bother, I’ll sit in the dark.”
This statement came from a discussion about teachers, competency, and computers. For years, many of us chose to sit in the dark when it came to adding technology and creativity to our classroom experiences. After teaching a few computer classes in my early career, I went back to teaching classes where I had training and expertise: Ethics and Management. While always striving for creativity and occasionally even controversy in my classes, I never added technology. I was not alone though since this was the late 80s and early 90s and only computer classes had computers in the classrooms. Sadly we were still using overhead projectors, slide shows and film strips and were comfortable with these technologies. Yes, we were indeed sitting in the dark.
As colleges and universities added computer experts they worked diligently to get all of the professors to add technology to our classes. Some of us tried and others gave up and retired. So, what was the big drawback for me when it came to adding useful technology to my classes? Control! Often computer labs would “go down” and the day was lost. The “Instructor’s Computer” in the classroom often didn’t work correctly (generally meaning I didn’t know how to properly work the computer and software) and that was frustrating. As a control freak, I gave up on technology.
When I moved from full time teaching to administration I got to talk to a lot of students about classes they liked and classes they didn’t like. Almost unanimously they loved the classes that had incorporated technology into their assignments and lectures. Contrary to what I thought, many of my colleagues were not sitting in the dark with me. Professors were finding ways to be more productive and technology was a big part of the process.
So I started to learn the basics. One of the best things about being a Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean is that you can schedule workshops and in-service training for faculty and staff and make sure the areas presented are things you want to know more about. I learned PowerPoint! This was a technologically savvy as you could be in the 90s if you weren’t a “computer geek.” I learned to add sound and animation. From that point forward my presentations and faculty meetings were technological experiences from heaven. I was hooked.
Along the way I met a guy who was a true geek. I called him “Geek Boy” for years. We became best friends over time and I learned just how much I still didn’t know about technology and how it could help me in academic administration and help in adding technology to the classroom. I thought I had arrived and then found out I had a long way to go. In the end though, isn’t that how life is supposed to be? We can choose lifelong learning or we can be left behind. It is our choice to make. I am going to learn how to screw in that dang new high-tech low-consumption halogen light bulb!
This statement came from a discussion about teachers, competency, and computers. For years, many of us chose to sit in the dark when it came to adding technology and creativity to our classroom experiences. After teaching a few computer classes in my early career, I went back to teaching classes where I had training and expertise: Ethics and Management. While always striving for creativity and occasionally even controversy in my classes, I never added technology. I was not alone though since this was the late 80s and early 90s and only computer classes had computers in the classrooms. Sadly we were still using overhead projectors, slide shows and film strips and were comfortable with these technologies. Yes, we were indeed sitting in the dark.
As colleges and universities added computer experts they worked diligently to get all of the professors to add technology to our classes. Some of us tried and others gave up and retired. So, what was the big drawback for me when it came to adding useful technology to my classes? Control! Often computer labs would “go down” and the day was lost. The “Instructor’s Computer” in the classroom often didn’t work correctly (generally meaning I didn’t know how to properly work the computer and software) and that was frustrating. As a control freak, I gave up on technology.
When I moved from full time teaching to administration I got to talk to a lot of students about classes they liked and classes they didn’t like. Almost unanimously they loved the classes that had incorporated technology into their assignments and lectures. Contrary to what I thought, many of my colleagues were not sitting in the dark with me. Professors were finding ways to be more productive and technology was a big part of the process.
So I started to learn the basics. One of the best things about being a Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean is that you can schedule workshops and in-service training for faculty and staff and make sure the areas presented are things you want to know more about. I learned PowerPoint! This was a technologically savvy as you could be in the 90s if you weren’t a “computer geek.” I learned to add sound and animation. From that point forward my presentations and faculty meetings were technological experiences from heaven. I was hooked.
Along the way I met a guy who was a true geek. I called him “Geek Boy” for years. We became best friends over time and I learned just how much I still didn’t know about technology and how it could help me in academic administration and help in adding technology to the classroom. I thought I had arrived and then found out I had a long way to go. In the end though, isn’t that how life is supposed to be? We can choose lifelong learning or we can be left behind. It is our choice to make. I am going to learn how to screw in that dang new high-tech low-consumption halogen light bulb!
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