Students are plugged-in and tune out the world. There is less f2f communication today. The movie "Wall-E" is an excellent example of how people just sat in their chairs and looked at a screen all day. In short, this is what is becoming of our society -- everyone is an island.
I am all for technology but too much is not good. I like to talk to people f2f. I do not spend countless hours on the Internet and only visit facebook about once a week. I am really not interested in what someone is doing every second of the day. This generation texts each other and think it is OK to place text lingo into a paper for a course.
I agree, Ileana, however, I think this is always the case - all students have to learn how to think, question and apply information. I'm not sure that it is more of a problem now - this is a great challenge for instructors.
I agree that many of the younger students have little critical thinking skills. They want quick answers and do not take the time to question the answers they may have received from their sources. This is troubling to me, because we need more innovators and people who can help solve some of today's problems. We need to include more assignments and assessments that includes critical thinkgin.
Great points, Patti. Yes, connectivity is now so mobile and flexible that learning can take place anywhere and anytime. This means that, as instructors, we must focus on developing learning skills over content transmission.
I think they are referred as Nomadic Learners because their learning is no longer limited to the classroom. By having technology and the internet, they can access another virtual world for information. Technology is able to offer students endless learning opportunities and in different ways of instruction delivery.
Yes, many faculty use the SmartBoard as a segment of their online classroom, John. My suggestion is to contact the vendor directly to explore the current technolgy available to make this happen. Smart Boards can bring a real sense of collaboration and immediacy to the synchronous sections of an online course. Good luck with your efforts and let us know how it goes in the Instructor Exchange forum in the Faculty Lounge :)
I have had the benefit of using a smart board in my instruction this year and while it has helped in my in-class instruction, I am looking for ideas as to how to use it for the online portion of my class. I have thought that I could use it in conjunction with a voice/screen capture software to record lectures for online viewing. I have also put my notes online for students to download for review.
John, the challenge for hybrid teachers is to find the effective balance between group and self study opportunities. Assignments should be created to be group-oriented in class and self-orientated online. Also, the use of asynchronous and synchronous keeps both learner autonomy and learning community alive for the student. What ideas do you have yourself regarding strategies...?
Unlike any other time in history, today's students have access to all kinds of resources and knowledge via internet connectivity. Students can literally can learn anything at any time from anywhere in the world. My concern as a hybrid teacher is how to best incorporate the strategies necessary to serve these "nomadic learners" in their quest for knowledge.
M. Clinger, you make an excellent point here and this is, indeed, the continuous challenge to teachers in which ever generation! Staying relevant means that teachers as well as students must continue to learn.
Because of the technology they have grown up with, they have information readily available to them. Today's student can be challenging to instruct unless you use the methods they are very comfortable with.
Interesting, Carl. So how can technology become an enhancement of that real world context rather than merely providing gadgets...? It would, of course, depend on the subject area or professional field. There are also differences in industry-specific technology and technology that can support instruction and apply learning. The challenge for the teacher is to plan instruction well based on the uses and applications of that technology to enhance learning or mediate the learning process.
In my opinion, application in the real world and growth in one's field of expertise are and will always be the common thread in successful learning. An effective learner is one who is able to sort out what in this technologically advancing and rapidly changing world has real world application in his/her field. We have become over-gadgetized in the name of speed and convenience.
So what, in your opinion, Carl, does characterize an effective learner in the context of all this technology? What remains the same and what has changed in that learner profile?
So, Janet, if you do some research on "new literacy" you will notice that while reading is taking place, it is new in the sense that it is presented in various formats and from various sources and is processed collectively rather than linearly by the reader. New skills and changes for both teachers and students...
I call them the "joy stick" generation. It seems like they grow up with inborn knowledge of technology and by the time they enter school they are well versed in surfing on the computer.
That means they can access knowledge in many ways. While I encourage my grandsons to have a love of reading, I know that they also learn from using many forms of technology including the internet and discussions online. There is also a google app on the iphone that works well. So if you are open minded the students can learn in many ways - not just traditional lecture or paper assignments.
What a radical departure from traditional learning in a world of gadgets. "Learns on the fly" is an excellent descripter. Not too sure all of these gadgets and distractions create a genuinely learned student. A long term assessment would be most interesting.
The generation of students of these days, are referred to as "nomadic" learners. Through the technological advancement, they are inconstant move but still connected. And they can even submit and assignments and check their grades in the middle of nowhere through the internet.
Although, yes, information and technology is challenging at a very fast pace, I was wondering...have you found that the Internet can also provide better pacing for students who do struggle, Rhonda? I am referring to the customization that is possible using Internet technology with students. That is, not all students need to move at the same pace or with the same resources...those can be customized and selected by students as needed (such as learning resources online and direct tutorial intervention from the teacher etc.) I would love to hear your thoughts on these...
Because information and people move at such a fast pace now, students have more pressure to perform at a faster rate. I do not think this is always best for the student. Although we move at a fast past, not everyone is a fast pace learner. I have found a few that I just had to give a little extra time. They would show me thier research and they just needed more time to read and process it.
