Technology and Generation Y Learners
From your perspective, how has technology impacted the learning process of Gen Y students?
Like most things, there are both pros and cons. It is helpful for students to become accustomed to technology in more interactive and fun mediums, but the problem is overrelying on technology. Many students have lost the ability to write properly and, as others have stated, seem to look for shortcuts. When there is a process to complete, many students want to just skip to the final step instead of following a series of steps leading to the finished product.
I feel that technology has impacted the learning process both negatively and positively. I say this because I feel that technology today gives generation Y learners more opportunity and more sources to seek information but I also think that some learners use it as a "way out" or a way around doing all of the work that the assignment entitles.
I believe this generation is more self involved and technology has much to do with it. To other generations, airing your thoughts, feelings and emotions online for all to see is much to personal. It's far too open and even hard to fathom why others do it. For example, Facebook, what type of self arrogance does it take to open one's self up? To "post" what most put into a diary online for all to read. Privacy just doesn't mean the same thing to this generation as it does to others. Technology is not a luxury, it's a necessity and is used as a tool of expression.
"Common sense" has become "uncommon sense". We had a student in the past, who did a dose calculation incorrectly, and did not think it would be odd to give a mouse 500ml of fluids under the skin. That is about a pint of fluids!
With the availability of "spellcheck", many Gen Y students have very poor spelling. Also, I don't know if this has to do with technology at all, or just poor schooling in grammar school, but the knowledge of basic grammar is missing. We just started using a new edition of a medical terminology textbook. It starts by explaining what a noun, verb, adverb, and adjective are! Once again, I find myself feeling old - I thought everyone learned that in grade school. Maybe many did, but have forgotten.
No, many DON'T know how to SPEAK or WRITE.
The instant access to information on the internet helps students and hurts them. Their answers may be found readily, but this tends to make them hesitant to commit the information to memory - why bother? The information is just a click away. The same is true of calculators and math skills. Many of our college students need their calculators for "easy" problems. I even had a student pick up her calculator to determine what 0.4 times 10 is!
Even using an analog clock is foreign to some of them. We want our students to determine heart rates of their patients by counting for 15 seconds, than multiplying by 4. Not only is the multiplication difficult for some of them, but using a sweep second hand on clock is even difficult. I do feel very old, in comparison.
Back to the internet: Students often have trouble differentiating between reliable and unreliable sites. Help is available in our library and learning lab, to steer students to reliable, professional information, but Google and Wikipedia are faster.
Technology is an necessary evil. Its here to stay, many use it despite all the safe catches put into place, to cheat.
If used properly technology is a great tool. Many use it to escape real learning.
I have always seen that the students video shoot all my demos. Sometimes I am not even aware of them shooting me. I used to get upset and asked them to write it down or pay attention and use your brain.
But I have come to realize that they are the generation of media and media is a n inseperable part of them.
Technology is a necessity for me, as I teach software applications courses. I just have to determine which options are going to be the most effective for the classroom.
I believe that technology has greatly impacted the learning process of Gen Y learners. Students are constantly switching from resource to resource on the internet, getting the latest greatest information. I am amazed at how students come in and are telling me about some new piece of technology, a new drug, or new research in our field that has just come out. Aren't we supposed to be giving that to them? They are so adept at navigating the web that, and I consider myself somewhere between a digital native and a digital immigrant, the regularly find things faster than I can when performing group research in class.
Rebecca I agree that students have unlimited access to information at their finger tips therefore there is no need to retain the information. I believe this has greatly reduced the ability to retain the information.
My experience with Gen Y is that there are interested in the learning but have trouble focusing on the details of an assignment. I deliver both visual and verbal instruction on details of the task to be accomplished.
The use of technology in my classroom is a constant distraction. If any one remembers passing notes in the classroom, well now all of the students are reading the note at the same time via text message. I have some incredibly intelligent students that have been supplied with instant answers their whole lives, and now their minds are operating at half capacity. They are being placed at a disadvantage by this, and will be left behind by the rest of the world.
I teach at an online school and have students from the age of 18 to 65 in my program. I find that Gen Y students are overly dependent on technology. If the Internet is down, all is lost. Going to a library or reading a book is not the first thing they think about or maybe something they think about at all.
When we offer a library as a solution, it's not viewed as a solution. They get irritable and anxious and shut down. I am not speaking about all Gen Y students, just most of the ones I have encountered at my online school.
I see that many of the responses are expressing frustration with the Gen Y over-reliance on technology. I adhere with the approach promoted years ago in "Teaching as a Conservative Activity". The premise is that when technology is the predominant mode of learning in the everyday culture, it is up to the educational system to provide the skills that are lacking - namely, good old reading, writing and arithmetic.
MYSELF, BEING A BABY BOOMER, i FEEL THE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY HAVE BOTH HELP[ED AND HURT CERTAIN LEARNING EXPERIENCES. sOMETIMES i FEEL THE TECHNOLOGY IS USED AS A CRUTCH RATHER THAN DEDICATING MORE TIME AND EFFORT TO OLD FASHIONED STUDYING.
The students in our classes have a willingness to want to KNOW the information, gen y has issues with the traditional methods of LEARNING the information. I take the time to explain the other learning styles to best accommodate their needs.
Not only are study skills lacking... organizational skills tend to be in short supply, too. In my remedial math class, I require the development of a portfolio which will hopefully serve as a reference document during the follow-on college math course. I provide detailed assembly and content instructions, even to the point of providing a "demonstration model" of a functional portfolio. Yet, 25% of each class fails to satisfactorily complete this assignment. Sad.
