Scott,
yes and while there are frustrations the fact that they can use technology in so many ways means they have great minds capable of learning. We just need to reach them!
Dr. Ryan Meers
ellen,
you are right on all these fronts. I think we need to help the students learn & appreciate the art of slowing down.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Jeffrey,
there are definite challenges with this generation. On the positive side, there seems to be a movement starting to break away from technology. My hope is that the pendulum will swing back to the middle & we'll see them return to some of these skills.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Technology has allowed Gen Y students to obtain information quickly with a search on the internet. However, they also need to be taught how to determine the best information that is available. With technology education has to battle with more distractions while in the classroom setting.
I feel that technology has helped dumb down society. The students are more distracted because they have the world at there finger tips. Instead of writing down notes that are on the board they will take a picture of it. The kids today are so worried about the instant gratification that they usually do not have the insight to see what a long term benefit is, and they don't see the benefit of having hands on skill because something will do it for them. They can't spell, can't count, they can't even tell time on an analog clock. But they can find a movie on netflix from there phone.
Generation Y demands instant responses, instant answers and can be impatient with looking information up in books or periodicals. They may base their ideas on information obtained in 'sound bites' with unreliable sources. As an instructor it is my responsibility to guide and teach students and show them that when one looks more deeply into a topic, and gains more information from a variety of sources, opinions and conclusions may change drastically.
The rapidity of the intyernet and quick asccess to information, correct or not, may result in impatience with long projects that require more extensive research.
I agree Jeff. The writing skills are horid, but I am also seeing basic communication skills suffering as well. Common courtesy to people seems to have to be asked for. Formulating a sentence without saying "like" 3 times is a struggle. They would rather text someone sitting beside them than try to carry on a conversation. I guess we are too old to understand. The generation above me couldn't understand us either.
Students of this generation rely too heavily on technoligy and at some point it may come back to haunt them. Should the power grid fail and they no longer had electricity to operate their devices, I'm not sure they could survive. I grade papers from these kids all of the time and the spelling is horid. someone told me that schools don't even bother teaching spelling because computers have spell check and when you add texting and the spelling and symbolism used there,it really becomes a challenge to figure out what they are trying to convey on paper. We are really dumbing people down in a traditional sense. I find that a lot of my students don't even know how to read an analog clock and can't do simple math without a calculator. Maybe I see this as a problem since I am more or less a boom-xer being born in 1960 and am able to relate to both gerenations easily.
You are able to find and figure anything with the aid of technology. I however feel this diminishes the thought process of the brain and does not help a student fully develop.
Daniel,
I agree & part of our job is to help them become wise discerners & consumers of that information.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Technology has become such an integral part of Gen Y. This generation has a world of knowledge at their fingertips through computers, and smart phones and other devices. They don't need to really research anything anymore they can just google it.
Brian,
I too have found this to be a struggle. I think the key is to try & help them learn how to research effectively with technology & helping them realize that sometimes they need to move away from technology & do it the old fashioned way.
Dr. Ryan Meers
it also seems that they beleve that what they read online is always the truth and try to use this against what we are teaching. I am so tired of hearing can i google that.
Shelly,
yes, this is a great use of the internet. We need to show our students that the internet can provide reliable info at a fast pace.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Warren,
I think you make a great point here. I've found that Gen Yers respect you more when you're not a techie & admit it, then trying to bluff.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree. It seems technology could be making some students "lazy" as they no longer feel they have to figure things out on their own becaue they can simply Google something or use Wikipedia to give them the answers they need. So the readily-available technology we have could be a double-edged sword.
I feel that students tend to have more difficulty focusing on the task at hand. I feel the need to repeat myself more often with these students.
I agree that Gen Y students may lack the understanding behind why a topic is important. They have access to so much information and it can be a challenge for them to sift through what is important as well as why it is important.
I enjoy using technology when I teach(such as the internet)so that students can quickly access information, as well as learn techniques for finding legitimate and pertinent information. Students can apply the information they find by doing some type of small group work (which they seem to enjoy). Case studies lend themselves well for students to use the information they find and to use critical thinking so that the "why" behind the content becomes apparent to the learner and also makes sense to them.
Technolgy has impacted gen y students in a great way there are very much in tune with the every day changes of technolgy. The danger is just like it says in the course instructor beware.If you as an instructor are not in the the fast lane of technolgy admit it. The Gen Y students are very eager to learn what they dont know and very helpful with what they do know
David,
great summary of some of the struggles that we face with this generation of students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
