Gen Y Students and Technology
As digital natives how do Gen Y students view technology?
In my class we did an experiment to see which generation would receive the most text and phone calls during the class time. Each student put their name on their phone and put it on a table with their generation noted. Every 30 minutes we would stop what we are doing and take a look at the phone. I found that the Gen X student had the least amount of call, the Gen Y was runner up and the Boomers were the students with the most contact during class. The factor that was missing in this the student that was the bigges cell phone affender. She would have been in the Gen Y and I know she would have been the one to bring that generation first in the experiment. Fun for the students, and gave me a chance to teach without distraction.
@EHobbs55 :
I notice that too. I have two jobs, and ironically both deal with both students and IT. We are the first people to know when it comes to a technical issue and someone can't access Facebook or YouTube during a study hall or lunch period. As much into technology as I am (and have to be to stay ahead of the curve), I find myself NOT wanting to turn on the TV or touching anything with a keyboard or mouse or can access the Internet when I finally get home. I don't know if it's age or burnout or a combo of both, but I don't know if I'm more scared or impressed by the resilience or need to stay connected digitially 24/7.
Wow, how did you get to pull that off?
I usually make my announcements on the cheating policy, disrespecting your fellow classmates if I have to stop and ask someone to pay attention, get points off professionalism if I have to speak to you about being on your phone, then I do rounds around the classroom as I am lecturing or students are doing an exam or even during classwork.
Our school policy is no cell phones are allowed in class. Like many others have stated the lack of attentiveness to class, or completion of tasks while in lab because they are on social networking cites or watching videos on YouTube. Because of that the same device is then needed to cheat to pass assessments. Its unfortunate that such policies are needed because there is so much information available on line that would be helpful in their learning, as well as professionally.
I feel that most students view technology as "a way out" I have caught several students trying to cheat on different assignments using their smart phones and devices instead of looking up the answer in the book when given an assignment. Although if students used the technology available in the correct ways they could be very helpful to gather information.
It is totally a part of their lives, they can't imagine life without technology.
Texting and email can be an excellent way of communicating with them and is almost essential. The instructor needs to set clear guidelines on how these will be used and establish clear expectations on accessibility and response times.
Clear rules and strict limitations on the use of cell phones and the internet in the classroom should be established at the beginning of the course - perhaps through linked in along with an introduction to the class etc.
But it is also well to impress the students that face to face learning is the most effective.
I think that it is very useful in the classroom. I have had students look up information on their smartphones and share it with the class.
I encourage this especially when they are working in small groups.
Once I forgot to "close" an Engrade quiz and while I was reviewing the answers in class a student completed the quiz as I gave the correct answers. Fortunately I had the time the student completed the quiz, which coincided with the same time I was reviewing the quiz. Needless to say, although she scored 100%, she received a 0% for cheating.
They think technology is an extension of themselves and essential to life.
But they need to be taught that success in college and life is determined by what they know and how they relate knowledge to life.
They may like to multitask but the classroom is a place to focus and learn. This is best done face to face and eye to eye. You pay good tuition for this class so concentrate on what goes on in the classroom. Leave your cell phones and computers off except when they are utilized in group participation or class projects. They are not allowed to be turned on in the classroom during examinations or quizzes. I encourage students to use their technology outside class time to enrich their knowledge of the class subject material then bring to class questions and things they may have learned that were not covered in the class setting.
This is also a concern for legal and privacy issues. I feel it puts the teachers at a dangerous situation where we have to always be on our toes. Technology is great if used to genuinely benefit but can also be detrimental and makes teaching even harder sometimes, because watching for loopholes.
They view it very much as a "need." It is the language they engage their world in. It can be abused, but it is essentially useful even in the classroom. However, it does not replace the need to connect with them personally in the classroom.
I have had these same type of problems , I think that if being connected has become that important to gen y folks we might have created a monster.
I have found that my students actually respond better to technology than to me asking a question. I have recently started using a program called nearpod. It allows me to literally drag and drop my current PP into the program, then I can add slides for questions. I can do multiple choice poll questions, short answer, drawings, and the pay version has additional options. There is also an option to add a quiz at the end of each PP. My most recent cohort is VERY quiet. I could ask questions about any topic, and they stare at me with a blank look. I began using nearpod and inserting my questions for the class to respond to. Now I know that I am getting 100% participation. I can display interesting answers to the class without giving the students name. Love this program and what it has done for my Shy-Learners!!
One thing we learned in this course is that Gen Y students are multi-taskers, so they should be able to learn by listening and participating in class discussions while texting or surfing the Internet and "staying connected to family and friends" (if not to their fellow students), no? I can't imagine any teacher believes that. I've any number of studies that have documented that multi-tasking is not successful, that the end product is always weak.
The other issue is that technology evolves so rapidly nowadays that what was appropriate one semester may not be so the next. One example in my experience is the Internet itself and Design web sites. Most of the students coming into my capstone Theory course had never heard of some of the most important deign web site, and yet they are constantly wired, even in my class.
To me our Gen Y students depend too much on technology. In the past, if we wanted a phone number, we had to look it up in the phone book or store it in our long-term memory. If we wanted to learn about the African Safari, we'd have to look it up AT THE LIBRARY in a BOOK. I find that most of my Gen Y online students depend on technology to the point that when it's not working, neither are they. They are intimidated by any solution outside of getting their connectivity to their network restored. While technology has opened up a world of convenience, I feel it has also crippled them a little.
Gen Y students view technology as a natural part of their lives, so why not use it in the classroom? It can be a great help for finding answers to questions, to comment with others about content, and to create content. I've heard it said that we now live in a "comment culture". Gen Y students like to share their views. As an educator, I allow the use of on-line technology in class but under fairly strict guidelines. I am most strict about forbidding the use of devices during exams.
James,
this is a good example of finding that balance & even using technology to free up some class time for other material.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Randy,
yes & really the face to face communication is desired by most individuals. While today's students are used to technology, they really do still crave the personal connection.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Mark,
Bravo for your "old school" communication class... I love it! I had the good fortune to serve as an Army leadership facilitator via two-week small-group seminars.... face-to-face communication was the name-of-the-game.... invaluable learning for all involved!
I find technology has its place in the classroom. In our training, students must complete prerequisite web base courses before I can lecture on the subject matter.
