EDTECH 597 - Generational differences

I'm going to switch hats here and post about my blogging class - if you missed my first entry, this is actually a "learning blog" where I am learning about blogging tools and techniques, by creating and maintaining a blog of my own.

So, the topic this week is generational differences as related to educational technology. There are three articles referenced below that deal with this subject. Prensky essentially argues that teachers are "digital immigrants" to the world of their students, who are "digital natives," which creates disconnect in schooling. But Prensky has been roundly criticized by McKenzie and others, who argue that Prensky is guilty of sloppiness and over-simplification. Indeed, McKenzie's best line is, "Real fifteen year old humans are quite different from each other, a fact that Prensky did not take the time to study or notice. Some love things digital. Some are more interested in a horse or a dog or a walk along the shore" (McKenzie).

But while McKenzie certainly takes Prensky to task, I feel that it's Reeves who really brings something new to the argument. Reeves finds that middle-class and wealthy "Millennials" own and use a lot of technology. But that high usage does not translate into the ability to gather information with the technology and process it in a literate, discerning, and critical fashion. That, I think, is where educators need to focus their efforts.


References:

McKenzie, J. (2007). Digital nativism: Digital delusions and digital deprivation. From Now On, 17(2). Retrieved from http://fno.org/nov07/nativism.html

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants – Part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6). Retrieved fromhttp://www.marcprensky.com/wri...0Part1.pdf

Reeves, T.C. (2008). Do generational differences matter in instructional design? Online discussion presentation to Instructional Technology Forum from January 22-25, 2008 at http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/...mJan08.pdf