Examining Generational Differences

Digital Natives: Has technology fundamentally changed how students learn?

As the newest generation goes through school, often teachers will indicate that students are fundamentally different than they once were. They explain that students have been changed by technologies and that they learn differently because they are "digital natives" and always have been. In the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, author Prensky agrees with this idea that "today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach" (2001, pg. 1). However, the problem with this is two-fold. First, it negates the idea of researched educational learning theories and secondly it ignores that fact that not all students have equal access or exposure to technologies in a productively meaningful way.

"Outdoors" by Gruhn is licensed by CC BY 2.0 

McKenzie (2007) argues that there is little to no research behind Prensky's overarching calms that today's students' brains are fundamentally different. Teachers should not feel that their teaching and standards have to change in every way because their learners cannot learn via traditional methods of teaching. This is an over generalization and simply inaccurate. Rather teachers should understand learning theories as a way to make content more meaningful, accessible and relevant to all of their learners as individuals rather than a generalized generational grouping.

How students learn has been widely researched and the idea that students are individuals with unique learning styles and intelligences should not be thrown out the window even as the newest generation comes to school with technology awareness. The theory of constructionism has been around for awhile, but connectivism is increasingly important as a learning theory as students very obviously learn through interaction, collaboration, and interest. With increased educational technologies so must research into learning theories continue so that teachers can best understand how to increase learning with the added value of technologies. And of course it is important to understand that value must be added and tools should never be used as novelties with no purpose.

And while it is true that students today have been living in a world where technologies have always been available, it isn't true that technologies have always been made available to them. And beyond the equality of availability is equity of usage and experience. Students need to learn how to use and manipulate technologies for creation purposes rather than as consumers alone. Teachers will always be needed as a means to deliver and facilitate high-quality instruction for students to build their 21st-century skills.

This post is in response to a post by Michael Barbour.

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References

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants – Part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf


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