This session was presented by Doug Johnson from Mankato, Minnesota. I had heard great things about his presentations and I wasn't disappointed. He is someone who has fun with the ideas that he is presenting.
Have a look at Doug’s T-Shirts – go to his site – Blue Skunk Blog
www.doug-johnson.com – presentations/ workshops/ handouts available on the site
MindSet List – Beloit College www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset
It will be easier to change the way we teach than to change the GenXers.
Net Gen – Millennial Generation
Bibliography in the handouts on Doug’s site
Characteristics of this generation:
Planning is fluid and done on the cell phone
Multi-taskers
Don’t do anything without music
Gamers
Compulsive Communicators
Instant Generation – I need it yesterday
Bombarded with commercialism
Have a lot of stuff
Know a little about a lot
They learn by inductive discovery
Spontaneous communicators
Net Gen demographics
What are the implications of these changing characteristics?
36% of population
31% minority
20% have one immigrant parent
Larger group than the baby boomers
Valued
Sheltered
Play dates
NCLB
SAT prep
Helmets
Metal detectors
V-chips
Net Nanny
Chart Educating the Net Generation for the table
Dislikes – Matures – water, technology
Boomers – laziness, turning 50
Gen X – red tape, hype
Net Gen – anything slow, negativity
Zits – find out about the NetGen
Net Gen and Technology
Fascinated by technology
Grown up with tech immersed
96% have gone on line
Watching less TV – watching another screen – they want to control it
Access through home not school, amount varies with economic level
Media in the Children’s Bedrooms
Student Monitors Lifestyle & Media
iPods were the #1 in thing on campuses 73%
The Digital backpack
Cell Phone
Notes
Share ideas
Poll groups
Photo research materials
It is part of our world
Embedded in society
Helpful
Makes things faster
Abstract concepts
Can learn on any topic
Connect to friends to get or offer help
How should we change?
Project-based learning – take away the test
Let them bring their iPods
Choices
Individualized Instruction – online? – Differentiated Instruction
Minimize the lengthy instructions
Implications?
Use technology as the hook
Make education ubiquitous and 24/7
Use students’ own technologies to teach them
Buildings places kids want to be – especially true in libraries – Barnes and Noble
How do GenX get Information?
Ubiquitous – mobile
94% used the web for school research
Taggers
Satisfice (satisfy and sacrifice) – read snip-its
Information=conversation=authority?
Everything is Miscellaneous
Tagging and Folksonomies
Libraries – do we have a way for kids to tag books?
How do kids regard authority?
The evil “Wikipedia”
Higher education=higher use
36% of adult American users consult it
8% online users use it Daily
Not a bad starting point
As a Net Genner, change…..
Library vendors
Sharp search tool
Standards and tagging have to be done
Implications
Discrimination and evaluation skills important
Students need guides more than ever – librarians
Focus on organizing, creating and USING information
***Teachers have to know how to do this***
Learning styles
Teachers are vital – computers can’t replace humans
Building social skills is a part of school
Social learner – informal learners
See personal information
Re-mixers – share 57% content creators
Hypertext minds
Read visual images
Inductive discovery
Learn by doing
Internet=connections=producers
How do we use Web 2.0 Tools to educate this generation?
My Space
Classroom blogs
Areallydifferentplace.org
Virtual lit worlds
Wiki Wikijuniorbugs
Second libraries
The ultimate tinker toy set?
Webkinz
What will be expectations?
Use, not ban, Web2.0 Tools
Relevance
Teach and use collaborative groups
Teach copyrights from POV of creator
Emphasis on safe and ethical use
Achievement oriented
Rules,schedules,agendas “Cool to be smart
Focused on grades
Work on things that matter
Identify with parent; values
Busy with extra activities
Thinkb4ulink
Give students a voice in policy making
Schools=positive connotations
Got to have faith and fun
