Pages

Monday, June 25, 2007

Classrooms and Libraries for the Net Generation

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

No comments: