The Interpretation of Technology over Generation Gaps

We live in an age that is determined not only by our surroundings but by the tools in which we are provided.  Once we learn the importance of the tools, we begin to rely upon them.  Both Marc Prensky and Diana Oblinger, authors of Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and Educating the Net Generation respectively, discuss the concept that the NetGeneration has never lived without easy and constant access to the internet.  They are accustomed to the intricacies of technologies being readily available to provide instant results to their questions and to keep their social network intact.  Because of this, they struggle if information is given to them in a format that does not fit into their technology mindset.  They need to be taught how to be students in a traditional classroom, and struggle with the idea that how they learn facts in the classroom differs than how they learn the daily tasks of culture.

The idea of comparing one's environment and culture to the necessary learning style is a method that simply makes sense.  It is difficult to teach if you are not "speaking" the same language as the students.  Being a foreign language teacher, I come to understand and utilize this concept on a basic level. If my entire lesson is presented in French, without defining vocabulary or grammar, the students will struggle to understand the material.  They will "shut down" their listening skills because I am not speaking in a language they understand clearly.

The same ideas can be applied to teaching in a style that is "foreign" to their generation.  Unless we can apply the information to real life situations by using their desired methods (ie hands-on, group structured, and kinesthetically pleasing) the students will find it difficult, or even worse, unnecessary, to learn the information.

The dissonance between the methods needed by the Digital Natives and the methods used by the Digital Immigrants is outlined well in both articles.  Ben McNeely, author of Chapter 4 in Educating the Net-Generation discusses the satisfaction felt when the Net Generation teaches others, including the Digital Immigrants: They love to share their knowledge.  Perhaps it is the sharing of this knowledge that is teaching them more about the given material.  Teaching is the best way to reinforce one’s own understanding of material.  It is important to understand how individual students function in order to determine how they will encode the information.