Educating the Net Generation

Wow. I enjoyed reading the intro and the chapters. First of all, I would have to disagree with the author in the intro. At this point, I am still the technology guru in my house, not the kids. That said, in the subsequent chapters, I liked the various perspectives. I found the young Net Gen professor conversing with the older professor interesting. However, I don't see how in this day and age, if you're an educator, how you could be totally technologically disinclined. I was impressed by the amount of data provided (including the charts) throughout the chapters. I particularly found the chapter regarding the student interest in taking classes utilizing IT interesting. Mostly, students wanted a "moderate" amount of IT when taking classes versus an extensive amount; perhaps, indicative of a need for one-on-one instruction and socialization that face-to-face classes provide. I would say that I would personally agree with those studies. The best class I have ever taken was a U.S. History class that was web based. The class met twice a week and the professor was impressive in his usage of the Smart board. Because of technology, the class was very interesting and I looked forward to going to class. In addition to the prof's excellent use of the Smart Board, he had a wealth of knowledge about history and very interesting stories that accompanied his knowledge. Additionally, all the assignments were on the web, along with a way to converse with the professor (which he was very good about answering his e-mails in a timely fashion) along with a number of relative articles, journals, databases, etc., that the prof linked to the web page. Therefore, I believe the IT part of the class made life easier, but I also enjoyed the face-to-face discussions and instruction. This is a good example of a Baby Boomer who was very passionate about teaching who did an exceptional job of learning how to use technology to teach subject matter to a generation X'r (i.e. "me") who learned a great deal from him. Coincidentally, the majority of the rest of the class were from the Net Generation. The wave of the future will include things like virtual 3-D programs for visual learners, virtual tours/field trips. Someday, maybe not in my lifetime, all students may be home schooled using technology.

April Lenhart