Week Four - May 28
The Net-Generation, & Adolescents and Digital Media (Internet)
Dryburgh, H. (2000). Changing our ways: Why and how Canadians use the Internet. (On-line). Available: http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/56F0006XIE/56F0006XIE00001.pdf
Jonassen, Peck & Wilson (1999). Chapter 2: Learning by Exploring with Technology
Norton & Wiburg (1998). Chapter 2" Designing Opportunities for Learning
Tapscott, D. (1999). Educating the Net Generation. Educational Leadership, 56, (5) (On-line). Available: http://www.ascd.org/articles/9902el_tapscott.html
The readings for this week provide excellent opportunities
to reflect on the current effect of technology on students as well as the
future. To generalize a cohort of
individuals as the “Net Generation” does little to offer identifiable
characteristics for each person but does provide evidence for educational
change. As Tappcott states; “for
many adults, all this digital activity is a source of high anxiety.” Such a
vast age span certainly has the potential for many generalizations as to
technological comfort and ability but demographics obviously benefit the area of
educational technology.
Identifying the Net Generation puts certain pressures on
the education system to commence change. Persons
in this cohort have specific needs that must be met to ensure future success in
society. Recognizing this
transition will push educators to initiate crucial changes to the curriculum
that will assist students in attaining these new technological skills.
When reading the Norton and Wyberg chapter “Designing
Opportunities for Learning”, I was struck with the idea of constructivist
learning and Instructional Design. Having
recently completed the Design and Systems Design courses (EDER 673 and 675) I
had not stopped to consider constructivism in these areas. Being a novice designer, I feel comfortable with a more
structured model of ID, as I have not yet developed a model that works for my
own needs. This need for structure
stems from my inexperience designing using such approaches.
How does this dependence on a structured approach to planning correlate
with a constructivist mode of technology? Something
to consider!
To comment on the theme of building meaning through the process of creating homepages, I would have to say this is a valid idea! My own experience of developing a web page for this course has been an exercise in patience and trial and error. While acknowledging the difficulties I have had in undertaking this project, I must admit that it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! I have learned more in the past few weeks about technology than I have in the last year or so. For the first time I did not have someone hanging over my shoulder and directing me through each and every step. This prospect was certainly daunting at first, but as I worked through the ins and outs of Front Page, I realized that I was picking up a lot of information by making mistakes and simply “poking around”. What I had trouble with was the ability to just “let it go”. I had the desire to understand every component of the program and learn the background involved in each new skill. This persistence was time consuming and confusing. Once I accepted that it would be impossible to understand each and every command in my first few sessions, I was able to discover new skills and finally post my web page!