Generations of Learners
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/234915975
The idea I've chosen from Chapter 7 is Generations of Learners. I wanted to read more about this topic because I am usually suspicious of generalizations and categorizing traits by those of a same age group, especially in light of what my classmates reported about their MI scores, makes me skeptical. Of course, I don’t know for certain what generation(s) my classmates fall into, but I have a feeling that most of them are Gen X like I am. Even pinpointing which generational group someone is in can be difficult - our textbook considers those born between 1982 and 2005 to be millennials (Simonson, et al., 2012, p.234), but a quick look at the References list of the Wikipedia “Generation Y” article shows that newspapers and journals have applied the term to those born anywhere from 1977 to 2006! At least Simonson et al. do acknowledge that generalizations are difficult when they state that "if even a portion of the generalizations about millennials are accurate" (2012, p. 234).
In addition to the difficulty in determining exactly who qualifies as a millennial, the traits that one exhibits, “sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving” (Simonson et al., 2012, p. 234) strike me as contradictory and confusing. I don’t usually associate being sheltered with being confident. And what exactly is "conventional"? By whose conventions?
Another problem I have is with the characterization of millennials as “tech savvy” (Simonson et al., 2012, p. 234) – a generalization that may work well in some areas, but fails spectacularly in others. Every semester I help students in my library who did not grow up with a single computer in their entire school, let alone a personal laptop or smart phone. In addition to having moved to a strange place to attend school, having to navigate a new social structure, having to adapt to college-level learning, these students are also having to – on their own, because our school doesn’t provide training – figure out how to type their assignment into Word, upload it to Laulima, and send emails – and that’s all before being confronted with the mystifying world of online resources and databases and citation styles and…
And finally - multitasking. A way to simultaneously accomplish more or a way to be more scattered, less effective, less efficient? Something that should be encouraged and fostered or deterred? Well, if we had all the answers, there would be nothing for researchers to do! And as Simonson et al. point out, multitasking and its counterpart, social networking, "need investigation" (2012, p. 235)
The online source I've chosen is a study done by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (http://www.educause.edu/ECAR/ECARHome/AboutECAR/94), whose mission is "to foster better decision making by conducting and disseminating research and analysis about the role and implications of information technology in higher education" (Smith, 2010, p.2) EDUCAUSE is "a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology" (http://www.educause.edu).
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010 (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers1006/rs/ers1006w.pdf) is a 118-page report - so I must confess I didn't read it all - that asked students about the technologies they use both in and out of the academic setting. A longer explanation of the study can be found here: http://www.educause.edu/ers1006 The study was interesting to me right from the very beginning - the Executive Summary begins with two quotes from undergraduate students, one who can't live without IT and one who can't stand "all this digital stuff" (Smith, 2010, p. 7). Although the study doesn't specifically address distance learning, many students today aren't strictly either only classroom or distance students - and many face-to-face classes use online course management systems - and I feel it's also beneficial to have knowledge of students in general.
I'm giving this source 4 stars (****) out of a possible 4 stars because it directly addresses how millennials use and feel about technology, it's from a reputable source, it uses rigorous methodology, it is a thorough exploration of the topic, and it is an annual study, so trends can be tracked - a valuable analytical benefit.
References
Available as a .pdf, because website viewing has too many variables to properly display exactly-formatted citations.
In addition to the difficulty in determining exactly who qualifies as a millennial, the traits that one exhibits, “sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving” (Simonson et al., 2012, p. 234) strike me as contradictory and confusing. I don’t usually associate being sheltered with being confident. And what exactly is "conventional"? By whose conventions?
Another problem I have is with the characterization of millennials as “tech savvy” (Simonson et al., 2012, p. 234) – a generalization that may work well in some areas, but fails spectacularly in others. Every semester I help students in my library who did not grow up with a single computer in their entire school, let alone a personal laptop or smart phone. In addition to having moved to a strange place to attend school, having to navigate a new social structure, having to adapt to college-level learning, these students are also having to – on their own, because our school doesn’t provide training – figure out how to type their assignment into Word, upload it to Laulima, and send emails – and that’s all before being confronted with the mystifying world of online resources and databases and citation styles and…
And finally - multitasking. A way to simultaneously accomplish more or a way to be more scattered, less effective, less efficient? Something that should be encouraged and fostered or deterred? Well, if we had all the answers, there would be nothing for researchers to do! And as Simonson et al. point out, multitasking and its counterpart, social networking, "need investigation" (2012, p. 235)
The online source I've chosen is a study done by the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (http://www.educause.edu/ECAR/ECARHome/AboutECAR/94), whose mission is "to foster better decision making by conducting and disseminating research and analysis about the role and implications of information technology in higher education" (Smith, 2010, p.2) EDUCAUSE is "a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology" (http://www.educause.edu).
The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2010 (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers1006/rs/ers1006w.pdf) is a 118-page report - so I must confess I didn't read it all - that asked students about the technologies they use both in and out of the academic setting. A longer explanation of the study can be found here: http://www.educause.edu/ers1006 The study was interesting to me right from the very beginning - the Executive Summary begins with two quotes from undergraduate students, one who can't live without IT and one who can't stand "all this digital stuff" (Smith, 2010, p. 7). Although the study doesn't specifically address distance learning, many students today aren't strictly either only classroom or distance students - and many face-to-face classes use online course management systems - and I feel it's also beneficial to have knowledge of students in general.
I'm giving this source 4 stars (****) out of a possible 4 stars because it directly addresses how millennials use and feel about technology, it's from a reputable source, it uses rigorous methodology, it is a thorough exploration of the topic, and it is an annual study, so trends can be tracked - a valuable analytical benefit.
References
Available as a .pdf, because website viewing has too many variables to properly display exactly-formatted citations.
references_for_chap7.pdf | |
File Size: | 4 kb |
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