Get Your Students Hired
I often feel hey view it as the best way to learn and interact. I personally find that many Gen Y students have lost the art of interacting and "thinking outside vthe box" to get info and answers to their problems.
Geri,
I think this is a great, balanced approach to using technology & still encouraging other methods.
Dr. Ryan Meers
It is very clear to me that Gen Yers have to have their cell phone, smart phone, right by their side every minute to feel connected. I have seen this in my classroom on numerous occasions. While I do teach a subject that students can utilize their phones in a limited way, I still encourage them to reference the "old fashioned" way, by looking things up in reference books. On the other hand, to stay current with Gen Yers, I do encourage them to look things up on their phones or laptops. This way they get a taste of both, and I stay connected to them. However, I always explain to them that phones and laptops are means that can fail us at times, and it is always a good idea to know how to reference the "old fashioned" way.
Other than the addiction of having a phone in their possession and having the best of the best in technology.... I have incorporated other creative ideas to forget about the phone. However, in the same token if they are given a research project and we are not in a room with pcs and they are divided into teams, I have incorporated their phones and/or ipads to get their results. But then this is normally because we are engaging in a debate project.
Students love it and I as an instructor find it interesting and a learning experience as well.
Gen Y students view technology as norm. They could not survive with out them. I have had students that are living out of there cars but are not willing to get rid of that cell phone bill to survive.
Ted,
well put & I would add that having been in the corporate training world for several years, many of the adults were just as bad or worse than the Gen Yers I now teach.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have to disagree with alot of the posts I saw above. Gen Y students rely on their technology in the same way that every generation relies on the technology that has come before them. The invention of the telephone was just as amazing to earlier generations when it came out, and then second nature to those that came after. The same is true of the internet, or smart phones, or whatever the next breakthrough is. We need to understand that and accept it. It is time to come down off the high horse and realize that this is how the world is now. It is unrealistic to expect Gen Y students to not rely on their constant access to information. You can try and pull them away all you want but the truth is that if a day comes where access to information on this scale suddenly vanishes then people are going to have much bigger problems since it means society has probably just collapsed. Embrace the new technology, understand what it offers, move forward and utilize what is available and stop trying to put your social norms on the next generation.
Because they have had technology around them their whole life, it is so much a part of them that they cant deal with life without it.
Jaime,
yes & the more we help them break away from this addiction & "need" to be constantly connected, the better off they will be in the future.
Dr. Ryan Meers
It seems they see it as an ever-present part of their life rather than an aid to assist them from time to time. To remove their technological equipment may be something like taking clocks and watches away from the previous generation and reverting back to sundials. To some, their immediate ability to communicate with anyone and everyone they associate with could almost be classified as an addiction. Taking away access to this ability seems to cause anxiety in many of them.
They see it as a neccessity and cannot imagine a day without it. technology is also seen as a crutch that if they don't know an answer, it is easy to locate.
Gen Y students view technology as a way of life. They feel anxious if they do not communicate with they social network devices.
The Gen Y students think of technology as the "norm". Many of them have never "not had" a computer. Cell phones are expected and if you do not have one, you are looked at like you have three heads! Technology is a big part of their learning. They don't do well with having to read a chapter or in a book, then write a report. But when they do, you have to remind them that they have to use complete sentences, no abbreviations and can not use text language.
Marcus,
yes, I think we see the loss of the value of hard copy books in general.
Dr. Ryan Meers
My work mates are right on the money with this. The Gen Y learners we deal with consider their phones to be an extension of their person. Regularly when I am interviewing a Gen Y'er they have no problem checking their phones and messaging during our conversation. It is not a question of if they will do it but how much.
A concerning trend that I have noticed as an intructor at a culinary school is the dismissal of cook books. Most students go on line to theFood Network site or such sites as Epicurious.com and completely forget about hard copy cook books. I believe that a cook books is a fantastic tool: it's portable, it has time tested recipea, and great photgraphy. They can be a showcase of a chefs entire work or a series of works. They don't seem as sporadic or choppy as 12 different recipes from 12 different websites.
Jon-Paul,
I agree that the more we approach this generation as impossible, lazy, etc the more they will meet our expectations.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I think to be a successful instructor I can't view the Gen Y's as odd. They are actually the norm and my ideas regarding the importance of personal technologies are antiquated. There is a great book called Quantum teaching that states that Gen Y will not follow us until we are willing to recognize their world as valid.
It is sad really to depend that much on technology and I think Gen Y are yet to realize that.