The 21st century student is an expert at
multitasking. They are mosaic thinkers, nonlinear
in thought. Remember when your mother
told you to turn off the music to do your homework? Well, today’s students text, tweet, watch
streaming videos, follow friends on Facebook, listen to Pandora, upload, download,
shop online and scan hundreds of channels while they study! This connectivity and
collaboration is key to their existence, not distractions from it. Yet, many educators continue to offer their
students linear PowerPoint lectures as the mainstay of their instruction. Some teachers resist the notion of change. Others see the need for a minor change in
methodology. I believe more than
methodology needs to change. Education
must be wholly transformed to keep up with the needs of today’s students. Dan Brown, a student that uploaded An Open Letter to Educators on YouTube,
stated…“We
are in the midst of a very real revolution and if institutional education
refuses to adapt to the landscape of the information age, it will die, and it
should die.”
(Brown, D. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2PGGeTOA4&NR=1&feature=fvwp
)
The resistance to change, I believe,
stems from a paradigm shift in power. No
longer is the teacher the expert or in total control. Students desire active self-directed
learning. They yearn for educators that
function as guides and facilitators, catalysts of creativity and knowledge
construction. Technology is not
technology to them; it merely represents the tools of daily life, the
norm. Don Topscott, author of Grown Up Digital: Meet the Net Generation,
has this brief video on YouTube that summarizes the differences in today’s
learners.
I think methodology needs to change too! I am hoping this new wave of educators don't stop learning after they are done with their education--they will miss out on so many great new changes.
ReplyDeleteIt IS definitely a shift in power and at universities it needs to come from the top so everyone can get on board. I believe administrators and educators should work together to create a plan to shift instruction to less traditional methods. Administrators are just as old school as the teachers sometimes. ;)
Great job, love the video you found!
Nice post! Tapscott's book is a good read, and as noted in the video, it IS about power.
ReplyDeleteSo, am I modeling 21st Century teaching? Are all of you modeling 21st Century learning? If not, how do we make the change happen?
Wow! That was an awesome post to read, and I completely agree what you are saying. Your contrast of today's multitasking generation with linear powerpoints resonates. But like Dr. Watwood, I'm left wondering, how do we make this change happen? I enjoyed Dan Brown's commentary as well, and while I don't entirely agree that the value of information is nearing zero, I do think that the value of unlimited availability for information cannot be quantified. So, educators must transition from "sage on the stage to guide on the side" (even if that phrase is over used). *Educators* must learn to *direct* students in their search for knowledge. Easy to say, harder to accomplish...
ReplyDeleteI've seen a lot of articles recently about multi-tasking at work and how it actually decreases your effectiveness. (As an example, http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/how_employers_can_make_us_stop.html) I wonder if that's because "our" generation didn't grow up with all these constant distractions, or if it really does affect a student's ability to stay on task.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the concept of "distractions":
ReplyDeleteI too take issue with the ability to multitask and still function proficiently. Personally I prefer to isolate myself when trying to complete a project. I find I concentrate & perform better. However, I do wonder about the theory of neuroplasticity in relation to the 21st century learner. The brain is remarkable in its ability to learn, unlearn & relearn. Has the 'Net Set' rewired their brains to accommodate for the seemingly overwhelming sensory input? Is boredom in classrooms a result of this morphological change? Interesting things to ponder!