What it Takes to be Successful With the Net Generation

The article noted, “While high-speed classroom connectivity is good, most actual Internet usage takes place in media centers or computer labs. This suggests that Internet re­sources are not yet fully integrated into the day-to-day classroom routine.” While reading this article I started reflecting back on the classroom observations I’ve done in the past year. I was surprised (somewhat) that the school district in which I did most of my observations had virtually no technology integrated into the classroom curriculum. Students were only allowed into the computer labs once a week for a 45 minute session. These elementary schools I visited also had old out-dated computers in the classroom that didn’t work and therefore were rendered useless. At one school I did see a class use the computers to log onto KidBiz3000, which they all seemed to enjoy. Another class used the computer lab to do basic research on African-American leaders for Black History Month. Because of the above scenario, I hope to do my student teaching in a school that will allow me to utilize technology and integrate it into the lesson on a daily basis. I believe engagement is critical, especially using tech devices in today’s classrooms. Students are so used to “fidgeting”, as I call it, with their tech devices-MP3, digital cameras, text messaging devices, etc…-that they seem to need that constant connection to manipulating tools or devices. The article calls this person-to-tools interactivity. I’ve been fortunate to take this class and find a wide variety of technology lesson plans and learn about the numerous ways technology can be incorporated into the daily lesson. I have to be able to connect this in-class “world” to the students’ outside-world and make it have relevance in their lives.

Teacher preparation is also a huge part of the classroom dilemma. I have made it a point to explore all things digital, tech-savvy and internet based that I believe my students will be engaged in at home or after school. This will better help me to understand them and speak their digital language. Knowing these things could also help me find out what students really like and how to engage them in the class. If I can make a game out of or animate a lesson, have students post a blog, or have students set up a web page similar to a social networking site, then I would have engaged the learner by tapping into something familiar to the student and used technology in the process. This is what it takes, in my opinion, for me to be successful with the Net Generation. As the teacher, I have to come up with ways to motivate the learners by making sure they are competent in the field of technology, showing them how valuable education really is, and instilling in them a sense of belonging.

This article takes technology and use of the internet to a new level. Students, we are taught, need the interactivity that comes from such technical tools. Students need to be able to express themselves and engage in peer-to-peer communication. Animation, concept inventories, WeBWorK and other technological tools are all ways that instructors can incorporate technology into the classroom in an interactive manner. Simulations and audio programs will also help assist teachers in getting students to become an active part of the learning process and not just merely passive learners.

I believe the internet helps us all (students and teachers) bring our learning “game” up a notch or two. This cyber infrastructure can help us teach difficult and important material. Where else can you have access to unlimited information and learn it in such a short span of time, but on the internet? As stated in the article, “In cyberspace, the instructor has unbounded access to electronic images and texts that open up the full range of historical inquiry, analysis, and interpretation”. The time it would have taken to just locate a book on a certain topic one could have already accessed the information on the internet and retained it for further use or investigation.

My goal is to engage my student learners in such a way that they do not constantly ask the question, ‘Will this be on the exam?’ I want to see learners who are motivated and excited about learning for learning’s sake. This will require me to stay steps ahead of my students by constantly being on the lookout for new methods of technological engagement as well as learning as much as I can so that I don’t feel inadequate the times I do have to ‘relax control’.