Tag Archives: generations

Late to the party

I have been thinking about the digital native / digital immigrant distinction and what about this dichotomy is assumed to be meaningful. As I understand the distinction, the difference is whether one has known “life without”. So if you were unaware of the world around you without Google, cell phones, or computers, you are a [...]

Typicality

I picked this topic up from a post by Will Richardson. He passes on a request from an Edutopia writer asking for student input on how teachers should use technology in classrooms. The post then goes on to outline some examples that are very much in keeping with a view promoting student multimedia authoring. I [...]

MacArthur Foundation – Digital Youth Report

The MacArthur Foundation has released the comprehensive results of multiple ethnographic studies describing and evaluating adolescent use of technology. In total, the report is quite positive and indicates that adolescents make productive use of the Internet and technology devices for personal learning and in what the report describes as “friendship-driven” social activities.
While the focus [...]

Digital Natives

In general, I think that the distinction between those who grow up with technology and those who have discovered technology after first learning to relate to their world is other ways is not that important. For me, there is a great difference between skill and perspective. I accept the reality that younger folks have a [...]

Multitasking- only in your dreams

This is the time of the semester when students in my educational psychology class are studying basic human cognition. When I teach this and other topics I, personally and for my class, attempt to relate the topic to issues I read about or see around me. So, as I consider the issue of the limited [...]

You are old school IF …

The New York Times uses data from a study by Nielson Mobile to conclude that mobile messaging is now a more popular form of communication than even the cell phone.
The average cellphone owner engages in 204 calls a month, but 357 text messages. The numbers are heavily skewed by those in the 13-17 years who [...]

Generations and Appreciating A New Start

This is move-in weekend at UND. I love this part of university life – new faces arriving on campus with great hopes for the future. I have always said that one of the great benefits of being a university prof is the opportunity to be part of this annual process of renewal.
Age is becoming an [...]