Post some thoughts on your blog about being “always on” and how you feel it might affect education
My wife and daughter always say that I spend way too much time online via my smart phone. I fear that while my age would disagree, I am part of Generation Always On (GAO). Why am I always on? Well, mainly because I can be on. It's amazing how much access we have just with our phones alone. Admittedly, I am worried about developing an inability to enjoy my relationships with people who are actually around me, focus for long periods of time, and think deeply. I do not want to be a just shallow consumer of information. On the other hand, I am grateful for having technology that allows me to gather the information I need to solve problems.
Students that are part of GAO will undoubtedly be good students in immediate terms. What I mean is that, their ability to access information instantly will help them complete schoolwork and pass their courses. The problem is, will they be able to retain such information. As the saying goes, "easy come, easy go". If the research they perform is the instant variety where no books or libraries are involved, their brains might just put what their are learning in the temporary file folder of their brains and delete it after a short period of time. This should really be a big concern for educators. The future student will definitely be wired much differently from past generations. How can we ensure that students will not reach a point where the blessing of educational technology is no longer a blessing but a curse.
My wife and daughter always say that I spend way too much time online via my smart phone. I fear that while my age would disagree, I am part of Generation Always On (GAO). Why am I always on? Well, mainly because I can be on. It's amazing how much access we have just with our phones alone. Admittedly, I am worried about developing an inability to enjoy my relationships with people who are actually around me, focus for long periods of time, and think deeply. I do not want to be a just shallow consumer of information. On the other hand, I am grateful for having technology that allows me to gather the information I need to solve problems.
Students that are part of GAO will undoubtedly be good students in immediate terms. What I mean is that, their ability to access information instantly will help them complete schoolwork and pass their courses. The problem is, will they be able to retain such information. As the saying goes, "easy come, easy go". If the research they perform is the instant variety where no books or libraries are involved, their brains might just put what their are learning in the temporary file folder of their brains and delete it after a short period of time. This should really be a big concern for educators. The future student will definitely be wired much differently from past generations. How can we ensure that students will not reach a point where the blessing of educational technology is no longer a blessing but a curse.
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