Youth and Tensions in Education-Fostering Digital Innovation or Digital Narcissism?, Week 5, Blog #1

This issue in recent years of superiority of youth over the older generation because of advanced knowledge of media devices such as Ipods, laptops, cell phones, tablets and other devices has come into question by some researchers. The primary issue and question to examine is to see whether the advancement in technology in just last couple of decades has made the current generation of students better in school by performing and receiving higher grades on homework and tests and if they have a more advanced knowledge of curriculum than in past generations. 

The research identified in the articles and videos such as the article, "The Dumbest Generation," suggest that contrary to the beliefs of older generations, the ability to understand and use mobile, multi-media devices in fact does not equal a higher level of education and intelligence do the the accessibility of information from the internet on these particular devices. I think that the common belief is that students are utilizing all of this information provided on the internet to increase the awareness and education level in all areas of academics but research suggests that actually most of their time is consumed on social networking sites. 

Author Mark Bauerlein in his interview cites a recent survey that found that 55% of high school students spend less than one hour a week for on the internet reading and studying for class but nearly nine hours a week is spent on social networking cites. The article "The dumbest generation," suggests that the "under-thirty generation" that even as technology gives young people greater access to knowledge, information, and enrichment than any previous generation, it has become their means of sealing themselves off from those very things (The Dumbest Generation, 2009). 

I do agree that much of our younger youth are too deeply entrenched and spend too much time on social networking cites. I also believe that predominately most of the education and learning that young people receive is in the classroom. This could obviously be followed up with more aggressive "self-teaching" due to the fact that we as students have the accessibility of the internet and devices that can access information nearly at anytime. I believe to do this, more resources and persistence could be given to students by teachers and instructors to spend more time on educational sites to achieve a higher degree of understanding and awareness of course material they are taking.

References:

Gee, J. P. (2008). Getting over the slump: Innovation strategies to promote children's learning. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center. 


O'Connor, E. (2009). The dumbest generation: How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (or, don't trust anyone under 30), by Mark Bauerlein. New your: Jeremy P. Tarcher/penguin, 2008. 24.95 hardbound.