Digital natives, digital immigrants and other generational labels...

After reading the comparitive articles on the Millenium Generation versus their preceding generations (G.I., Boomer, and Gen X), I couldn't help but notice the "experts" need to label all things by virtue of the year they were born. Unfortunately, this trend has found it's way into the mainstream of education research. I have never identified myself or my students as part of any great societal movement where I felt the need to categorize them beyond their individual learning needs. I can recall my own high school teachers telling me that my generation was going to be the first generation to do worse than their parents. After hearing it a few times, I often wondered what that said about them? I do recall feeling quite unsatisfied with such prognostication. As a result, I swore to myself that I wouldn't be worse off than "them" (Boomers for those of you keeping track).

The Reeves and Oh article was objective on the pitfalls of identifying the facts from the fiction of using generational comparitives for the purposes of instructional design. While I too concede that the Millenium generation have had unparalleled access to technology, I would not go so far as to say that any or all of my students have skills that "exceed" my abilities to be an effective teacher. At the end of the day, technology is another tool in my teacher's toolkit, however, it remains just that--a tool. I am not a "digital immigrant" as the Prensky reading might suggest, although I might easily be labeled as such, having been born in 1970.

I further agree that the Millenium generation has a high need for social connectivity in their day to day lives. So much in fact, that I had to constantly remind them that such devices (cell phones, BlackBerries, and other devices) were an impediment to building a community of learners in my classroom. Such reliance on this "interactivity" may have given this group a sense of shared entitlement to such trappings, but it has also triggered an unparalleled phenomenon of any generation on record--a prevalence for cheating. The Reeves article cites a 2006 article that shows 74% of respondents in a 2002 survey admitted to cheating versus just 34% in 1969. Cell phones are just one of the ways this problem has exploded. The ability to plagiarize given the vast amount of information available on the Internet, is but another.

The Howe and Strauss reading was particularly controversial with its many false predictions and assertions on the Millenium Generation. I wholeheartedly agree with the O'Neill (2000) criticism, that it is a "very good bad book". That is, while it does offer some "nuggets" of information and makes an effort to distinguish Millenium kids from other generations, I'm not buying the whole "teamwork first, achievement, modesty and good conduct" that the authors make. A survey of my students' interests outside of the classroom at the beginning of last semester painted a picture completely different from that of the Howe and Strauss model. In fact, many of my Grade 12 students had not completed the required community service component to graduate. Overall, I would have to disagree with much of what many of the authors claim to be fact on what Millenium students represent due to the lack of empirical evidence.

Brad.

Week 3: Reflection on Blogs and RSS

After reading the four articles for this weeks reflection, I couldn't help but feel that I am definitely in the right class at the right time. As a second career teacher, I have come to realize that while I definitely have the content knowledge for most of my subject areas (Business, Management, Marketing, and Technology), I certainly could use more of the latter for what Weiler commented in his article as "content management". That is, I know what my weaknesses are, and as I learned early in my student teaching assignment, you cannot fake technology. I spent many evenings, and this past summer, brushing up on my Microsoft Office applications, since that is what I was assigned to teach this past Fall. While I have a general interest in technology, I don't necessarily have an interest in how it all works underneath the surface. However, I do know a good classroom tool when I see it.

The web applications learned in last week's class will help with the technology gaps that I have. More importantly, I know what my teacher education preparation program lacked, and I am willing to meet my deficiencies head on. The readings confirmed my belief that World Wide Web is indeed a bountiful harvest for teachers. The trick is to learn how to glean the good applications from the overwhelming number of options. I believe that using Blogger or EduBlog would definitely be an asset as a Business and Technology teacher. I could use it in Management classes, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, or any of the assigned Tech classes. I could use it to discuss case studies, link in e-Tradebook articles, engage the students in Business communication and writing skills, among the ones that immediately come to mind.

Contrary to my initial thoughts on blogging, which was just another WebApp that I don't have time for, I didn't realize as Downes states in his article, that "Blogging is about, first reading, but more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas". What is important here, is that by using Blogging as a classroom tool, I can "model" what readings and open dialogue that I hope to imbue on my students. I can filter the RSS feeds that I deem necessary. At the end of the day, their reflections and the learning process is still up to them, but I believe that I will peak the interest of most students with the technology "hook".

The ability to connect the curriculum to the community of learners beyond my classroom far outweigh any of the negatives that the authors mention about blogs (school restrictions, not being able to write what you really think, home access for poorer students). In addition, the RSS feeds application is a definite must for anyone interested in current events, technology, politics, or any other personal interest. As an educator, I will definitely use this among peers and students alike.

Welcome to my Blogspot

Hello, and welcome to my Blogspot! My name is Brad Corlett and I am a Career and Technical Educator in Training. I have just finished Michigan and Canadian teacher certification through Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. I am currently a Masters of Arts in Teaching Candidate in CTE (also at WSU), which I hope to complete during the Winter semester. To complete my formal teacher education, I am also enrolled in additional CTE and IT classes with the hopes of completing an Ed Specialist over the next calendar year. In addition to student teaching at Randolph Career and Technical Center in Detroit Public Schools, I have taught formal Leadership and Logistics for the Canadian Navy for several years.

What I hope to get out of this class is to increase my competency in "Web 2.0", so that I help my students (and myself) become more web savvy. As a Business, Marketing, Management, and Technology endorsed teacher, I will have to stay current with the technology and business world that I am preparing my graduates for. This class (IT6230) is the beginning of this process.