Generational Differences Takeaway

  My concerns regarding these two readings are they try to paint an exact image and argue for an exact image of what students are and how they learn.  There is no such thing.  Sure, you can generalize what a Baby Boomer’s work ethic is and how he might learn in a given environment, but as long as there are exceptions to the rule, tailoring instructional design to support a specific demographic based and their “generation” is almost as bad as basing instructional design on whether a student is a boy or girl.  When the Silent Generation, Boom Generation, 13^th Generation, and Millennial Generation sit in a classroom, they are all students, and like any classroom, they all have a unique set of needs, disadvantages, advantages, experiences, and learning styles.  Educators should design instruction to meet all learning style, whether it’s using technology to benefit them all, or not using technology  because using it just to use it can be counterproductive, the truth remains they are all still “students”. How would I handle a colleague who bought into the notion of digital natives? Above is the exact reasoning I would give to a colleague who tried to label the students anything other than students.  I would explain to them their thought process is a common fallacy called explaining by naming or falsely assuming that because you have provided a name for some event or behavior, you have also adequately explained that event or behavior. I of course, would explain this in a very conversational non combative way :-)

I keep wrestling with the question, how does the speed and access to information not change us somehow?  It is just mind blowing to me that I and those fortunate enough to have access to technology can research any topic at almost anytime from civil war dates to current events, and there is no evidence  we have become any more intelligent or better informed than twenty years ago. Maybe I am thinking about this in the wrong context, and asking myself the wrong questions.  Sorry to get off topic. Ha. I'm just fascinated by all this. For additional insight I have included the link to the post I created regarding my take on the articles themselves

http://jmarconi.blogspot.com/2013/06/generational-differences-and-our.html