What does teaching the 'net generation mean for teachers, teacher-librarians and other educators?
The 'net generation has, and is, growing up completely immersed in digital technology (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005, p 2.2). As learners, they are different from other generations that have come before them due to their:
Ability to read visual images - they are intuitive visual communicators
Visual-spatial skills - perhaps because of their expertise with games they can integrate the virtual and physical
Inductive discovery - they learn better through discovery than by being told
Attentional deployment - they are able to shift their attention rapidly from one task to another, and may choose not to pay attention to things that don't interest them
Fast response time - they are able to respond quickly and expect rapid responses in return (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005, p. 2.5).
Many educators are turning to technology to engage these learners. While there is much literature on the internet about the applications of technology in education and how specific web tools can be incorporated into classroom instruction, we are just beginning to realize some of the long-term implications of the internet for students and educators.
The following sections of our presentation focus on what we have identified as the most important of these implications. Each section offers theory and research, and some of the sections contain a personalized narrative of what this theory looks like in action. Each personal narrative has been recorded as an mp3 file and forges connections between current writings and our professional practice.
#1 - Deep reading & deep thinking
In an article titled Reading behaviour in the digital environment: Changes in reading behavior over the past ten years, researcher Ziming Liu (2005) describes the results of a study on changes in reading habits over the last ten years. The researcher summarizes a variety of changes in reading behaviours as reported by 113 respondents to a survey that targeted general changes in reading behaviour over time. Respondents were between the ages of 30 and 45 and were either adult students or professionals with extensive experience with reading print and digital texts. While the study reports some interesting findings, one of the most striking results is the finding that “about 45 percent of participants in this study indicate that they are facing decreasing in-depth reading and concentrated reading” (Liu, 2005, p.8) especially when reading digital text. This decrease is attributed to distractions caused by the interactivity of the internet (for example, hypertext links, sounds or pop-up advertisement) and by attempts to multitask while reading (for example, checking and answering email).
Nicholas Carr, in his book The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains notes a similar trend in reading. Carr discusses at length the concept of neuroplasticity, the physical malleability of the human brain, and how information and the medium through which that information is obtained can actually change the brain’s form. This change in the brain is adaptive – it makes it easier for a person to do some things and difficult to do others. Carr then goes on to detail how much of human evolution over the last century has allowed our brains to adapt increasingly to allow for deep reading and deep contemplative thought. The advent of the internet and the rise of digital text over the last decade, however, has done much to train our brains to speed through tasks, effectively withering away the ability for deep reading and thought.
Some advocates of deep thinking are calling for educators to teach their students the skill of attention literacy. Educator Howard Rheingold (2009) begins his first class every semester by having students turn off their cellphones, close their laptops, and shut their eyes for sixty seconds. He asks them to be aware of where their attention goes if it is not being pulled at by multimedia.
"The point of this story isn’t to get everyone to pay attention to me or professors in general – it’s that I want my students to learn that attention is a skill that must be learned, shaped, practiced; this skill must evolve if we are to evolve. The technological extension of our minds and brains by chips and nets has granted great power to billions of people, but even in the early years of always-on, it is clear to even technology enthusiasts like me that this power will certainly mislead, mesmerize and distract those who haven’t learned – were never taught – how to exert some degree of mental control over our use of laptop, handheld, earbudded media" (Rheingold, 2009, para 5).
#2 - Personal learning networks
In Personal Learning Networks: Using the power of connections to transform education, Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli (2011) detail the importance of educators and students being connected to others through individualized personal learning networks (PLNs). PLNs are also sometimes referred to as Personal Learning Communities. “With a PLN, we can learn anytime, anywhere, with potentially anyone around the world who shares our passion or interest” (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011, p. 2).
Loertscher and Koechlin (2011) feel that the Learning Commons is at the core of individual learning environments. Within these learning environments, students are led to construct a PLN and develop 21st Century literacies and skills. “We are listening, connecting to experts, hanging out our work for inspection and feedback, growing, and evolving. It is the place for formal schooling, but as importantly, it goes far beyond the classroom as we purposefully explore interests, passions, abilities, or just try to keep up in a field in which we are already an 'expert'” (p. 24).
Students of the ‘net generation are accustomed to these networks and have often intuitively built them outside of the school system. Richardson and Mancabelli (2011) begin their text with the story of Mark Klassen, a young man who worked on perfecting his art of cinematography via his online PLN (pp. 1-2). He had a passion, found others with a similar passion or advice to offer, and set out to fine-tune his craft, all by the age of 17. Mark Klassen is not alone.
As aforementioned, ‘Net Generationers learn differently than those of the past. They are accustomed to being connected, receiving immediate feedback, multi-tasking, working collaboratively and being engaged. PLNs fit nicely within that framework of learning. The feedback from those they are connected with via their PLN is immediate and ongoing, providing ample opportunities to work collaboratively and engage the learner.
As educators, teacher-librarians, and librarians we have a responsibility to cultivate environments that enable our colleagues and our students to develop (or maintain) literacies and skills relevant to today. “The Net Generation has been shaped by an environment that is information and communication rich, team-based, achievement-oriented, visually based, and instantly responsive” (Pletka, 2007, p. 13) and therefore, we need our classrooms and libraries to serve as an extension of these environments. PLNs are an excellent tool to achieve this purpose.
#3 - Ability to unplug: Connection to self
Nora Young (2012), in her book The Virtual Self, discusses the rise in popularity of digital self-tracking tools. She examines the assertion that these tools can bring us back to the physical reality of our bodies, a physical reality that is being ignored as technology users spend more and more time in front of screens. She takes this discussion further by arguing "that digital culture also brings with it an entirely new impact on the body, one that is radically reshaping our sense of self. It's in the nature of digital technology that it disembodies us. Today's urge to document the self is an attempt not just to assert the self but also ground the self, to tether it, to re-embody it, to give heft and substance" (Young, 2012, p. 80).
How many of our students are experiencing this disconnect from their physical selves? In an inspiring TED Talk, education advisor Sir Ken Robinson describes how the education system privileges certain kinds of learning. Please watch the following video from the 8:33 to 10:35 minute marks.
We have an education system that values the cerebral over the physical, combined with a generation of students spending more and more time in front of a screen. The Active Healthy Kids Canada annual report examines physical activity levels of Canadian children. It reveals that almost half of Canadian youth (46%) are getting less than three hours of active play per week, and 63% of children's free time is spent in sedentary activities (Active Healthy Kids 2012).
What does all this mean? It means that educators of all stripes need to be conscious of the privileging of certain kinds of learning. Technology learning is highly important if we are to prepare the students of today for the world of tomorrow, but this digital emphasis needs to be balanced with opportunities for physical learning and connecting with our physical selves. Focusing our educational attention narrowly on technology and cerebral learning misses the opportunity to educate the whole child. The whole child needs a balance between cognitive, social, and physical development.
Physical learning falls under curriculum organizers such as Physical Education, Health and Career Education, Dance, Geography, and Biology, and is probably already happening in your classroom. What we are arguing for is re-examining this instruction and ensuring that it provides the balance your 21st century learners require. There are many strategies for maintaining balance. For example:
1.) Adjust. When you go to the computer lab or use digital devices in your classroom, what does the students’ posture look like? For that matter, what about yours? The enthusiasm around using digital devices often means that students (and adults!) aren’t taking the time to make sure they are physically comfortable in front of the devices before spending lengths of time in front of the screen. Teaching students how to raise and lower seats, tilt screens and monitors, and adjust keyboards not only increases their physical comfort, it teaches them that their physical interactions with the devices are important and deserve consideration.
2.) Talk. After spending time in front of multimedia screens, be it computer, iPad, or classroom projector, take some time to reconnect with each other in the room. Have students form partners or small groups for discussion. This allows the students to disconnect from the screen and reconnect with each other. Students develop their socio-emotional skills while realizing some of the advantages of sharing their viewing experiences with their peers. Verbal skills are also developed while students get back in touch with the humanity which surrounds them.
3.) Breathe! “Optimal breathing contributes to regulating our autonomic system and it’s in this regulated state that our cognition and memory, social and emotional intelligence, and even innovative thinking can be fueled” (Stone, 2012a, para 12). We all know that breath is important for sustaining life, but some researchers are now looking into the effects of shallow, insufficient breathing while being online and in front of a screen. Researcher Linda Stone claims that eighty percent of us have “screen apnea” and describes how it can “increase stress levels, it impacts our attitude, our sense of emotional well-being, and our ability to work effectively” (Stone, 2012b, para 3). Notably, she points to dancers, athletes and musicians who are among the 20% who do not have screen apnea.
4.) Exercise. Physical movement helps to re-establish the mind-body connection. Even in very crowded classrooms, students can perform stretches and cardio routines that incorporate their desks and chairs. Yoga, dance, and various fitness activities help to transition between activities, break up stretches of sedentary learning, and take learners out of their heads and back into the present moment.
#4 - Digital citizenship
New technologies are establishing a more prominent place in education with each passing year and with this growing emphasis on technology and media literacy, come the importance of being responsible digital citizens. Being responsible in online environments will protect the user and his/her connections, as well as enable the user to “survive and thrive in an environment embedded with information, communication and connections” (Tan, 2011, p. 31).
Digital citizenship goes beyond simply interacting with others in a courteous manner and being aware of copyright. “In the online world, educated digital citizens are well equipped to safely and successfully navigate the online world, behave appropriately to avoid problems, and take advantage of the information and communication wealth that defines life online” (Tan, 2011, p. 32). Ribble (2007-2012) identifies nine themes of digital citizenship. They are:
Digital access: Full electronic participation in society.
Digital commerce: Electronic buying and selling of goods.
Digital communication: Electronic exchange of information.
Digital literacy: Process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology
Digital etiquette: Electronic standards of conduct or procedure.
Digital law: Electronic responsibility for actions and deeds
Digital rights and responsibilities: Those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.
Digital health and wellness: Physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world.
Digital security (self-protection): Electronic precautions to guarantee safety.
Ribble (2007-2012) categorizes the nine elements into three distinct areas: Respect your self/respect others, Educate your self/connect with others, and Protect your self/protect others and he suggests that each topic be taught beginning in kindergarten (Ribble, 2007-2012, Nine Elements).
In The Virtual Self, Young (2012) addresses the notion of digital citizenship, as well. She expresses concern that there has been limited discussion regarding proper usage (information sharing and social rules) of new technologies and states that “as we become more comfortable passively sharing information about behavior and location, we’re going to have to juggle when information sharing is useful, and when it’s just plain stupid” (Young, 2012, p. 67).
As educators, teacher-librarians and librarians we have the responsibility to guide the ‘Net Generation into being responsible digital citizens from an early age and helping them avoid “stupid” errors in judgment!
#5 - Connection to nature
“Most children and youth today have limited direct experience with the outdoors and are disconnected from nature in their everyday lives – including in most schools, most of the time” (Charles, 2009, p. 467).
Spoof ad from Adbusters #84: http://www.adbusters.org/content/name-these-plantsbrands
With the rise of screen time and constant information access, the connection between youth and nature becomes more and more precarious. Why is this an issue we need to consider?
“There is evidence to suggest that outcomes associated with children’s disconnect from nature include diminished health; obesity; reduced cognitive, creative and problem-solving capacities; lower school achievement; lower self esteem; less self-discipline; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . . . This is said to be the most medicated generation in human history, and the first generation projected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents” (Charles, 2009, p. 468).
Charles is a co-founder and President of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), a large umbrella organization which seeks to reconnect children and nature. She recommends a variety of strategies to help reconnect children and nature, the simplest being to go outside. As this is not always possible in school settings, especially on the daily level that Charles advocates, we have compiled the following list of “nature reconnects” that are feasible in most school environments. If you have further strategies to help reconnect students to nature, please add a sticky note to our Wallwisher below.
Teach outside. Even if it's just walking around the outside of the building, being outside makes students conscious of the weather and provides them with different air to breathe as they collect vitamin D. Field trips, hikes, and nature walks are positive options at any time of the year, but more viable options include outdoor poetry sessions, landscape-inspired painting, picnic lunches, and Physical Education classes.
Change your computer's desktop picture. Researchers Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan (2008) have found that looking at pictures of nature deliver some of the same benefits as being in nature, although not as profound. A teacher's computer desktop picture often ends up being what's projected onto classroom screens.
Plant some trees outside your school windows. In a research study by Matsuoka (2008), being able to see trees outside the school windows was associated with academic achievement and behaviour. The bigger the windows and the more natural elements able to be viewed, the higher the test scores and the fewer criminal behaviours were reported.
Maintain large plants at the entrance to your library.
Grow things you can eat. Growing can be an outdoor activity in small plots of land or raised beds, or an indoor activity as small as a teacup. Students get the added benefits of understanding the natural requirements for sustaining life.
What does teaching the 'net generation mean for teachers, teacher-librarians and other educators?
The 'net generation has, and is, growing up completely immersed in digital technology (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005, p 2.2). As learners, they are different from other generations that have come before them due to their:
Many educators are turning to technology to engage these learners. While there is much literature on the internet about the applications of technology in education and how specific web tools can be incorporated into classroom instruction, we are just beginning to realize some of the long-term implications of the internet for students and educators.
The following sections of our presentation focus on what we have identified as the most important of these implications. Each section offers theory and research, and some of the sections contain a personalized narrative of what this theory looks like in action. Each personal narrative has been recorded as an mp3 file and forges connections between current writings and our professional practice.
#1 - Deep reading & deep thinking
In an article titled Reading behaviour in the digital environment: Changes in reading behavior over the past ten years, researcher Ziming Liu (2005) describes the results of a study on changes in reading habits over the last ten years. The researcher summarizes a variety of changes in reading behaviours as reported by 113 respondents to a survey that targeted general changes in reading behaviour over time. Respondents were between the ages of 30 and 45 and were either adult students or professionals with extensive experience with reading print and digital texts. While the study reports some interesting findings, one of the most striking results is the finding that “about 45 percent of participants in this study indicate that they are facing decreasing in-depth reading and concentrated reading” (Liu, 2005, p.8) especially when reading digital text. This decrease is attributed to distractions caused by the interactivity of the internet (for example, hypertext links, sounds or pop-up advertisement) and by attempts to multitask while reading (for example, checking and answering email).
Nicholas Carr, in his book The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains notes a similar trend in reading. Carr discusses at length the concept of neuroplasticity, the physical malleability of the human brain, and how information and the medium through which that information is obtained can actually change the brain’s form. This change in the brain is adaptive – it makes it easier for a person to do some things and difficult to do others. Carr then goes on to detail how much of human evolution over the last century has allowed our brains to adapt increasingly to allow for deep reading and deep contemplative thought. The advent of the internet and the rise of digital text over the last decade, however, has done much to train our brains to speed through tasks, effectively withering away the ability for deep reading and thought.
Some advocates of deep thinking are calling for educators to teach their students the skill of attention literacy. Educator Howard Rheingold (2009) begins his first class every semester by having students turn off their cellphones, close their laptops, and shut their eyes for sixty seconds. He asks them to be aware of where their attention goes if it is not being pulled at by multimedia.
"The point of this story isn’t to get everyone to pay attention to me or professors in general – it’s that I want my students to learn that attention is a skill that must be learned, shaped, practiced; this skill must evolve if we are to evolve. The technological extension of our minds and brains by chips and nets has granted great power to billions of people, but even in the early years of always-on, it is clear to even technology enthusiasts like me that this power will certainly mislead, mesmerize and distract those who haven’t learned – were never taught – how to exert some degree of mental control over our use of laptop, handheld, earbudded media" (Rheingold, 2009, para 5).
#2 - Personal learning networks
In Personal Learning Networks: Using the power of connections to transform education, Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli (2011) detail the importance of educators and students being connected to others through individualized personal learning networks (PLNs). PLNs are also sometimes referred to as Personal Learning Communities. “With a PLN, we can learn anytime, anywhere, with potentially anyone around the world who shares our passion or interest” (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011, p. 2).
Loertscher and Koechlin (2011) feel that the Learning Commons is at the core of individual learning environments. Within these learning environments, students are led to construct a PLN and develop 21st Century literacies and skills. “We are listening, connecting to experts, hanging out our work for inspection and feedback, growing, and evolving. It is the place for formal schooling, but as importantly, it goes far beyond the classroom as we purposefully explore interests, passions, abilities, or just try to keep up in a field in which we are already an 'expert'” (p. 24).
Students of the ‘net generation are accustomed to these networks and have often intuitively built them outside of the school system. Richardson and Mancabelli (2011) begin their text with the story of Mark Klassen, a young man who worked on perfecting his art of cinematography via his online PLN (pp. 1-2). He had a passion, found others with a similar passion or advice to offer, and set out to fine-tune his craft, all by the age of 17. Mark Klassen is not alone.
As aforementioned, ‘Net Generationers learn differently than those of the past. They are accustomed to being connected, receiving immediate feedback, multi-tasking, working collaboratively and being engaged. PLNs fit nicely within that framework of learning. The feedback from those they are connected with via their PLN is immediate and ongoing, providing ample opportunities to work collaboratively and engage the learner.
As educators, teacher-librarians, and librarians we have a responsibility to cultivate environments that enable our colleagues and our students to develop (or maintain) literacies and skills relevant to today. “The Net Generation has been shaped by an environment that is information and communication rich, team-based, achievement-oriented, visually based, and instantly responsive” (Pletka, 2007, p. 13) and therefore, we need our classrooms and libraries to serve as an extension of these environments. PLNs are an excellent tool to achieve this purpose.
#3 - Ability to unplug: Connection to self
Nora Young (2012), in her book The Virtual Self, discusses the rise in popularity of digital self-tracking tools. She examines the assertion that these tools can bring us back to the physical reality of our bodies, a physical reality that is being ignored as technology users spend more and more time in front of screens. She takes this discussion further by arguing "that digital culture also brings with it an entirely new impact on the body, one that is radically reshaping our sense of self. It's in the nature of digital technology that it disembodies us. Today's urge to document the self is an attempt not just to assert the self but also ground the self, to tether it, to re-embody it, to give heft and substance" (Young, 2012, p. 80).
How many of our students are experiencing this disconnect from their physical selves? In an inspiring TED Talk, education advisor Sir Ken Robinson describes how the education system privileges certain kinds of learning. Please watch the following video from the 8:33 to 10:35 minute marks.
From TED: Ideas Worth Spreading
We have an education system that values the cerebral over the physical, combined with a generation of students spending more and more time in front of a screen. The Active Healthy Kids Canada annual report examines physical activity levels of Canadian children. It reveals that almost half of Canadian youth (46%) are getting less than three hours of active play per week, and 63% of children's free time is spent in sedentary activities (Active Healthy Kids 2012).
What does all this mean? It means that educators of all stripes need to be conscious of the privileging of certain kinds of learning. Technology learning is highly important if we are to prepare the students of today for the world of tomorrow, but this digital emphasis needs to be balanced with opportunities for physical learning and connecting with our physical selves. Focusing our educational attention narrowly on technology and cerebral learning misses the opportunity to educate the whole child. The whole child needs a balance between cognitive, social, and physical development.
Physical learning falls under curriculum organizers such as Physical Education, Health and Career Education, Dance, Geography, and Biology, and is probably already happening in your classroom. What we are arguing for is re-examining this instruction and ensuring that it provides the balance your 21st century learners require. There are many strategies for maintaining balance. For example:
1.) Adjust. When you go to the computer lab or use digital devices in your classroom, what does the students’ posture look like? For that matter, what about yours? The enthusiasm around using digital devices often means that students (and adults!) aren’t taking the time to make sure they are physically comfortable in front of the devices before spending lengths of time in front of the screen. Teaching students how to raise and lower seats, tilt screens and monitors, and adjust keyboards not only increases their physical comfort, it teaches them that their physical interactions with the devices are important and deserve consideration.
2.) Talk. After spending time in front of multimedia screens, be it computer, iPad, or classroom projector, take some time to reconnect with each other in the room. Have students form partners or small groups for discussion. This allows the students to disconnect from the screen and reconnect with each other. Students develop their socio-emotional skills while realizing some of the advantages of sharing their viewing experiences with their peers. Verbal skills are also developed while students get back in touch with the humanity which surrounds them.
3.) Breathe! “Optimal breathing contributes to regulating our autonomic system and it’s in this regulated state that our cognition and memory, social and emotional intelligence, and even innovative thinking can be fueled” (Stone, 2012a, para 12). We all know that breath is important for sustaining life, but some researchers are now looking into the effects of shallow, insufficient breathing while being online and in front of a screen. Researcher Linda Stone claims that eighty percent of us have “screen apnea” and describes how it can “increase stress levels, it impacts our attitude, our sense of emotional well-being, and our ability to work effectively” (Stone, 2012b, para 3). Notably, she points to dancers, athletes and musicians who are among the 20% who do not have screen apnea.
4.) Exercise. Physical movement helps to re-establish the mind-body connection. Even in very crowded classrooms, students can perform stretches and cardio routines that incorporate their desks and chairs. Yoga, dance, and various fitness activities help to transition between activities, break up stretches of sedentary learning, and take learners out of their heads and back into the present moment.
#4 - Digital citizenship
New technologies are establishing a more prominent place in education with each passing year and with this growing emphasis on technology and media literacy, come the importance of being responsible digital citizens. Being responsible in online environments will protect the user and his/her connections, as well as enable the user to “survive and thrive in an environment embedded with information, communication and connections” (Tan, 2011, p. 31).
Digital citizenship goes beyond simply interacting with others in a courteous manner and being aware of copyright. “In the online world, educated digital citizens are well equipped to safely and successfully navigate the online world, behave appropriately to avoid problems, and take advantage of the information and communication wealth that defines life online” (Tan, 2011, p. 32). Ribble (2007-2012) identifies nine themes of digital citizenship. They are:
Ribble (2007-2012) categorizes the nine elements into three distinct areas: Respect your self/respect others, Educate your self/connect with others, and Protect your self/protect others and he suggests that each topic be taught beginning in kindergarten (Ribble, 2007-2012, Nine Elements).
In The Virtual Self, Young (2012) addresses the notion of digital citizenship, as well. She expresses concern that there has been limited discussion regarding proper usage (information sharing and social rules) of new technologies and states that “as we become more comfortable passively sharing information about behavior and location, we’re going to have to juggle when information sharing is useful, and when it’s just plain stupid” (Young, 2012, p. 67).
As educators, teacher-librarians and librarians we have the responsibility to guide the ‘Net Generation into being responsible digital citizens from an early age and helping them avoid “stupid” errors in judgment!
#5 - Connection to nature
“Most children and youth today have limited direct experience with the outdoors and are disconnected from nature in their everyday lives – including in most schools, most of the time” (Charles, 2009, p. 467).
With the rise of screen time and constant information access, the connection between youth and nature becomes more and more precarious. Why is this an issue we need to consider?
“There is evidence to suggest that outcomes associated with children’s disconnect from nature include diminished health; obesity; reduced cognitive, creative and problem-solving capacities; lower school achievement; lower self esteem; less self-discipline; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . . . This is said to be the most medicated generation in human history, and the first generation projected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents” (Charles, 2009, p. 468).
Charles is a co-founder and President of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), a large umbrella organization which seeks to reconnect children and nature. She recommends a variety of strategies to help reconnect children and nature, the simplest being to go outside. As this is not always possible in school settings, especially on the daily level that Charles advocates, we have compiled the following list of “nature reconnects” that are feasible in most school environments. If you have further strategies to help reconnect students to nature, please add a sticky note to our Wallwisher below.