Week 6: Educause Reading

On one hand, I thought the Net Geners would really embrace a lot of technology in their learning environment.  However, when given more thought, I was not surprised by some of the data.   Specifically the Net Gen's requirements for tech in the classroom;  technology needs to be engaging and applicable, not just "be there".  Also, I constantly have the social nature of the Net Geners in my thoughts.  We have read that this generation is very social, they don't view technology as technology, but rather a way of doing things and communicating.  For that reason, if technology enhances their learning experience, then that is great.  If the technology does not enhance their learning experience, their attention is lost.  The learning experience takes advantage of the professor and his/her level of expertise.  It makes sense that certain majors would expect more technology in their classroom than others, such as engineering.  What did surprise me however was the "underrating" of skills.  The reading suggested that although students believe themselves to be skilled in certain applications, in fact, they have just basic skills.  They do not utilize the advanced functions of their applications, and therefore, more IT skills need to be developed at the university level.  In addition, the expectations of technology may hinder the Net Geners ability to methodically work through challenges and thus affect their problem solving abilities.  Additional questions I would include in the survey...good question.  I guess I 'd be interested to know what types of learning experiences they think they would benefit from that incorporated technology.