The Natives Are Coming

I like to read.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I watched a sitcom-type of show on TV.  (I'm actually in negotiations with the Mrs. to cancel TV altogether.)  But I don't like books.  Well, it depends on what you think of when I say book.  I prefer my iPad.  It's within arm's reach most of the time, and can hold lots of "books", and it looks cool.  Plus, now that I'm in grad school I have found that highlighting and bookmarking within digital books helps tremendously.  I'm in a leadership group at church that is using a workbook and I'm annoyed every time I try to write in it.

I am the first of a new generation- NetGen is the term.  My generation is just now coming into the professional world, but occupies all of school populations.  Check this out:

Here's the problem-teachers aren't ready.  NetGen students want to create (not dioramas though).  These students want to share.  That's as simple as I can make it, and it couldn't be more complex for educators.  I work in a pretty tech-forward school corporation where every teacher is equipped with classroom projectors and document cameras and knows how to use email.  Unfortunately, kids don't really care unless it's their creation on the screen and they rarely check email.  Students want to make videos, blogs, animations, podcasts, websites, presentations, anything to get their point across.  And then they want to post it to Facebook, Twitter, or the like.  They want to show it to the class, their friends in other classes, other schools, and around the world.  Watch my video I created to depict the stark divide between students today and their teachers:

The Native
by: Mr.Smiley