Understanding Today’s Generation……
For many years we have been using generation labels to help us understand and track groups of people to understand how experiences and environment of the time influences their characteristics and preferences. Each generation brings a new set of skills and traits.
What Generation are you???
While our technology has grown over the last several decades so has each generation's relationship with it. Baby Boomers interact with it in a very different way than Gen Z. The way I relate to technology is very different from my first year colleagues and students. This is partially due to how technology has evolved and been incorporated into our lives. For example: When my parents were in school and when I was in elementary school, if there was a research project to be done, you had to visit a library and check out books to gather data and information. Today’s students have access to many of those same sources but through digital copies; they can access the library’s online website. The iconographic below from McCrindle that the learning styles differ, Builders and Boomers prefer a more formal structured type of learning where Genz and Alpha prefer a more interactive virtual and multi-modal approach to learning. You can also see a similar difference in the way they receive marketing.
Image Source: McCrindle.com.au
Current Technology Research……..
To get a better understanding of how today’s youngest generation views and interacts with technology l looked at a few tech reports. I looked at two articles. One produced by Common Sense Media: “The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021. The other produced by Pew Internet: “ Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022”.
Interesting Findings: Both Commons Sense Media and Pew Internet had similar findings with increased screen time for teens. I wasn’t too surprised to see that there was an increase in usage over the last several years for teens/tweens. Since the pandemic I think we have seen a bigger shift from using traditional hands on materials to digital copies. For example, schools have replaced books and worksheets with digital copies, and teachers are incorporating active learning opportunities for their students that involve being on a device. Also during the pandemic, both children and adults digital usage increased; many used it to escape and connect with others through social media and digital entertainment. However, I was somewhat surprised that Pew Internet reported that nearly half of teens say that they are on the internet almost constantly. So my question is, as educators are we relying and incorporating too much screen time in our classrooms? Are they learning the important tools of how to communicate and work with others in person? I think that using technology to learn can be a great tool, but I feel that we need to find a balance.
This graph shows that almost constantly went up by 46%
I was surprised that the increase was that high over the last few yrs.
Image Source: Common Sense Media
In my own teaching I like to feel I have more of a balance. I teach art and the majority of my student’s class experience is creating art using hands on methods rather than digital options. I try to incorporate videos, animated stories, digital field trips, and digital resources for them to interact with to enhance the material we are learning about. I sometimes forget that not all classrooms are as hands-on as mine and might favor using more technology within their curriculum for students to interact with as the primary focus of their class content.
When Common Sense Media asked what media platform could they not live without they found the majority of teens said YouTube. This did not surprise me at all. My students LOVE Youtube! They like finding drawing tutorial videos to follow if they are early finishers to a project.
Image Source: Common Sense Media
I found the demographic survey conducted by Common Sense Media interesting as it showed that income plays a role in a child’s screen time access. It showed that lower income teens were more likely to spend more time using digital media than families from higher income brackets. This information surprised me somewhat. During the pandemic we found that many of our lower income families were struggling with having internet access and didn’t allow their child to access the online learning. But this statistic might be due to the fact that a family with higher income would provide after school sports and activities to participate in after school where students in lower income brackets are left at home to entertain themselves while their parents are working. I was somewhat surprised because during the pandemic we saw families struggle to be able to access the internet.
Their findings on which gender access screen media was predictable. I wasn’t too surprised to find that it was boys who use more screen media than girls. I feel that this may be because boys gravitate to playing more online games than girls partially due to their design and marketing.
Is Educational Research Important…….
While collecting data isn’t my favorite thing, I am not a numbers person. I do enjoy a good graph though. I think that educational research holds a valid place in education. As teachers we know that learning is a life long journey and never truly ends. Collecting data on different aspects of technology and its uses and how students interact with, use and feel about it helps us as educators see where we succeed, what needs to change and improve to create a positive learning experience for all genders, race and economic groups.
Cited Sources:
Common Sense Media. The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021 Retrieved on Sept. 29, 2022 from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2021
FreePNGImg. Download Free Generation PNG Image High Quality ICON favicon Retrieved on Sept. 29 2022 from https://freepngimg.com/png/47038-generation-png-image-high-quality/icon
McCrindle. Gen Z and Gen Alpha Infographic Update Retrieved on Sept. 29 2022 from https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/generation-z/gen-z-and-gen-alpha-infographic-update/
PngKit.com. The Current Generations - Baby Boomers Generation Z - Free PNG Download - PngKit Retrieved on Sept. 29 2022 from https://www.pngkit.com/view/u2e6q8i1u2u2q8r5_the-current-generations-baby-boomers-generation-z/
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