Summary:
Below is an ongoing summary of the pros and cons of intentional technology in education. While the personalized learning and intentional use of educational technology is paramount to its success, outside technology factors greatly impact a student's ability to process and retain information. The factors that impact student's ability in the classroom include the use of technology in the home environment, specifically social media, video games, and even television.
Generation Z: The earliest children of Generation Z are those born in and after 1990 and are often the children of generation X. They are unique as they have grown up with the internet. This generation is very networked with social networks and many means of communication and means of entertainment at their finger tips such as Cell Phones, iPod, Facebook, YouTube and IM. Digital networking and sharing is common and many have not known a time without the internet and are often referred to as digital natives.
Generation Z is the digital generation
Pros
Free online teaching resources for rural/remote settings.
Standardized tests at all levels can be administered online (better setting for many and less waste of natural resources).
"Student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, interests and motivations, personal preferences, and optimal pace of learning can be integrated." (Focus Article 1)
"And educational software and applications have grown more “adaptive,” relying on technology and algorithms to determine not only what a student knows, but what his or her learning process is, and even his or her emotional state." (Focus Article 1)
Generation Z: Like any idealistic generation, they want to change the world and love the idea of volunteer work, which a quarter of Americans in their late teens are already doing. (Article: Benhamou)
It’s not an attention problem, it’s an 8-second filter (Gen Z have adapted to quickly sorting through and assessing enormous amounts of information) (Finch)
Gen Z: Once something has demonstrated attention-worthiness, Gen Z can become intensely committed and focused. (Finch)
“The oldest Gen Z-ers have been forced into an industrial model of school, and we are seeing all these attention problems,” Orange [executive vice president of New York business consultancy The Future Hunters] says. “Their brains are wired differently and actually function better with input from a variety of sources.” (Levit)
Cons
Generation Z: short attention span and tend to skim-read rather than read properly, which can lead to difficulty at school. (Article: Benhamou)
Generation Z: believes success comes from their "network" rather than from qualifications. (Article: Benhamou)
Generation Z: These are children of the crisis and it shows in their outlook. Most of them say they are "stressed out." (Article: Benhamou)
Generation Z: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) if not focused on communication via their technology. (Article: Benhamou)
Most teachers have been slow to transform the ways they teach
Limited evidence showing that technology and online learning are improving learning outcomes for most students
Concerns about digital distractions are increasing
Concern's about unequal access to and use of technology possibly widening achievement gaps (Focus Article 1)
"Racing Phenomena" - Students (males more often than females) want to get through the process faster, rather than accurately. (Articles - Bradley)
Lack of teacher know-how impacts technology benefit. (Article - OECD/PISA)
Lack of teacher time impacts technology benefit. (Article - OECD/PISA)
Too much computer use doesn't help.
Looking at the frequency with which students use computers for a range of purposes, the highest performances in PISA 2003 were seen among those students with a medium level of computer use rather than among those using computers the most. (Article: OECD/PISA)
It’s not an attention problem, it’s an 8-second filter (Gen Z have adapted to quickly sorting through and assessing enormous amounts of information) (Finch) -- Teachers have to adapt.
Gen Z: They face many of the challenges that everyone faces in their life stage—But they’re doing so in an ultra-connected, fast-moving technological age. (Finch) [Difficult for students with processing challenges.]
“Teaching is a human experience,” he [Paul Thomas] said. “Technology is a distraction when we need literacy, numeracy and critical thinking.” (Richtel).