Our students today are different from previous generations because their environment has changed. Yes, there are many developmental qualities that are the same; however, the introduction of an immersive virtual world has fundamentally changed the environment they have grown up in. The introduction of an immersive digital environment has undeniably had an impact on our students.
In this blog, I am just going to look at four aspects that have been shaped by the digital world rather than attempt an exhaustive list worthy of a whole book.
As a note, this is not about blaming technology or saying that it is inherently good or bad. It is simply meant to highlight the conditions that our students find themselves navigating in modern Western society and that schools need to respond intelligently to this.
Digital Immersion
Our students were born into a vast sea of technology. The internet is present, accessible and interactive in a way that is difficult to understand. For many of our teaching generation, the internet was slow by today’s standards and you had to make a conscious choice to connect to it. Content was typically one-way in that the average user could read information, but not contribute to it. It was also limited to the device you were using, which was typically a desktop computer. Now, the internet is pervasive and accessible from almost anywhere. Users can not only consume but contribute content as well. Features such as views and ‘likes’ also create a feedback loop of novelty, social validation and reward. This creates a condition where students may be fully immersed without being digitally literate.
Uncertain Identities
While this has always been a characteristic of youth, not being sure of who you are and where you fit has grown. Related to the previous point, an immersive virtual world has created multiple overlapping identities that need to be maintained across in-person and virtual spaces. These are not always the same. Students who are bold online may be painfully shy in person. There are sets of social skills and norms for both online and in-person interactions, as well as ones unique to the spaces you are in. Trying to simultaneously develop these skills in one area often comes at the expense of another, creating groups with varying levels of skills in either area.
ompetition for Attention
Our world has gotten faster. There is no doubt about that. Wildly successful businesses have been built on delivering short, attention-grabbing videos and clips designed to hijack our attention. In the competition for attention, companies have spent billions learning what works and what does not in order to capture as many users as possible. This has created a battle for student attention that is incredibly difficult to overcome in a traditional classroom where we typically ask them to focus on a sustained task.
If you are looking for an example of how the media has changed, take the classic Cinderella movie. In the original cartoon, you watch her descend the staircase and follow every step. Now, in the same time frame she would have appeared at the top, cut to the bottom, cut to some interaction, then to the carriage and would have probably been at the ball in the same amount of time.
More Access to Information
With additional access to information, it is difficult to convince students they need to know things since they believe they can just find out the answer. While they definitely need a baseline of knowledge, exactly that that baseline should include is debatable. As such, it becomes so much more important for them to learn how to interpret and critically consider what they are reading and seeing.
They are also seeing so much more information on happenings in the world. While some of this exposure is good, it can be difficult for them to correctly assess the impact. For example, in Canada we consume a lot of media from the United States. Many students have a nodding acquaintance with the political leaders there but lack the same familiarity with Canada's prime minister. They are also exposed to conspiracy theories, doomsday predictions and other questionable claims without necessarily having the skills to determine their validity. Social media creates algorithms and echo chambers that magnify sentiments that may not reflect reality. All of this can lead to students developing worldviews that do not align with their day-to-day experiences. Students may find themselves carrying anxieties about complex global issues long before they have the experience, context or agency to fully understand their impacts on both the world and themselves.
Additionally, because information changes so rapidly, students have an expectation of change and growth. Not only are they more adaptable, but they are less impressed with the next iteration of technology because they expect it. As such, the idea that the problems of today will be solved by the technology of tomorrow is a very real notion.
I highlight these characteristics not to say that one generation of students is better or worse than another. We may decide that the virtual world isn’t ‘real’ and therefore isn’t as valuable. However, if our students see it as a meaningful part of their lives, then we need to understand and respond to that reality. They are the generation that will grow to create the next generation of workers and voters that will shape much of society. The values and expectations they carry into adulthood will inevitably influence how society continues to evolve. This adaptation does not mean we should surrender our educational judgement, nor should we blindly accept and accommodate these things. It is important to challenge ideas, both new and traditional, to help teach our students to do the same.
As educators, we too must adapt since schools are microcosms of society. While those of us who grew up before this level of digital immersion are unlikely to fully understand what this environment is like for our students, we cannot ignore that this is their reality. Incorporating it into our pedagogy and accounting for it is one way that we can adequately help prepare our students for the society that they will inherit and shape.
We need to find ways to integrate their digital world into our classrooms in a way that is meaningful and authentic. Our approach to social-emotional learning also needs to address online etiquette, digital social norms and critical thinking about the media and information students consume. How they interact with information is becoming as important as the information itself. Meeting them where they are is not a lowering of standards as some fear, but rather, it is an adaptation to the learner in front of us to engage them in ways that are familiar to them. Meeting them where they are does not mean that we need to leave them there.