Today "The Age" newspaper printed a lengthy article about how technology has impacted on "life at 15". Here is the link to the complete article and various related forums.
I find the following quote to be particularly thought provoking: "It is another country, their country. Teens are digital natives, so at home with MySpace, iPods, MSN, text messaging and mobile phones, they barely notice the technology at all. They are young with a sense of invulnerability, but experts are not so sure how this uncontrolled liaison will work out"
The article makes no mention specifically to "studying online" but does quote the assistant principal of Mckinnon saying " Curriculum and pedagogy has to change to accommodate their expectations, and research capability. She is not persuaded that they are any smarter, though they are able to locate information very quickly".
In my experience at a TAFE, I agree that the majority of my students barely notice the technology and are able to locate information quickly but very much disagree that "they have enhanced research capabilities." I am still finding that in the majority of cases their "researching" is limited to the first google response or occasionally wikipedia. As a teacher this concerns me as "researching" is essential to gaining knowledge. As I parent it concerns me because I believe it is an indication of how vulnerable our children are to accepting the "internet" as a reliable and trusted source of all information.
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I agree, Joanne. We're in an 'information management' age, not an information gathering, age. Sure, my secondary school students can find information easily enough, but a lot of them are weak in discerning quality information from rubbish. They seldom check the credentials of web writers or the accuracy of information with at least one other source. They have a tendency to think that if something is published online, then it's true. It's a worrying thought really.
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