What is this idea of Generation Z? We spent a long time in class today discussing this concept and what it means for how we teach. Here are a few statistics that shocked me:
- These kids have no idea what life was like with no internet. Like, none. How weird is that? I use the internet every day, but I can definitely imagine living without it if I had to. How different would my worldview be if I saw internet as something that was as expected as electricity or running water?
- They spend more time playing video games than they do in school (Over 10,000 hours vs less than 9,000 on average). This really shouldn’t be a surprise to me since every kid I know plays video games whenever they are given a chance. Still, I’m going to need to find ways to manage their love for video games, or maybe incorporate them into my lessons.
- They are connected most of the time. This is more applicable to older students, but most have a cell phone and are online connecting with people for a large part of their days. Many teachers force their students to be “unplugged” while in the classroom, but what if we could find ways to teach being connected responsibly (ie not texting while someone is talking to you) instead?
Although today’s generation presents a lot of challenges for us as teachers, I think the opportunities available are also amazing. There are so many possibilities for research and connecting to our world that weren’t available when the only available resources to students were found in the school library and when others were reachable only by phone or snail mail. I’m excited to see how these possibilities could play out in my classroom.
Sources:
Click to access Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
My education experience 
These stats shocked me as well. It’s really weird to think that kids now-a-days have no idea what life would be like with no internet! Just goes to show how fast technology has come since we were young.