In his article, "Teaching the iGeneration: It's About Verbs, Not Tools," Bill Ferriter discusses varied perspectives on the effectiveness of incorporating technology tools as a way for teachers to help students increase their learning. Citing statements from Mark Bauerlein—a professor of English at Emory University in Atlanta, Ferriter states that a connections between technology tools and teaching tools is critical to increasing student learning:
- Despite Bauerlein’s skepticism and a mountain of statistical doubt, today’s students can be inspired by technology to ponder, imagine, reflect, analyze, memorize, recite, and create—but only after we build a bridge between what they know about new tools and what we know about good teaching. Despite Bauerlein’s skepticism and a mountain of statistical doubt, today’s students can be inspired by technology to ponder, imagine, reflect, analyze, memorize, recite, and create—but only after we build a bridge between what they know about new tools and what we know about good teaching.
Blogging, podcasting, using mobile devices, etc. will not lead to an increase in critical thinking and life-long learning if students aren't asked to use those skills to share their ideas, challenge their peers, and organize all of their information in a orderly manner. While it is true that students and teachers can use modern tech tools to more easily create content that can be accessed and shared globally, focusing on the verbs, or the learning goals behind the tools is the key to creating authentic and lasting knowledge.
As for this being the dumbest generation, my grandparents said that to me when I was a kid, too.