In the not too distant future, technology will be pressing the limits of what may not have been deemed possible today.
The 20th century and now into the 21st century have been the most exciting in terms of advancements in medicine, living standards, world trade, politics and of course technology. In all actuality the past 15 years have seen some of the most growth in terms of information sharing, and platforms on which that information is delivered.
Not too long ago, in my early days of school I remember thinking how hard it must have been to efficiently do your homework without simple things like a calculator, or even spell check. The items that are in our classrooms today are something that I could not have even fathomed in my early youth.
I often image what the classroom would be like if I were to do it again with smart phones and tablets. If you would have told me then that I will be learning with a tablet; I imagine I would have thought that I would be learning on a slate tablet, chiseling out various letters in some ancient classroom setting. Nowadays, a students knowledge can be almost instantaneously advanced with the tap of a finger, or the click of a button. We had a computer in our classroom, although I am quite certain it was used only for MineSweeper. This makes me think of the major differences between students today, and students 15 years ago.
Access to Information
In my day it was most common to get your knowledge from a shelve of encyclopedias; and you had better reference every source that you came across. This was often a tedious, slow process that could often go without any significant findings. I remember saying, “I wasn’t able to find anything on that.” Not sure if every time that was realistic or just an excuse, but either way it was a possibility.
Today, you can find information to anything. Maybe every “source” that you have isn’t always reliable. But since the internet has gone social it helps you weed out the good information from that bad. Students today definitely have quicker and more reliable resources to find quality information – often from the convenience of a phone in their pockets.
Hardware and Software
The tools students have today can not even be compared to what we are using. I remember being happy to use a nice new mechanical pencil or a new gel pen. Can you imagine bringing in an iPad3 in 98′? Not to mention, every phone nowadays has more capabilities than a top of the line Gateway that was so popular in the 90’s.
Students today have a major advantage with the tools they have at their fingertips. Being able to hold a personal computer in your pocket goes a long way if you need to know a quick answer.
Software tools are continuously improving at an astronomical rate. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the latest Microsoft Word that comes out. You add that to the thousands of apps that are designed for a specific purpose and you have more tools that you would ever need.
Application of Resources
This one is a little harder to analyze. Since the generation of today has such immediate access to information, the ability and willingness to look for more and better information seems less likely. It seems more likely that students will stop at the first bit of information that they come across. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the information is quality. However this seems like it could be a situation where whatever information is at the top of the search engines is the one that will be the most trusted.
This is not the case for my generation. Just to be able to find quality information before the days of the internet, you really had to take a good look around. Although our school supplies were not as advanced as today’s, we were able to use the resources we had to get the job done. Now that this generation has all of these resources, they simply do not have to work as hard.
The generation of today certainly has some advantages when it comes to learning in the classroom. Smart phones, Tablets, the iPad, and even resources like Google help out with learning in ways we never thought possible. The classroom has really changed over the past 15 years, and who knows where it will be tomorrow. One thing is for sure, the iPad generation is surely in a class of its own.
About the author: Thomas Benjamin is an internet blogger who understands various pieces of technology and what they can do for student incentives.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Wesley Fryer.