First of all, I completely agree with the manner in which the text describes the Next Generation of technological learners. Even though the blog reflection outlines talks about this phenomenon not necessarily consisting of an age-related issue, I do consider myself part of this new class of learners simply because these students are my generation. I am only 21, so even though I separate myself from my students professionally, I consider myself one of them as far as learning habits and preferences go.
As for the questions posed by the text, I found most of them to be situational regarding my preferences. Even though I enjoy interacting with many different types of technology, I do also prefer the old-school approach to learning in various situations. There are times when I would much rather open up a book with yellowed pages and small print than stare at a computer screen or video. Other times, I strive to look for new avenues of learning and communication, such as blogging, video chat, online courses with new portals, and video-streamed discussion, that I can utilize to interact with other learners in new ways. For ease of use, I am just going to list my answers to each question so that I can more easily refer back to each one.
1. Are you more comfortable composing documents online than longhand? Yes, I am, but this has not always been the case. When I was 18, I competed in U.I.L. Ready Writing at the state level, which is an academic competition in which contestants have an allotted amount of time to compose a scholarly essay. Almost every student used a laptop computer to compose their essay so that they could type faster, edit easier, and organize their thoughts more efficiently. I, on the other hand, found that handwriting my essays was more pleasing to my nerves. It was not until college that I began to regularly rely on word processing software. Personally, I do not utilize or enjoy a certain technology until I have made it my own by mastering it... much like new vocabulary.
2. Have you turned your "remembering" over to an electronic device? I have not fully subscribed to this idea or practice yet, but I am certainly headed in that direction. I own an ipad, so I use the calendar and reminder functions for some of my planning. However, I do not own a smartphone, so I don't have an electronic device with "remembering" capabilities constantly on my person. I still rely on sticky notes and plain, old memorization for the time being. Although, I feel this will all change once I purchase the Iphone 5 in the coming months.
3. Do you go to meetings with your laptop, tablet, or Ipad? Occasionally, I do bring my Ipad to meetings for note-taking purposes, but I still find comfort in using pen and paper mostly. A legal pad will never crash on you or make embarrassing noises. The more I utilize my Ipad, the more comfortable I become with it in new avenues of learning.
4. Are you constantly connected? Is the internet always on at home or work? Is your cell phone always with you? I would say that I'm not always connected, but my cell phone is always with me. I don't own a smartphone, so that is much of the reason why I am not fully connected most of the time. I come from the texting generation, however, so my cell phone is constantly buzzing throughout the day. At home, my laptop does stay open and online but mostly for ease of access.
5. How many different activities can you effectively engage in at one time? The answer to this question truthfully depends on the type of activities I am trying to juggle. If we are speaking about activities associated with technology, then I feel fairly confident in my multi-tasking abilities. I am able to work on a powerpoint or paper in Microsoft Office while surfing the internet with several different tabs- all while listening to music on Spotify, checking Facebook, and paying my bills online. When it comes to more hands-on tasks, however, I have to maintain sole focus on the task at hand in order to be effective. It seems that technology changes this for me as it makes organization and access much simpler.
6. Do you play video or computer games? Since I am from the younger generation, I do own a Playstation 3, and I often play video games to relax and unwind. While I have never really been too enthralled with video gaming, I do find it enjoyable, and I consider myself knowledgable with all types of gaming systems and their technologic capabilities. I can stream my Netflix account, Facebook account and every one of my email accounts through my Playstation's wifi capabilities directly to my TV.
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