This week we explored the differences between four generations that represented in our workforce. We compared what inspires them, their core beliefs when it comes to work ethic, and their technology use. We found that the generation gap is real and quite present. The youngest technology users embrace it as if it is yet another appendage on their hand.
Unlike generations before them, they were born into this world and have no frame of reference for a life without it. These students want and need technology in their classroom in order to be successful in the 21st-century job market. And what’s more, they expect it to be there. Teachers who are not integrating technology in their classroom will struggle to keep their students engaged.
One way to integrate technology into the classroom is through social media. Applications like Google Classroom and Edmodo allow teachers to provide this experience in a closed and protected environment. While applications like Twitter or Instagram may not be tools that teachers encourage their students to use in school, they are an excellent way for teachers to communicate with families and other educators.
On our class’s Yammer page this week, we posted many great tools to be used by teachers. Schoology, blogs, and SnapChat were mentioned as additional tools to get students engaged, especially at the high school level. I enjoyed learning about which Social Media tools other teachers are using. I have shied away from them in my own classroom because I feel my fifth-graders are still a bit young for them.
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