Grown Up Digital

Well, I've started on my summer reading list, beginning with Don Tapscott's Grown Up Digital.

What  I find most interesting so far is Tapscott's "Eight Net Generation Norms"

1.  They want freedom in everything they do, from freedom of choice to freedom of expression.

Tapscott says that for the Millennials, "choice is like oxygen."  And I couldn't agree with it more.  Unlike the previous three generations before them, the Millennials will have change in their lives: namely in how many careers they will have.  For the Baby Boomers and for me personally as a Gen Xer, we found a job and then stuck it out there for 35 years.  Not so for the Millennials.  Not only is the job market unlike what it was when I found my job, but the Millennials crave change.  They need it.

We need to make sure schools, and our assignments reflect this.  That's one reason I give students a variety of assignments to choose from.  And those assignments may range from writing a short essay to create a comic strip to creating a fake Facebook page and so on.

2.  They love to customize, personalize.

What can't these millennials customize.  From their phones to their laptops to their iPads to their FB statuses to their Twitter pics . . . they can customize and personalize their media (and their lives) unlike any generation ever.  I grew up having to wait through Little House on the Prairie after school before my shows came on.  Now, when Kenzie walks in the door she can watch (if we'd let her) all 51 episodes of The Backyardigans that we have recorded.

3.  They are the new scrutinizers.

Tapscott says when he sees a woman on a magazine, he sees a model.  His daughter sees air brushing and photoshopping.  These kids have some pretty strong BS detectors.

4.  They look for corporate integrity and openness when deciding what to buy and where to work.

With all of this freedom, customization, and choice, businesses have to cater more than ever to their customers.

5.  The NetGen wants entertainment and play in their work, education, and social life.

This is vital for educators to understand.  When I was in school, I knew every time I entered class the fun stopped and it was time to work.  That's not true today.  These kids want work and fun to be the same.  And who can blame them?  Don't you learn better when you enjoy what you're doing?

6.  They are the collaboration and relationships generation.

This too is vital for education.  When I went to school, my teachers were my teachers and that was it.  When I went home, they exited my mind . . . unless, they doubled also as my coaches.  But as soon as I get home from school, I get texts from my kids about assignments.  I'm always amazed at when my kids do their work.  I get texts on Friday at 5 pm and Saturday at 10 am and Sunday at 11 pm.  To be effective, the millennials want you to have a relationship with them that extends beyond their classroom.  It's not that you're their 'friend.'  That's not it at all.  It's that they crave that contact and interaction.

Just last night Kristie was mowing the lawn and I had the kids outside.  Kozy saw three kids walking and, of course, she took off after them.  I took off after her with Cash in my arms and Kenzie at my heels.  When I got to the end of our drive way I saw that two of my former freshmen students were taking a younger boy to the park.  We talked to them for a bit and they were on their way.

Later that night, I saw that one of them, Julia,  tweeted that she saw me and she made a nice comment about me as a teacher.  It took a minute more and her friend, Sylvia, retweeted it.

That's collaboration and developing a relationship.

7.  The NetGen has a need for speed -- and not just in video games.

They learn as they go.  That's why I've stopped giving long (well, long by millennial standards anyway) introductions to assignments.  Instead, I hand out the assignment and deal with questions in individual bits.  Or I text the directions to them.  Or I text them or tweet them a link to the directions or assignment which is often up on our blog.

8.  They are innovators.

You can't grow up in the most stimulating environment in human history and not be innovative.  Now that doesn't mean they don't need us as teachers.  In fact, I think they need us even more - to help motivate them and inspire them and to channel that innovation.  But we need to allow them to create and meld ideas and concepts together.  That's why I love James Burke's idea of The Knowledge Web so much.  Allow kids to make their own meaning.  Or at least create the conditions that allow kids to create their own meaning, rather than lecturing at them why an event is important.  Instead, allow them the means to discover why that even is important to them and then to the larger world they inhabit.