A term used to describe those who will be in their teens and 20’s in the year 2020. I did not get a cell phone until I was in college; I have 4th grade students that have them. I can hardly walk the halls without seeing dozens of students glued to their cell phones, checking Facebook, listening to music, or texting. I often wonder what is so important that they don’t even have time to watch where they’re going. But as the name suggestions, the “always on” (AO) generation has to be plugged in.
In my experience, the AO youth have an incredible amount of information at their fingertips, but sometimes lack the maturity and patience to deal with this information. Last year, over Christmas break, we had a 7th grade student post his suicide on Instagram. A girl he liked didn’t feel the same way, so he said goodbye to friends and then jumped off a parking structure. This was shared with most of the 7th and 8th grade students in real time, and it took days for the family to remove the Instagram page. It was a case of over-reaction, impulsive decision making, and lasting impression.
This is not to say technology is a bad thing. The internet and social media is an invaluable way to spread a message. My coworkers and I decided that our department needs to have a greater presence on the web, and from that we created a YouTube channel for adapted physical education as a resource for parents, students, and other educators. We’ve probably learned as much from creating the channel as we have taught through it. And we’ve gained a lot of followers in the process.
The reality is that, with so many students using technology to communicate and learn, teachers cannot afford to keep technology out of the classroom. Technology may be the only way to reach these students to help them with their life experiences and give them the wisdom they won’t learn from their smart phones.
In my experience, the AO youth have an incredible amount of information at their fingertips, but sometimes lack the maturity and patience to deal with this information. Last year, over Christmas break, we had a 7th grade student post his suicide on Instagram. A girl he liked didn’t feel the same way, so he said goodbye to friends and then jumped off a parking structure. This was shared with most of the 7th and 8th grade students in real time, and it took days for the family to remove the Instagram page. It was a case of over-reaction, impulsive decision making, and lasting impression.
This is not to say technology is a bad thing. The internet and social media is an invaluable way to spread a message. My coworkers and I decided that our department needs to have a greater presence on the web, and from that we created a YouTube channel for adapted physical education as a resource for parents, students, and other educators. We’ve probably learned as much from creating the channel as we have taught through it. And we’ve gained a lot of followers in the process.
The reality is that, with so many students using technology to communicate and learn, teachers cannot afford to keep technology out of the classroom. Technology may be the only way to reach these students to help them with their life experiences and give them the wisdom they won’t learn from their smart phones.