School leaders like to talk about the need to transform schools for the digital generation. Unfortunately, they missed the chance. Most scholars mark the beginning of the "Digital Generation" as 1990-- children born in that year (the year when the protocol for the World Wide Web was first published) have never known a world without computers and similar technology. They entered school just as the schools were connecting and they graduated with smartphones in their pockets. Those kids are now young adults, and doing what young adult do, so their children-- the second digital generation will soon by arriving in our schools.
Educators must recognize the changing nature of the media landscape. Whereas older adults are used to being consumers of information and being broadcast to, today's digital generations are used to engaging and interacting with information and others through technology.
There is beginning to be a trend away from encouraging educators to "teach with technology" and towards engaging students with ideas and technology. Technology needs to become transparent part of what we do and how we do it. Still, today, many teachers approach a technology-based lesson.
Larry Rosen, who wrote, Rewired, a book previously reviewed here, contributed an article to Educational Leadership that is available on the web... it points out the reasons why transparent technology is important and directs educators to sources of curriculum and instruction ideas...
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Teaching-the-iGeneration.aspx
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