No, the Internet does not dumb down our kids
There has been much reporting and debate about the Internet and the consequential attention span deficiency, and the fact that this leads to a dumbing down of kids. Of course there are always arguments of merit on all sides of this debate. I think like all other advances in the world there is an amount of trepidation about how things are being done “today”, it’s what I call the “The way I used to be - angry old man syndrome" (an SNL sketch).
I know, I know, that is an unfair categorization albeit a funny one. Back to the argument at hand, a couple of days ago I read a nice and unbiased piece by @MarianneStenger titled "Is the Internet creating a more easily distracted generation of learners" - this piece went about delving into a Pew research report about research in a digital world. I’ve been meaning to discuss this topic (specific to younger - K12 learners) and reading this article prompted me to put my argument to paper.
Most folks using the Internet look at it as a consumption medium and not primarily as a creation medium. Surprisingly, the fact is that it provides the greatest opportunity to create and has spawned some of the largest companies in history that thrive on user creations & contributions - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram… (you get the idea). So what gives? It’s the instructional model -educators and learning facilitators need to adjust their expectations and assignment structure to accommodate the new realities. When research entailed browsing material at the local library the process forced the kids to review a lot of material to complete assignments, this process in itself promoted reflection and exposure - today they can get multiple sources at the tap of their thumbs (the mouse is dead in a mobile world). This is the new reality so here are a few things that could work (this is focused more on K12 instruction),
student generated content as an integral part of curriculum (not just as occasional projects), forcing kids to learn as they create
assignments should not be about presenting links and digital assets, but there should be critical argument as to why a specific link or research material was used
assessment and grading should be on a continuum that looks at appropriate use of web stuff, quality of the critical argument, and presentation
All of this is subjective but I’d posit to say that trying to inculcate a generation of “creators” as opposed to “consumers” who leave the Web a better place than as found would nurture a generation of really smart folks. The caveat is that the onus is on educators and facilitators to adapt to the Web model rather than expecting kids to use dated processes when the newer ones are more intelligent.