Developing Basic Digital Skills

 6 Fluency Skills for the Success in the Millennial World

I fervently observed that in every mans progress along with it is a crisis. Because as to what I personally sees, each step consists of room of success and a room for improvement.

In educational context, it now welcomes the new world of information and communication technology that leads the way for more complex and higher thinking skills. But it doesn't mean that along with its existence is the extinction of the basic literacies: Reading, Writing and 'rithmetic however they will be complemented by six essential skills to gear up students for success in the millennial world. This is also better referred to as fluency skills. These are:

1. SOLUTION FLUENCY

6D's

DEFINE-DEISCOVER-DREAM-DESIGN-DELIVER-DEBRIEF

(This fluency means the capacity and creativity in problem solving. This requires whole brain thinking.)

2. INFORMATION FLUENCY

5A's

ASK-ACQUIRE-ANALYZE-APPLY-ASSESS

(Access, Retrieve and Reflect information. The subsets of skills of this fluency.)

3. COLLABORATION FLUENCY

5 E's
ESTABLISH-ENVISION-ENGINEER-EXECUTE-EXAMINE

(This fluency refers to the TEAMWORK proficiency.)

4. MEDIA FLUENCY

2 L's

LISTEN-LEVERAGE

(This refers to the digital sources like radio, television, magazine, advertising, graphic arts, etc.)

5. CREATIVITY FLUENCY

5 I's

IDENTIFY-INSPIRE-INTERPOLATE-IMAGINE-INSPECT

(This fluency refers to the ARTISTIC proficiency.)

6. DIGITAL ETHICS

(This fluency requires PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Therefore, the use of technological devices should be free from criminal activities.)

Perception of the Old generation and New Generation

"Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, 

but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present".

Bil Keane

To begin, I have this question in mind, "How do really older people think about the younger generation today and how do young people think about the older generation today "?

But before that let me show to you this:

  To have a better foundation I asked an older one and a younger one about their perception in line with the                              conflict of ideas between the old generation and new generation.            

                                                                                                             

 

       To maintain confidentiality on their identity I will no longer mention their name . First, an elder was asked about, "What is your perception about the new generation today?" To establish respect to her answer I will post it in her dialect. She said," Ang mga bata karon kay mga tapolan. Dili na morespeto. Sige na lang ug text ug sige rag atubang sa kompyuter." Now let us then witness  about how does a younger one perceived the elder. The young were asked about his perception about the old generation today. He said "Thay are nagger. They insist their traditional thinking which I believe, it seems awkward. Some of it is awkward because some are eliminated or change. Everything now is surrounded by technology." 

       With confidence I dare say that truly and it is an obvious reality that what an old generation have before may not be the same as what the new generation have now. The life, work, and even leisure are really different.  Also, based on their honest response to the question I claim that their is really a problem specially when it comes to establishing understanding in both parties because one must be proud of what he/she has and not appreciating the others, so there is bias now. Of course, the old and the young shows merely comparison and only looking on the one side of the coin. Both are not appreciative to even look at the other side and try to understand the experiences within it that may be helpful in living the present and molding the future. 

Moreover, I invested faith in my belief that without the past we have nothing to build in the future, without the past we have nothing to base our present.

 Old or new, both are a precious gift that gives references in learning something worthwhile. No generations are above all and no generations are in low level. But instead, all generations are equal. All are contributors. All have something to do with the so called progress.

        In the field of education, the traditional teaching before really helps a lot in giving a room to the rise of digital teaching. Computers now will not be appreciated without the very presence of paper and pencil. The internet will be irrelevant without the information jotted down in the textbook, encyclopedias, etc. Therefore, I believe old or past, both are necessary element to strive in reaching and claiming what is better. 

Illustrate in a Grid Chart, Differentiating the Past 30 Years Old and the New Digital Generation

A quick look advancements in technology have impacted 

teaching and learning over time.

There was once precisely said that " nothing is constant in this world only change". Then, look around us. Look what we have got now. We have develop into an advance society. And this continuous and connected series of improvement is still working for the better.

Parents 30 years ago and New Millennial Generation

Offers by this gradual betterment is the distance between the past and today, and possibly in the near future. What I meant about this distance is mainly the gap or the generation gap. I insist that before is greatly different from today. Yes, I belong to the 21st Century learner and I often heard my elders, particularly my parents, they usually have this habitual beginning of their sermon (vernacularly speaking) "Sa una ...." They really compare their experiences or what they have lived through and practiced before to today's young individual, which I claim unsound.

In an illustration are the differences of Parents 30 years ago and New Millennial Generation:

Differences in Terms of:	Parents Years Ago	New Millennial Generation
Dressing	before the question is,"How long?"  Conservative	Now the question is, "How short?" Liberated
Social Relationship	Before it was compartmentalize where in there were a room for this kind of race or kind of status. Through attending social gatherings like fiesta, or particularly "bayle" to be acquainted with others.	Through social medias like facebook, twiitter, myspace, etc., the socialization becomes accessible not only in an exclusive group but around the globe. Through online cool apps people will have the opportunity to look for their future partner.
Conversation	Through face to face interaction, one must travel and consumes time to have contact with others. Through the use of paper and pencil mailed it then it takes much effort and time before it arrives.	Through the use of digital gadgets like smartphones, laptops, computers, and mobilephones, the fashion of delivering message or talking will takes only a second.
Publication	Through books, newspaper, flyers, written announcement, etc.	Through World Wide Web where people around the world has a wide wired information, view in web pages.
Education	Follows the context of Essentialism. Teacher as the sole provider of information Paper and pencil, chalktalk and  lecture	Follows the context of Constructivism Teacher as a facilitator ICT (Information and Communication Technology)

Bridging The Generation Gap of the Students of the Future Generation Y and Z.

According to Alicia S. Bustos, Ed.D and Socorro C. Espiritu, Ph.D in their book of Foundations of Education 1 that "the problem of meeting adequately all the needs of a learner in education becomes the task of the teacher".

In view for this, I believe that this task should be effectively accomplished. Hence, the teacher has to be aware of the nature and extent of learners' differences.

Talking about learners' differences, the teacher then should know how these divergent factors affect the teaching and learning process. Since this wide-spread differences among learners should be considered, there it comes the scene in bridging the generation to another generation.

One  concrete example is the gap between the students of generation Y and of the generation Z. And of course, the question now is "How will a teacher builds a bridge, linking the both generation?" But before that let me share first the distinction of the two:

Generation Y

Those people born in years 1977-1994 are referred to as Generation Y. Generation Y kids are recognized as incredibly sophisticated and technology wise. These kids are much more racially and ethnically diverse and more segmented as an audience aided by the fast expansion of cable TV, radio, internet, etc.

Generation Z

Those born between the years of 1995-2011 are referred to as the Generation Z. Many members of this generation are highly connected, having had a lifelong use of communication and media technology like the world wide web, instant messaging, MP3 players and mobile phones, earning them the nickname "digital natives".

Given the disparities of the two generation, it obviously shows the wide segregated existence of gadgets during their times. However, it was also presented that though the Generation Y is  mainly called technology wise and the Generation Z is digital natives still it talks about data processing devices, wherein teachers must used in order to cross to one generation to another generation.

I place confidence that through these Data Processing Devices, I could build a responsive and secured bridge to my differing learners, whether it is generation y or generation z. I am a teacher and I am willing to adopt learning materials and teaching techniques that will help my students attain the maximum success in any learning situation.

Through the support of these data processing devices and buttoned up with my cabled inventiveness in creating worthwhile experiences, I say so that this will be justifiable in structuring connections between the Y Learners and the Z learners.

As a future teacher, how will you handle the Generation Z?

 

        Teaching profession is not a profession for a while but a profession of forever. Students are students. They come and go. They must proceed to another level and we, teachers left us with memories and experiences. They touches our lives and we touches their lives, though it is inevitable, we see to it that they really learn something that is lifelong  so that they could not forget about it.

        Part of being a teacher, we carry on to our shoulder the vow of adaptation and acceptance. Because we choose no generation. We remain a teacher and we should welcome those children with open arms, regardless of the year they were born though it matters in terms of creating strategy but it's up to us teachers how will we explode our creativity in teaching, like activities, a worthwhile experiences that would run throughout the entire lives of the student. Besides, they did not have given the chance to choose which year to born, it's their faith and it's our challenge.

       Boomers, Generation X, Milennials and Generation Z, these strongly implies that learning does not occur only with what age but learning is a continuous process. It is a cycle. Therefore, we teachers are the keyholder to take good care of the key because time will come, it may unlock many doors of possibilities. Now, one of this is the treasure having this digital world  of today. 

          Brought by this possibilities is progressive change in the human life, more specifically in the educational system, from having a paper and pencil in the classroom, we have now gadgets/technologies like laptops, cellphones, and Ipods. From a book based learning system into a computer based learning system, and still the progression is on going.

       Now some of us teachers was born having a traditional educational system and then, with a rapid change our educative process evolved into instant, that  free us on working manually on our lessons.  At this moment of time, our tasks is to equip ourselves with this digital world because our students, particularly the Generation Z was born already having always an internet. They are the generation who consumes their time in technological devices. They knew more than us. Some of them are the contributors of many applications in the internet such as game design. And compared before we were exposed mainly in outdoor activities but today they are exposed to many computer games. They are the generation who found themselves happy playing videogames than of playing outdoor games. With that, we teachers must integrate our topics using computer games, we must create a unique educational computer games that would really hold the attention of our students throughout the entire learning system. They must found us interesting, particularly the digital experiences/activities that they will encounter and discover into us, that we teachers are wired with many creative applications that they (learners) could not imagine we have created and those activities that they could not find anywhere using the internet, because that activity is only in us. It is us who they are looking for.   

        Before I end my reflection about handling the Generation Z learners, let me share to you this video: