The youth of today have always known computers, have grown up with them in their elementary school classrooms, have been asked to write their homework assignments using them, have evolved to carrying personal handheld devices to keep in touch with family and friends, have migrated to social networking experiences online at an early age.
How will this generation differ from those before it in terms of their social skills and physical health? How will this generation soar with the enhanced abilities to locate information of any sort, in an instant?
In this groupwork assignment, students will explore the pros and cons of growing up as The Wired Generation. This will be set against an exercise to develop recommendations for school boards regarding computer usage in the schools and expected computer usage at home for schoolwork. Examine what you feel are the challenges facing today's generation and imagine an education system that can serve to balance those challenges and offer today's generation the best opportuntities for the future.
The required elements of this essay are:
* A brief characterization of The Wired Generation (according to your group)
* A discussion of the challenges facing The Wired Generation
* A discussion of the opportunities afforded The Wired Generation
* A brief characterization of today's elementary/secondary education systems
in their support for and demands for computerization for today's students
* Recommendations for School Boards to provide a more beneficial environment
for The Wired Generation
* Brief concluding remarks
The assignment should be on the order of 2500 words.
It is worth 10 marks and is due at 9:30 am on Friday March 9. It is completed in groups of 4, with groups determined by the instructor and TAs.
In class on March 2 groups will have time to meet and I will circulate
from group to group, helping to respond to questions.
While it is anticipated that a majority of this essay will consist of personal reflection and opinion, references should be cited where applicable. For example, citation should likely arise when describing the current support and demands for computerization in schools, to clarify how you know this information. Note that it is acceptable to include appendices (where applicable) which do not factor into the suggested length of 2500 words.