Many teens savvy and safety-conscious online: study. There needs to be less panic and hand-wringing about the phenomenon of young people using social networking sites, as many teens are savvy enough to minimise risks for themselves, according to a QUT researcher. Professor Kerry Mallan, of the Faculty of Education's School of Cultural and Language Studies, and her colleagues interviewed 170 students as part of an ARC Discovery-funded study, and learned a lot about their social networking habits - mostly, that young people are savvier than they often get credit for.
"Often, young people are seen as vulnerable and naïve and as having no resources to protect themselves when it comes to social networking sites," said Professor Mallan. "While I am in no way advocating that adults abdicate responsibility, we need to find out more about the knowledge young people bring to these sites and what measures they take to protect themselves.
Overview : Educating the Net Generation : The University of Melbourne. Educating the Net GenerationImplications for learning and teaching in Australian Universities Despite the considerable recent attention devoted to the 'Net Generation', few Australian studies have documented the characteristics of this group and little evidence has been provided to support claims made about the Net Generation and its implications for higher education in Australia. The 'Net Generation' or 'Digital Natives' are born roughly between 1980 and 1994 and have been characterised by their familiarity with and reliance on information and communication technologies. A number of commentators have argued that the digital culture in which the Net Generation has grown up has influenced their preferences and skills in a number of key areas related to education. Some commentators have also questioned the extent to which Universities and their staff are equipped to meet the needs of this incoming cohort of students.
This project has: The final stage of the project will involve: Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What? Generation MySpace - Social networking and its impact on students and education. A Dangerous but Powerful Idea - Counter Acceleration and Speed with Slowness and Wholeness : The Knowledge Tree. Prensky on the New Paradigm : Dramatech Space. 29May 2007 Sitting here at the Duxton in Perth while Marc Prensky engages us with his ideas on the “New Paradigm”. Predicated on the notion that the majority of approaches to current education are not created with the modern learner in mind, these assumptions and assertions filter through: Digital Natives – grew up in the digital world – without a guidebook and without guidance.They have developed an “e-life”Current students challenge traditional tools of education – but embrace the critical and social constructivist pedagogical assumptions.Young people create as much as they consume (Q: degree and complexity is questionable)“Growing up in the light” – metaphor.
“You have to slow down when talking with teachers” – a student quote.The well known native/immigrant discussion.To engage we must enagage WITH students – we must be part of the journey. So far the description of the “New Paradigm” seems to be an iteration of Dewey and others who recognised that learning is done by learners.