Student attitudes to technology

In case you missed it, The Chronicle ran a panel discussion with some students on their attitudes toward current teaching styles and uses of technology in higher education.

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i18/18b01001.htm

Interesting to see their responses. My personal concern is that the students seem to feel the need to be entertained in class. They did point a bit toward active learning (which I assume we're all for), but even more toward humor and "flair" of the professors to keep their interest. I am not surprised, but I am discouraged. Of course, this was a VERY small sample of students. YMMV (your mileage may vary)

This sets up a problem in my mind and I will put it in somewhat crude terms. Do we cater to what the students want and give them the "bells and whistles" in hopes of getting their attention, or do we stick to how we've run our classes previously and risk student disinterest? The current sense is that current students are tech-savvy multi-taskers that are used to various media entertainment. Thus, it is hard for them to get along in a lecture based class. Having done tech support for some students, I am unconvinced of that assumption.

My point is, I think active learning solves the problems behind the dichotomy above. It engages the students in (hopefully) authentic tasks and learning AND it covers real content rather than bells and whistles. Does that mean we shouldn't use YouTube, Blogs, Wikis, etc. in our classes? Absolutely not! But use them wisely as part of authentic tasks that are focused on learning, not just to add "bells and whistles."

Have a thought or reaction? Leave a comment below.

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the thoughts of any other faculty in the college or the college as a whole. The same goes for comments below.