Being a 40 something, mother of two (one being a 14 year old), my perspectives of the world and technology are completely different. I didn't notice it much until about two years ago, when my son's Scout troop would send emails about upcoming events, and since I only checked my email about once every two or three weeks, yes, I did say weeks, I was kind of out of the loop. Then I bought a new computer that ran faster, and we signed up for high speed internet. It didn't take long for me to become "attached" to my new iMac. I began taking grad classes and I actually feel almost competent on the computer. I know that I have a long way to go, but I am beginning to feel comfortable with this new language. My son and 10 year old daughter get frustrated sometimes, when I do things that aren't the quick and easy shortcuts they are accustomed to using. I still cannot text, and my kids laugh at my messages when I try, so I feel detached from their generation. One thing I can say is that I am willing to learn, not only for myself, but for the students that will one day be in my classroom. If you cannot talk their language, how do you expect to reach them?
The "Net Genners", on the other hand, can not even comprehend a world without technology. But I was extremely glad to see, in the chapters read, that the kids do not want a completely technology based classroom. It was refreshing to find out that they want technology used as a tool, not a substitute power point lecture, to enhance a teacher's knowledge. They want to see enthusiasm from the teacher and the teacher can use technology to reinvent why he or she began teaching in the first place.
In conclusion, I guess the way technology is used by the net generation and the way I use them differ tremendously, but our perspectives on why and how we CAN use them are about the same.
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