A College Guidance Blog
In 2001, consultant, speaker, and thought leader Marc Prensky coined the term Digital Native to describe young people and their upbringing in an environment full of ubiquitous technology. Marc describes the change in students in these early years of the 21st century as such:
" A really big discontinuity has taken place. One might even call it a “singularity” – an event which changes things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back. This so-called “singularity” is the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century." (October, 2001) The earliest understandings of these so-called digital natives by folks that were not Marc, was that these young people were growing up in an age where it was a foregone conclusion that they were going to be technology experts. By exposing these young people to such tech at such a young age, the world was never going to be the same, and we were going to be left to deal with these technophiles chomping at the edges of their hard drives looking for more ways to get more tech into their seemingly (and alarmingly) low-tech lives. Here we are, 14 years later, and while the digital natives are certainly making headway toward their goal of singular integration (eg. Apple Watch, GPS wearing pets, programmable mini-computers), there is a void growing amongst this generation. The void comes in the form of student abilities to effectively leverage the available technology for productive and goal pursuant activities. Many students are particularly adept at using technology for social purposes, or to find fact-based information, but many lack the skills to do in-depth research on complicated topics. Thus enters the world of college and career research. With little doubt, information about both colleges and careers is more openly available now than ever before. Unfortunately, this information is often shrouded in marketing laden language and designed to hook students more than provide a semblance of transparency. With the pool of information continually growing, and student research skills still in question, our role as college counselor tech experts and teachers of 21st century skills becomes all the more imperative. As you look to the coming school year, here are 3 practical tech considerations for your counseling practice:
As your summer continues and you make time to consider ways to improve your practice for the fall, consider the role technology plays in your practice, and ways in which you can continue to hone your skills as a 21st century tech-savvy college counselor.
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