Understanding the Digital Generation

Understanding Digital Kids is part of a series from the 21 st Century Fluency Group, Inc. This series focuses on moving vision into practice through a process of: Investigating how the last few decades of emerging new technologies have impacted society and our children Helping educators deepen their understanding of how educational thinking and instructional approaches must move forward and translate into changes at the classroom levelWritten for K'12 school and district leaders as well as classroom teachers, this book examines the new digital landscape and its profound implications for the future of education. The authors discuss the critical need to change current instructional practices to meet the needs of learners whose modes of gathering and learning new information are influenced daily by the digital online world.The first section discusses the gap between students' life experiences today and what their parents and teachers have known. The authors summarize the latest neuroscientific and psychological research, explain what the findings indicate about changes to the brains of the digital generation, and examine how those changes have affected learning preferences. The second section focuses on profound changes taking place in the digital landscape and how student learning styles are evolving, and evaluates what that all means for teaching, learning, and assessment. Readers will find strategies, ideas, and compelling examples to consider as they are invited to explore the critical role of leadership in reshaping education for 21 st -century learners.