On the Internet, Age STILL Beats Youth (or why Paris Hilton won't surf the web like Hugh Hefner)

David Heath
Monday, 13 October 2008 16:36

Business IT - Networking

Of course there are lessons!

The most important learning points span either side of the school-work divide.  From the school perspective, we know that students are well able to quickly accumulate information via the web.  Whether this is from a variety of social networking sites or from more scholarly sources they neither care nor can tell. 

And that’s the problem. 

As a contrast, take our older citizens.  They might be somewhat slower at devouring new information (the bucket is starting to get very full!), but they can use it more efficiently, as they need only store the differences and relationships with existing information.  In other words, it’s the context, stupid.

And herein lies the magic secret sauce for those who teach adolescents. 

There is very little point teaching young people how to find and devour information via the web.  They will defeat us at every turn.  Instead, teach them context and critical thinking.  Show them how to understand and analyse.

Odd, we encounter these young people all the time; we invent the internet and all that it has brought and nothing has really changed.  Don’t believe me?  Just ask your ex-high school teachers!