Marc Prensky’s article, “Twitch Speed: Keeping Up With Young Workers,” opened my eyes as an educator, media producer, and parent. Presnsky wrote about how this generation of “Twitch” processes information in parallel rather than linear fashion. As a mother of two “Twitchers” and a media instructor constantly looking for creative ways to reach out and teach these tech-savvy learners, the bells began to ring.

As a teacher, dealing with the age group 30 and under, what seemed distracting to me, they found stimulating. When I wanted to read, they wanted to search. Today, as an online course designer and “face-to-face” instructor, the question is how to incorporate your active learning style into affective online, f2f, or hybrid instruction.

From my exploration of various web 2.0 technologies, I believe that these online tools can reach out and engage this group. Social media, blogging, UTube video links, and podcasting, it doesn’t matter if the course is fully online or hybrid, using technology for learning from the “twitch” generation is an excellent approach. The “Twitch” generation thrives on lightning-fast random access and “clicking” while texting friends and listening to the latest downloads from their iTunes library. Since this constant movement gives me a headache, I suppose my “twitch” dream may be unrealistic, but not my dream of empowering “nervous” students to take control of their learning.

This leads me to the debate on which tools are best for reaching younger students, regardless of the learning styles they exhibit. Whether they are visual, verbal, auditory, tactile / kinesthetic, active / reflective, etc. etc., all “Twitchers” seem to need movement and participation, but how much?

When my daughter, like the worker quoted in Presky’s article, wants to know how to solve a computer problem, she takes to the Internet (sometimes before hitting the help button) to post and search for her problem. My generation says, where is the manual? “Twitchers” reply, “I don’t know, but this website said …”

I think this is a wonderful opportunity to design a course. For those who enjoy technology and computers, the challenge is which tools to select and why. And how do you bring the course to life while remaining faithful to the content and connected to your students?

Through surveys and educational discussions, I have learned that my f2f classroom teaching style is an “expert” embracing “constructivism.” I want to share what I know and at the same time encourage my students to share and develop their current knowledge. As I modify this “Sage on Stage” training, I must now consider teaching alternatives that “Twitchers” would adopt.

Some of my thoughts are to expand learning opportunities with discussion posts and related online resources. Upload course podcasts to review anytime, anywhere. Encourage active research online with hyperlinks and embedded videos. Promote student-to-student interactions through team assignments and student- or group-led online activities. It would bring content experts to class with Wimba chats and provide access to mentors through professional blogs. I would send out course announcements by mobile phone and … hey, are we “Twitching” yet?

Now, in my mind, “to contract or not to contract” is combined with “to reach or not to reach.” This is the synthesis. What do you need to design to make sure the content reaches and stays with your students? How do you ensure that technology is always done in an exemplary manner, keeping in mind the bandwidth needs and even the disabilities of your students? In this new online world, I know that I may lose some of the “direct contact” that I enjoy, “but” high-tech “components, if carefully designed, can achieve most learning goals.

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