Customization Generation
Children these days love to own and create items that are customized to them. They want a wallet with their name on it or a necklace with the first letter of their name or their name embroidered on their back pack. Almost everyone is a part of this customization generation; everyone has an iPod that is customized with their type of music or a computer that has their customized desktop. As a part of this customization generation, students are used to customizing everything of theirs so why would students want a form of technology in school they cannot customize to be their own?
“What I am starting to see is that if students cannot customize a technology device to their way, their style, then it doesn’t interest them,” states middle-school teacher Jeff Utech from the book on his Website The Thinking Stick. Students want to learn with technology in school, but students are not going to stay interested in the technology or the concept if they are not allowed to customize it to their own.
According to Shaping Tech for the Classroom by Marc Prensky, “The missing technological element is true one-to-one computing, in which each student has a device he or she can work on, keep, customize, and take home. For true technological advance to occur, the computers must be personal to each learner. When used properly and well for education, these computers become extensions of the students' personal self and brain. They must have each student's stuff and each student's style all over them (in case you haven't noticed, kids love to customize and make technology personal)…”
Now the big question is how do we take this customization generation and apply the customization in our classrooms? The answer is quite simple: give students the opportunity to customize! From Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum, Jeff Utecht suggests allowing students to “choose their method of presentation, choose where they go to find their information, and choose to learn in a way that meets their needs.”
Teachers, if you want your students to be engaged in technology, you better make it customizable!
To learn more about customization, visit these resources:
http://www.edutopia.org/adopt-and-adapt?page=2
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/customization-generation
Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum
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