Theories in Critical Thinking

Theories of the Digital Learner

In this highly digital world, information is readily and literally at our fingertips. Highly engaging conversations, the most prepared writings, and the best researched ideas have their beginnings at the writer’s beck and call over internet capabilities and can be quickly accessed at the speed of 4G! My thought on this subject is that the question really is not whether the students can keep up with the pace of instruction in the 21st Century, but more can the methods to deliver this instruction keep up with the pace that students are able to ingest.

While reading through the thoughts of “Deep Learning” authored by Fullan and Langworthy, I can’t help but agree that today’s learners have enough knowledge and are able to pursue learning goals on their own. I would like to think that I have technological abilities and am in tune enough to this digital world and can maneuver my way to instructing students through a digital lesson plan. The thought always go back to the fact that students are ever more technology savvy and up to date on all the new technologies. Students seem to be able to steer through to learning for themselves. My challenge in my mind is can I create real world digital experiences for my students that will take them into real life working experiences.

The fact is that because information is so readily available to everyone, students can self-learn. The challenge for universities and instructional technologists is can we keep pace in our digital technology to support students enrolling into classes. The synthesis for me is learn and understand how important the digital environment is to my future students, learn how to master creating instruction that will be engaging and challenging to them, and provide input into the university as to the importance of building a digital infrastructure that will meet the needs of the 21st Century learner.