Generation Y teaches Generation Y

Age is just a number right? According to today's society, much research and focus has been put on age. Technology and technical knowledge equal success. The younger one is, the easier it is for them to learn and master new emerging technologies. In education a common topic for discussion is the gap between the age of students and the age of teachers. How can a Baby Boomer teacher acquire enough knowledge of new technologies to be able to teach a Generation Y student something they do not know? Or Baby Boomer teachers just cannot constantly learn about new devices like their Generation Y students can. Well what about when a teacher is also a Generation Y?

I am 24 years old and have recently finished my 3rd year teaching Digital Art and Design to high school juniors and seniors. As a new teacher at 21 years of age, I was faced with a few challenges but most importantly great opportunities to teach my fellow Generation Y-ers. As someone who also grew up with computing and digital devices for most of my life, I share some similar mindsets of my students when it comes to digital media. I had a Facebook page when it was first only available to college students, am now on my 3rd smart phone (Motorola Q, then Blackberry Tour, now HTC Incredible Droid), have 2 iPods (a Nano and a Touch), have owned and used multiple laptops (both PC and Mac operating systems) and am now gearing up for a school issued iPad 2. Like my students I live in a digital world. I use mobile devices to communicate with others, share pictures and videos, stay informed, find recipes, travel, and teach. I really enjoy having a different view of my students than many of my older colleagues may have. I am growing with my students as we learn about knew mobile learning devices.

Mobile learning is inevitable. Some are trying hard to avoid it, while we should all be embracing it. I am working this summer to revamp many of my design lesson plans to incorporate opportunities for mobile learning. I look forward to having my students incorporate QR codes into brochure and advertisement designs, continue incorporating social media references/links to their own digital portfolios and corporate identity webpage designs, etc.

So the biggest question for me is how can I as a Generation Y teach my fellow Generation Y in a unique way?