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Margaret Mead wrote about how the way we learn from each generation would change as society evolved. She noticed that in a land based society, parents could teach their children to fish and the children would fish the same way. In an industrial society, parents would teach their children about their work, but what the would use was the thinking processes and the feelings toward work. In a technological society, we can teach our children what we know, but most of what they use they will invent together. I think that what has happened is something different all together – we are all inventing new ways to work and communicate. Generational differences are disappearing as the tools give each age group different ways of knowing and living. I asked each storyteller to interview a couple of technogirls much younger than her, to record their stories (TechnoHerstory, TechNext and TechnoDreams) and to reflect using these questions:

• How are your students different today because of technology?
• How do they think about technology?
• What have you learned from your students?
• What do they want adults to know about technology?
• How do they think they learn with technology?
• What do they yearn for?
• How do their TechnoHerstories compare with yours?

Nan Lombardo
Techno kids – aren't they amazing? Even those who aren't completely involved in the operating systems still are light years ahead of where we were at their age... they are the chief information officers in their homes. Remember when VCRs first hit the market and there was that great ad with a kid showing the parent how to program the thing? It's the same today. Technology plays such a huge role in the life of kids today that they don't realize how much they use techno tools with which their generation has grown up. Our students started with games, er, I mean programs, to help with eye-hand coordination, and journeyed into word processing. And when the printers, which looked like adding machines, actually printed we thought we discovered the meaning of life. Those old computers were great student motivators – kids who finished their assignments could "work" on the computers. Schools had to find the dollars to buy programs that students were learning at home just to stay competitive with the home learning environment. Some things never change... Kids go home to research tools integrated into their word processor, and do homework while listening to sounds either on the computer or a stereo system of various sophistication. They pull out their graphing calculators onto which they may have also downloaded games from the 'net. I love how they go to the computers to retrieve information as seamlessly as I used to check in the dictionary and encyclopedias. Students who have trouble with fine motor skills find the keyboard less frustrating. Over 99% of the students in our school have Internet access, and use the web for projects in class and at home. Instant messaging is as much a part of my students' lives as talking on the phone was for me. It's not so much that they take technology for granted, but that they don't know otherwise. Most of the change in their lives has been refinement rather than introduction – what they have just keeps getting better: Smaller and faster! Now, rather than gather stories via a camcorder, tape recorder and/or still camera, they can use a digital recorder, edit and post their stories on the web. A huge concern is teaching students to recognize bias and to not believe everything they see posted when they are researching for information – to use enough sources to substantiate a position. Requiring children to discern truth from fiction at a young age will change how our kids learn and think.

Kathy Conway
Lauren, Grade 11: I have learned so much with the newspapers online and different search engines. I read the news more. My Internet provider has all of the news headlines on their Homepage when it comes up on the screen. It keeps me more aware of what is going on in the world. They have articles you do not see in the paper.

I wish everyone could get training in computer use and how to use all of the things that technology has. Soon this world is going to be very technologically advanced. When we did the volcano project it was awesome to have our own computer on our desk. I think it would be cool if every student had a laptop compute. Read more of Lauren's interview.

Stefanie, Grade 11: There are positive and negative aspects of technology. People who lived before us got along just fine without certain things. Sometimes technology destroys natural habitats. Certain resources are needed to provide power for technology. Some devices need special resources that are limited.

On the positive side, people have been able to find out medical information using the Internet. This has saved lives. With computers I think is very easy to get a paper done quickly, unlike using typewriters where mistakes are hard to correct.Read more of Stefanie's interview.

Deborah Peek-Brown
My daughter, Linsey, was also one of my students. She was in my science class at a time when I first started using technology in the classroom. She started using technology in school in at about the 6th grade. She loved using technology in class because it was more hands on and it made learning more interesting. Linsey says that technology is an aid to learning. It doesn't take the place of studying, it just makes things easier. Sometimes technology can become a crutch because it can make things too easy. Issues of plagiarism become more prevalent when it only takes a click of the mouse.

When I look at her now, as a college student, I can see that technology has had a big influence on her life. She uses technology everyday. She uses technology in every aspect of her life, socially, financially, at work, at school, for fun, for shopping and entertainment. Technology is her lifeline to keep in touch with her friends all over the world. She said young people see technology as just another part of life. Some adults are afraid of technology or are stuck doing things the same old way just because that's the way they have always done it. She feels adults need to be more open minded about technology and be ready to try new things.

Angela Cristini
The students in the MSET Program are generally much younger than me – for them TV was always in color; however, their experience with technology started later in their educational careers. The students they teach have always had color monitors. The perspective obtained from talking to both groups is interesting.

Teachers who began using technology in high school or college tend to see it a separate tool and are somewhat concerned with how to make it fit and how to stay ahead of their class. They often come to the conclusion that it is impossible to define what "staying ahead" really means and relax with the reality that they can learn along with their students. The best part of observing and interacting with teachers and their classes involved in a technology infused activity is that the students figure out how to use software to answer a question or access data with little trepidation and will then instruct the whole group with confidence and self assurance. This is a great take home message.

Elementary and high school students don't really think about technology – it is part of the basic school supply kit and woven into the fabric of their lives. Even students with limited access to computers at home communicate with beepers and are current with the latest techniques for downloading music and creating CDs. If questioned about how they use it to learn they speak of it as a necessity.