Understanding the Digital Generation
Teaching and Learning in the New Digital Landscape 
Today's world is different for our children. The technologies we take for granted or simply don't understand have become a part of our children's identities. This digital bombardment is shaping who they are and who they will become. We must realize they live in a different world, and speak a different language.
This book and its subsequent DVD explore the characteristics of the new digital generation, and how education can be modified to enhance their learning experiences while supporting both traditional literacy and essential new 21st Century Fluencies. You'll see how the digital generation thinks, learns, views the world and interacts as we follow them through this vast digital landscape. If we want to take part in nurturing those who will be the architects of our future it's up to us to learn their language and step into their world, so that we may truly understand the digital generation.
This book and DVD are both part of the 21st Century Fluency Series, providing a wealth of resources to educators aimed at making learning relevant in our technological age.
Testimonials
Praise for "Understanding the Digital Generation"
"Ian, Ted and Lee provide an excellent argument of why schools are not preparing our students for the 21st Century global workforce. This shift of the paradigm where students move from consumers of knowledge to creators of their knowledge is paramount to students' future successes."
Dr. Matt McClure, Arkansas 2009 Superintendent of the Year
"The authors make a compelling case for the need to transform 20th Century classrooms into 21st Century learning environments in order to engage digital learners and prepare them to successfully collaborate, create and compete in the multinational workplaces and communitites of the new knowledge economy."
Janis Jensen, Director, Office of Academic Standards, New Jersey Dept. of Education, President NJASCD
"In their new book, Jukes, McCain and Crockett have broken new ground. While focusing on 21st Century skills - what they are now and will be in the future - this group has laid important groundwork for lifting our thinking into the 21st Century. As they so aptly point out, we cannot correctly identify the skills for the 21st Century with thinking still grounded in the 20th Century. Jukes, McCain and Crockett challenge our thinking first and then lead us to what is important for our students to be able to do in this new century. They are right on target for truly understanding the future of educating children."
Donna Walker Tileston, Ed.D., Author of "What Every Teacher Should Know"
"Jukes, McCain and Crockett have laid out an excellent roadmap for learning in the 21st Century. After reading this, I am certain you will have a clearer understanding of this Digital Generation and why our classrooms continue to teach analog students in a digtal world."
James Cisek, Ed.D.
"Jukes, McCain and Crockett ask thought provoking questions to shift our thinking about 21st Century learning. This book offers concrete ideas for educators to find balance between our past and our students' future, closing the gap between the digital native learning and the immigrant teaching environment. The correlation with learning and brain research is profound and provides insight into creating a rich digital teaching environment."
Pamela Lloyd, M.Ed, Director, GCI SchoolAccess
"This book dramatically documents the need for educators to recognize that 21st Century learners do not learn like their predecessors. The included research and suggested strategies for change provide hope for the future. As a former Ohio school superintendent and staff developer, I believe it is a must-read for those truly interested in educational reform."
Steve Franko, Strategic Planning & Professional Development Consultant
"UDG explores critical questions that intrigue today's educational leaders - how do I balance the best of the past with the opportunities and realities of the present? How do I balance all that I know with all that we are becoming? And how does all this create the best possible learning environment for our students? A great guide to the future!"
Nikos Theodosakis, author of "The Director in the Classroom: How Filmmaking Inspires Learning"
www.directorintheclassroom.com
"The students populating today's schools are fundamentally different from those of previous generations. If we are serious about educating them for life in the 21st Century, we must acknowledge this difference and "rebalance" our approach to teaching them. In "Understanding the Digital Generation", Ian, Ted and Lee fully deliver on their goal of providing a greater understanding of the digital generation and sparking "...deep thinking about how instruction should change to teach them effectively."
Brian Celli, M.Ed., Superintendent/CEO, Wild Rose School Division
"A book that captures what real learning is all about. Thank you Ian, Ted and Lee for sharing your knowledge and casting new insight on digital kids. A must-read for every teacher, teaching in this modern high-tech digital online world. This book equips teachers to meet these challenges and is the first of its kind to make a significant shift in focus from how teachers teach to how students learn."
Nicky Mohan, Developer, University of Waikato, New Zealand, MA(Literacy/Numeracy education), BA & UDE
