A. Chapter two continues the thoughts introduced in chapter one pertaining to continuously changing educational environments alongside technology growth and enhancement.  This chapter dissects the profile of a typical student learner of the 21st century.  The chapter labels these students as citizens of the customization generation.  The text mentions several examples of students manipulating the technological settings of their environment in order to assist their learning abilities or for sheer amusement purposes.  The chapter also discusses the evolution of our thoughts concerning learning processes.  Understanding learning and meta-cognitive ability is key to manipulating the educational environment which best suits the needs of the students.   However,  the text also heavily stresses that every brain, and student possessing that brain is vastly unique.  Thus, it is the individualized manipulation of preferences that makes changing learning techniques favorable.  In other words, not all processes will work for all students and the students should have the freedom to choose and control settings that help facilitate their learning processes.  The text further credits the increase in technical socialization skills as a large contributor to the changes of today’s students in comparison to the students of previous generations. 

B. I see a huge potential in technology individualization for assisting my future students.  Last week I was assisting a professor in a technology course and a female student was preoccupied with adjusting the settings on her computer during the course instructions.  This student had found a picture of a puppy and set it as the wallpaper on the school lab top that she was using during the lecture.  She was so preoccupied with adjusting her computer to meet her preferences that she missed several important steps that the instructor had provided.  I then had to assist her for the remainder of class as she struggled to catch up to her classmates’ progress.  It seems truly silly to me that adjusting a background would ever take top priority over listening to important instructions, but this experience helps me connect to the message this chapter conveys.  I believe that allowing students the opportunity to explore technology and personalize settings provides them with chances to have fun and indulge their imaginations.  While reading the chapter discussion concerning Bloom’s taxonomy I pictured students working through each of the levels of learning until the final stage of creation.  It became clear to me that the imagination is the first place where the entire learning process begins.  As students attempt to remember new information they conjure ideas and concepts which are already concrete for them.   They use their imagination to sort the new information and categorize it in a way that will help them permanently store this information.  For example, many people imagine or create nuemonic devices to help remember important information. 

This afirms my thoughts concerningproject based learning and it’s allowance for imaginative solutions.  Using project based learning assignments in my courses will not only assist students in learning but, it will engage their need to create personalized fruitions of their knowledge.  New technology will assist my students in manipulating the environment to meet their learning needs and the students will also adjust the settings of their technology devices to express their individuality.  I must allow my students to creatively solve problems geared towards obtaining mastery knowledge.  For where does creation (the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy) begin but with the formation of an idea?

C. The chapter heavily stressed the importance of communication within today’s work place.  As students become more comfortable with using social networking devices within the classroom, they will become more likely to have successful communications with their future coworkers.  Stifling the technologically assisted social interactions of students may prohibit them from obtaining higher levels of achievement once they enter the work force.  The importance of networking is no secrete.  In order to advance within an organization, it is important for one to fit in and be viewed in a positive light.  Employees who use social networking to their advantage can positively influence their public image and perhaps make the right social connections to assist them in getting future promotions.