Generation G

Check out this TED Talk on Generation "G"amification: 

 

Now, if you are at all intrigued, sign up for a free trial to Reflex and experience exactly what Gabe Zichermann is talking about..."Games produce intrinsic reinforcement thru dopamine responses in the brain." You can actually see this in my son's body language in this video. 

I also challenge you to get in the game!

 

Having said that, I do not agree that the days of curling up with a book are over and that "Generation G" will no longer choose this learning tool. In fact, I think the opposite. I believe collectively on the brink of a change in how we value learning (long time in coming, I know). A book is still fantasitc technology becasue the paper is right there for you to begin interacting with the ideas the author is trying to convey. I love my Kobo e-reader but it is not as effective a medium for me to be actively learning. In my opinion, E-readers are fantastic technology for consuming books but mediocre technology for digesting them.

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and spectulation at a stand still.     - Henry David Thoreau

I feel the same way about math. Reflex is fantastic at building math fact fluency for learners of all ages. The important thing is the transfer of the skill to other contexts and situations. The age old technology of paper and pencil is still perfectly suited for situations like having to calculate how much material you need to purchase from the hardware store for the project you are working on.