OK, so I have said this before...We are fooling ourselves to believe that a student's highest priority in acquiring new technology is something educational rather than social. There. I said it. It IS a generational thing!:
For kids, technology isn’t just a productivity tool. It’s a way of expressing themselves. If they’re buying a computer, they’re more likely to care about what it looks like on the outside or if it is beefy enough to run the newest computer games.“There is a huge generation gap on technology,” said Kathleen Gasperini, senior vice president at Label Networks, a Los Angeles youth culture marketing intelligence and research company. “Kids are growing up with electronics in every aspect of their lives, and parents just don’t understand that culture.”
Now, that doesn't mean that the "educational tool" argument won't be used against a parent for the purpose of acquiring some new technology nor does it mean that students will never use technology for learning. But watch your BS Meter peg-the-limits when something like this comes out of your student's mouth, "There are so many great lectures available on podcasts...IF I ONLY HAD AN I-POD, I could download and listen to them while working out in the gym." I would challenge anyone to count the times that overheard IPod conversations include something like, "you'll never believe how many lectures I can store on this thing!" (insert sarcasm here)
Software developers have known for years that users will do things with their creations that were never anticipated...sometimes that is good news and sometimes that is bad. So, too, goes the perspective of technology between generations, we hope for the best. It does make me wonder if the reverse psychology might work..."son, here's your new Ipod. I hope you can get all of your CD's on there...but be extremely careful about storing any lectures on it, ok?" (and try not to wink)