Lessons from America: teaching politics with the Google generation

Thornton, Stephen Lascelles ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8175-440X 2009. Lessons from America: teaching politics with the Google generation. Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences (ELiSS) 1 (3) , pp. 1-20.

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Abstract

The superabundance of information available, particularly through the internet, is posing many challenges to the traditional pedagogy of higher education. Much of this concern is focused on the ubiquity of the search engine Google, with Tara Brabazon amongst the most conspicuous to claim that ‘the popularity of Google is facilitating laziness, poor scholarship and compliant thinking’ (Brabazon, 2007: 15). At the very least, it is clear that Google – as well as the more specialist Google Scholar and the (mostly) open-edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia – have quickly established prominent positions in many students’ strategies to locate information for various assignments. This has led to particular cohorts of students being dubbed, often in a derogatory fashion, the Google generation. While making it clear that many of the stereotypical claims made on behalf of this group are unfounded, this paper will present evidence to support some of the concerns made by Brabazon and others. In addition, it will define the concept that many have recognised as the potential solution to this problem, and will examine one ambitious attempt from the US to confront these problems directly. Moreover, it will be argued that adoption of similar strategies in the UK might address some important criticisms levelled at general university-level politics education in this country.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Department of Politics and International Relations (POLIR)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4050 Electronic information resources
Publisher:	The Higher Education Academy
ISSN:	1756-848X
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2022 09:51
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/22389

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