Technology & Home Economics in the Net Generation

Plan a high-tech home economics class to complement your net-savvy students.

When teaching the "Net Generation," you can expect students to possess extraordinary familiarity and ease using the Internet as well as the various technologies and tools that it makes available. For a class on home economics, use technological tools to introduce appropriately complex themes and subjects, in line with your students' computer savvy.

Career Research

For upper-level students, plan lessons that expose them to the varied professions within the field of home economics. For a career-oriented research project, have students use the Internet to look up various career paths. Encourage students to select specific fields and areas, such as: consumer education; fashion and apparel; family and human development; food and nutrition; technological development and design. Within a given field, have each student research the individual professions, comparing their educational requirements, skill sets, working conditions and pay scale.

Class Blog

Have your students keep track of their education in home economics with a class blog. In the spirit of Web 2.0, have students generate their own online content. Instead of handing in papers or reports, have the students submit regular blog posts. Depending on the lesson at hand, you might have a student blog a followup to in-class activity or a student-produced article based on online research. Using new media is nothing new to the field of home economics; the home economics program at Cornell University used radio in the 1940s and television by the 50s to diffuse their programs to a broader audience.

Online Alternatives

Dedicate a portion of your class time to exploring the alternative methods of home economics activities that the Internet makes available. As members of the "Net Generation" may already be familiar with many more Internet-based techniques than older instructors, make this unit a student-initiated research project. For example, students may find online recipe databases, Internet-based shopping services or grocery delivery services, amateur and professional cooks' blogs, shopping guides for consumers and websites devoted to diet and nutrition. Round out the unit by having students compare the efficiency of using various net-based methods, versus old-fashioned approaches, like entering stores in person or researching in books and magazines.

Online Hunt

The primary reason that teenagers report for using the Internet is to get "new information." Use the Net Generation's natural interest in research and fact-seeking to help inform them about various home economics principles. Instead of presenting material from a textbook or in-class presentation, provide students with a series of questions. Working in pairs or small groups, the students must find the answers of all the questions online. You can also use the activity to teach students about reputable online sources; set certain criteria for students to use in selecting websites as sources.

References

• Home Economics Careers and Technology: Program Descriptions
• Cornell: What Formats and Techniques Did Home Economists Use to Educate the Public?
• Educase: Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation