Gen Z Struggling with folder structures

[Dos_Box]

This is an interesting article. Apparently some (it can't be all, surely?) Gen Z students are struggling with the concept of files and folders: https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z

Have any of you encountered this from pupils/students in your schools?

[LeMarchand]

I encounter it with teachers, so it's not a surprise!

 

It would also explain the mess that is most people's smartphone screens.

[Dos_Box]

I encounter it with teachers, so it's not a surprise!

 

It would also explain the mess that is most people's smartphone screens.

 

You haven't seen my desktop! TBF, it's mainly junk that isn't worth storing on our 365/Teams structure. Which is very well organised, I have to say.

My personsal imortant stuff is also in the cloud and is structured too.

[mavhc]

Search, don't sort. Label, don't folder.

 

Now things are in online file shares, search works much better

[LeMarchand]

You haven't seen my desktop! TBF, it's mainly junk that isn't worth storing on our 365/Teams structure. Which is very well organised, I have to say.

My personsal imortant stuff is also in the cloud and is structured too.

 

My desktop is a Rainmeter informational skin (mainly because it looks impressive to anyone seeing a bunch of scrolling data) overlaying my wallpaper. No files or folders - one day I'll get around to removing the Recycle Bin and showing it in This PC.

 

An empty desktop is a sign of an empty mi... hang on!

[jthompson]

It's a generation that struggles with telling the time, so I'm not surprised that files and folders are becoming forgotten. They've been specifically designed out of some UIs, after all. A complete lack of awareness about filesize is what I encounter more often, though.

[mavhc]

It's a generation that struggles with telling the time, so I'm not surprised that files and folders are becoming forgotten. They've been specifically designed out of some UIs, after all. A complete lack of awareness about filesize is what I encounter more often, though.

 

Only a few times file sizes matter these days "I ran outlook and now my ssd is full" and "why can't I email videos?"

[jthompson]

Have to say, I've never encountered the kind of complete bemusement as described in that article. Oftentimes if a student can't track down a piece of work they've done, it's just that they don't really care about enough to remember what it's called or where it might be, rather than not actually knowing about the files and folders paradigm.

[jmak]

My desktop is a Rainmeter informational skin (mainly because it looks impressive to anyone seeing a bunch of scrolling data) overlaying my wallpaper. No files or folders - one day I'll get around to removing the Recycle Bin and showing it in This PC.

 

An empty desktop is a sign of an empty mi... hang on!

I was "told off" for the state of my desk, so I printed this out

[Davit2005]

I encounter it with teachers, so it's not a surprise!

 

 

Nail on the head. I once had it out with a member of staff who said a few times to students to save their work regularly because systems were untrust worthy, nothing to mention about a power failure. Once had to rescue a students work which they'd been working on for 3 hours and had not saved once. Keep telling best advice is if you want to keep something save it as soon as you start to the location you know where it will be and not leave it till the last minute when rushing out the door to the next lesson.

[hardtailstar]

Yup, I can believe this.

 

A lot of teachers have ALL their work on the desktop not in folders. apparently its easier to manage.

 

But its not just a young persons issue. Lots of older teachers do the same.

 

My file structure is so clean and tidy that anyone that would use my computer would know where anything is!

[jthompson]

In a kind of reverse of this, when we migrated from OWA to Gmail, it was quite an uphill task with a lot of staff to get the concept of labels vs folders.

[Boredguy]

Yes we've had this challenge for the last few years when students join us, as they are more used to using tablets and the apps which save files where it wants to, compared to computers with folder structures.

 

This year all our Y7 students had an hour session at the start of term logging on the PC, creating folders for all their subjects etc and they still have problems a month into term

[Ditto]

Search, don't sort. Label, don't folder.

 

Now things are in online file shares, search works much better

In a programming environment, I search and it finds 2 versions. One is labelled 'latest', the other is labelled 'latest' too. They were both 'latest' at the time. In fact, neither is the sub-module I want, because the actual file that I need, I forgot to label it 'latest'. In software, version control is really, really important. It's a question of being in control of your environment.

[Ditto]

This is an interesting article. Apparently some (it can't be all, surely?) Gen Z students are struggling with the concept of files and folders: https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z

Have any of you encountered this from pupils/students in your schools?

Some interesting observations in the article, but given the calibre of the candidates observed, I would suggest the teaching is lacking. If they can not explain the concept of files and folders in very quick time, something is amiss. It's really about being organised and being in control of your environment. Whether it's labels and searching, or files and folders, I'm not sure it should matter too much. I wonder how many people who have endless artefacts on their desktop, OneDrive, google drive or other are really in control if they rely on searching it every time.

[DrBeaker]

No but recently got told by a Year 7 student they "didn't know how to use a computer keyboard as they've only used a tablet" when asked to enter their logon on the PC.

 

Heard it before, but didn't believe it until I heard it with my own ears.

[LeMarchand]

No but recently got told by a Year 7 student they "didn't know how to use a computer keyboard as they've only used a tablet" when asked to enter their logon on the PC.

 

Heard it before, but didn't believe it until I heard it with my own ears.

 

Isn't the keyboard the same layout?

 

As much as some staff would love everyone to be brandishing an iPad, all my KS1/2 schools regularly use devices with physical keyboards. I can imagine there would be trend-following/well funded schools that didn't, though.

[DrBeaker]

Isn't the keyboard the same layout?...

 

Yep I had that thought at the time too.

 

Like what???? lol

[mavhc]

In a programming environment, I search and it finds 2 versions. One is labelled 'latest', the other is labelled 'latest' too. They were both 'latest' at the time. In fact, neither is the sub-module I want, because the actual file that I need, I forgot to label it 'latest'. In software, version control is really, really important. It's a question of being in control of your environment.

 

Well, code really does like to know where it is, but that's what git is for

[Driftingforlife]

Get this all the time, a few times a week of the normal "I can't find my work" or "Onedrive keeps deleting my files" and the favourite "I have spent hours on this one file and went to save it once at the end and it crashed".

 

Ask all the normal questions, Where was it, what was it called, what was its contents, what device where you working on and what software was it in word, excel etc.....the amount of students that can't even tell you if it was a word doc or a spreadsheet is shocking and worrying.

 

Mind you saying that when you have to write down their very simple 3 word password after a reset you realise just how far gone the gene pool is.

[Dos_Box]

Yep I had that thought at the time too.

 

Like what???? lol

 

My guess would be they may be used to swipe type on-screen keyboards. I can only imagine trying that on a real one!

Edited October 12, 2021 by Dos_Box