Gen Z don’t search manually for a file using the tree structure. They just search.
Gen Z’s understanding of finding the file
Not only did they not know where their files were saved — they didn’t understand the question.
Tree, Hierarchy and structure are not a common sense to them
the concept of file folders and directories, essential to previous generations’ understanding of computers, is gibberish to many modern students.
Conventional mental model
Guarín-Zapata’s mental model is commonly known as directory structure, the hierarchical system of folders that modern computer operating systems use to arrange files. It’s the idea that a modern computer doesn’t just save a file in an infinite expanse… More broadly, directory structure connotes physical placement — the idea that a file stored on a computer is located somewhere on that computer, in a specific and discrete location.
Current use cases
It’s possible that the analogy multiple professors pointed to — filing cabinets — is no longer useful since many students Drossman’s age spent their high school years storing documents in the likes of OneDrive and Dropbox rather than in physical spaces.
Just use the search bar
But it may also be that in an age where every conceivable user interface includes a search function, young people have never needed folders or directories for the tasks they do.
Where directory structure is still usefil today
The primary issue is that the code researchers write, run at the command line, needs to be told exactly how to access the files it’s working with — it can’t search for those files on its own.
Next gen are not learning less!
But the issue is likely not that modern students are learning fewer digital skills, but rather that they’re learning different ones.
Next gen teachers will also teach differently
Plavchan has considered offering a separate course on directory structure — but he’s not sure it’s worth it. “I imagine what’s going to happen is our generation of students … they’re going to grow up and become professors, they’re going to write their own tools, and they’re going to be based on a completely different approach from what we use today.”