Digital Natives vs Digital Immigrants
I agree and disagree with Prensky. I agree that today’s students are “Digital Natives, they are not just comfortable with technology, it is a part of them. They interact with each other more comfortably through technology then they do face-to-face. They have never known a world where the answers to every question they have is not at their fingertips. They don’t need to memorize much of anything any more. The world is fast moving and they are at ease with all of it.
I agree that the rest of us or “Digital Immigrants” we have varying levels of comfort many of us have only a slight accent, but others of us maybe eager learners of this new language but we speak with a heavy accent. We find today’s world chaotic and stressful. We love our few minutes of quiet book reading. But I’m not certain we are truly that different.
I agree that as educators we need to change our strategies and lessons to make them more appealing to these Digital Natives. I think that all great educators have been those teachers that found ways to make material relevant to their audience. They tapped into the interests of their students; they brought their subject into the world of their students. I don’t think anything has really changed other than technology is the key link between the two worlds. Students in their basic make-up are still the same as they always have been. The cliques in high school are still the same. The struggle with popularity is still the same. Students fall in love and suffer from broken hearts all the same. The difference is how all of this is communicated. I think that students are more open and comfortable with exposing themselves and their thoughts through mass communication.
This new generation is once again using the written word much more that my generation. We spoke on the phone, watched TV and had sleepovers. I am much more comfortable expressing my thoughts orally. Today’s students text, blog, tweet, facebook, and instant message each other. Much of their communication is abbreviated but it is still the use of the written word. They are more comfortable expressing themselves in writing. As a result their oral communication skills are suffering. I agree that we need to introduce technology into our classrooms and into all new teachers pedagogy’s but we also need to help our students acquire new skills. Students need to be able to concentrate on one thing for a period of time; we need all of our future surgeons to have this skill. They need to learn to block out the outside world and concentrate. I have observed in my current job that most young people have trouble communicating orally in formal settings. Environments where these skills are needed may be diminishing but they still exist and we need to help our students develop these skills.
What I have found is that students don’t think deeply about most of what they are learning. As they have so much information at their disposal they seem less analytical, reflective. Prensky touch on this topic as well. I thought his point about instructor debriefing was brilliant. I think that if we incorporate Digital Game-Based learning in our lessons it is vital to walk our students through the process of reflecting on their learning. This is a skill that we need to help them develop so that our society is progressive and always improving. The role of the teacher is no longer to disseminate information, which our students can get with a click of a button; it is now our job to help them learn how to use this information to improve themselves and the world around them.
I completely agree that the "Digital Natives" feel more comfortable expressing themselves online than in real life. I've witnessed it many times in my experience as a high school substitute and cheerleading coach. They'll interact through text, facebook, email, etc. but not as much in person. Very strange to me!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that educators need to bank on the idea of making lessons and learning in general more appealing through the use of technology.
Finally, I think the most important point you make is that today's students do not demonstrate as much critical thinking skills. As you stated, they seem less analytical and reflective.
I agree with you in that It’s interesting to me that you pointed out our chaotic and stressful world. It makes me ask myself; am I chaotic and stressful because of technology or does technology help relieve some of it? Am I trying to compact so much more into my life because technology makes me feel like I can? It’s not really something I’ve thought about before. Perhaps things were easier when I didn’t realize how productive I could be. I could say no to projects because I didn’t know how to do them, but now that I can use a computer for so many things I find myself saying yes to a lot of special projects.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the good teachers take advantage of technology to keep kids motivated. It doesn’t have to be the only thing they use to teach, however a good teacher sees value in the appropriate times and manners of incorporating technology.
I love this ending: “The role of the teacher is no longer to disseminate information, which our students can get with a click of a button; it is now our job to help them learn how to use this information to improve themselves and the world around them.” I wonder if these new technologies mean young people are talking to each other less – cell phone bills and hours spoken online might speak to the contrary. Or I wonder if this increased access to communication has resulted less in people talking deeply to each other – or if it has meant more people merely chatting more often. When you talk about people being able to communicate orally (or in writing), I wonder if you are talking about that level of sustained discourse which goes well beyond the superficial and cursory.
ReplyDeleteBut it would seem if we adults (and teachers) allow young people to live lives without reflection and without deep thought, than their educations will be by their very natures a shallow one. Information is not knowledge, any more than having access to the Wikipedia entry for “American Revolution” means you know the lasting importance of that seminal event. In an era of increased access to information, I wonder if the human teacher is not – rather than less – important than before. I wonder also if in the Internet Age the following is more true than ever: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”
I also agree with your response. I feel the same way about technology and this generation of kids. I think many skills and values have been lost due and I think it will just get worst.
ReplyDeleteI think we see it this way because it grew up in a different generation where things were not as simpler and we had to work really hard. But I also think that we learned many things through our experiences. Kids today are lucky to have all the things they have, but I think that because they have so much they don't really appreciate what they have. They just keep asking for more and more. We on the other hand had to learn what we had and were happy with what we had. We valued what we have.
I do agree with have to evolve with the era and that we need to be able to reach to our students with the things they interest them. These kids are truly thinking faster and differently than all of us digital immigrants.