- What assumptions of the text does the author hold?
- What do you agree with in the text?
- What do you want to argue with in the text?
- What parts of the text do you aspire to?
Additionally, avoid spelling and grammatical errors. I recommend composing in MS Word if needed, and then copying and pasting your response here.
This article first starts out with the assumption that our students today are Digital Natives and our teachers are Digital Immigrants. Marc Prensky (2001) states that the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of today’s educational problems. From that statement alone I do not believe that the Digital Immigrant teacher should be blamed totally for today’s educational problems. Our society and lack of parenting should be partial blame and added in as the problem. Although a Digital Immigrant teacher can always be taught how to incorporate some changes in the classroom to appeal to the Digital Native student. As our society continues to change as the years passes by, we should all expect our student’s way of thinking to change. The article continues with the assumption that this new generation of Digital Natives has different ways of thinking with a very different blend of cognitive skills than its predecessors (Prensky, 2001). I agree that students today are more technologically advance as they play more video games, email, and use social media on a daily basis more then when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteMarc Prensky (2001) continues with that one of the most interesting challenges and opportunities in teaching a Digital Native student is to figure out and invent ways to include reflection and critical thinking in the learning (either built into the instruction or through the process of instructor-led debriefing) but still do it in the Digital Native language. Marc brings forth a great point and that is why I believe in adding game based learning in instruction today. I can understand how students are bored when compared to a famous video game like Madden or Modern Warfare, but that does not mean that I will allow those types of games to be played in order to learn and understand biology major concepts. Online templates have been helpful to me as I have in the past included Jeopardy and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader in the classroom. Even though our kids are more technologically advance, that doesn’t mean that we have to be Digital Immigrants.
Prensky, M. (2001). Do they really think differently?. (Vol. 6). NCB University Press.
@ Jackie: As you note, educators need not feel like 'digital immigrants', and Prensky paints teachers with a broad, all encompassing stroke. One thing that I see from teachers is daily use of technology in their professional lives. Email, grading, and accessing student test data all require teachers to employ technology.
DeleteOn the other hand, students are adroit when it comes to using technology for social-networking and game playing, but they lack the necessary skills for effective educational-networking.
Is digital citizenship and responsibility taught at your school? I ask because as more and more of our students arrive equipped with mobile devices, there is a greater need today to insure that we teach students how to effectively navigate an ever-changing online landscape.
@Ken I am not teaching yet, but digital citenship and responsibility was taught at the school I completed student teaching. In our Biology class we had a dedicated apple laptop cart just for our classroom, but only the teachers that had a smart board had a cart. There were only 4 carts for the entire high school, but the high school was also small with only ~200 students.
DeleteEven if teachers do email and fill out an online gradebook, the students are very familiar with other tools like social media. I believe that teachers can as well appeal to social media as well. If I am able to I can share a blog my students completed for one of my assignments next class.
Marc Prensky assumes that the generational divide is concrete and explicit. The digital natives process thoughts and use strategies that have been developed through their exposure to computers, video games and other digital media. The digital immigrants grew up educated by a different set of stimuli, books and television, which impacted the way they think. The assumption that each group has a particular way of thinking and the same competencies is fallacious. Within each group there must be different groups of people with differing levels of exposure and skill level. Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds will have advantages over those from lower ones. The availability to computers and digital technology will be greater for the more affluent families. Similarly, the digital immigrants will not be a homogeneous group either. Their exposure to books, television, and computer technology can vary enormously. Just as it is a mistake to assume that all students learn through the same processes, it is also a mistake to assume that all students are equally native or immigrant.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author that students today think differently. I have certainly noticed the “hypertext minds” syndrome and the desire to play games in order to acquire and retain information. The decrease in the students’ ability to reflect is apparent, as they are used to instantaneous feedback, Although I do not advocate for the sole use of a digital game-based strategy for instruction, I concur that the use of these games stimulate and engage the students in the process of learning.
I would argue against the concept that game-based learning is more effective than other types of instruction. Firstly, the strategy would not improve the skills that have been diminished by the use of this technology. For example, collaborative skills would be neglected and critical thinking diminished. Cooperative learning prepares students for the real world in which most jobs require interactive collaborative skills. I fear that the students are so dependent on websites to give them the answers that they reflect less and think critically only when they can’t navigate their way to the answer. The notion that we should adjust to their game mentality is antithetical to the concept of malleability. If brains and thinking patterns do not change overnight, then it is our obligation as teachers to teach our students to think in a variety of ways. Instead of creating a game-based learning model, we should incorporate a variety of models in order to provide an opportunity for students to think in different ways.
Personally, I aspire to engage my students in their own learning. I would gladly incorporate occasional games into my lesson plans to help to achieve this goal. However, I would also encourage my students to reflect, explore, and collaborate. Respect for different viewpoints and empathy for the human condition cannot be learned through game playing.