Article Assessment 1

Landon Roberts

Landonmroberts@gmail.com

9/21/08

Listen to the Natives

by Marc Prensky

Overview

In Listen to the Natives, Marc Prensky describes the gap that is perpetually growing between digital natives (today's young people that are increasingly proficient in the uses of 21st century technologies), and the digital immigrants (those of us not born into the digital era). Mr. Prensky focuses his discussion on the relationship between students and their teachers in a quickly evolving educational setting.  He emphasizes the need for the educational system, especially teachers, to move out of date 20th century styles of teaching to the new digital age of learning.

Reference Points

• Prensky classifies people into two groups, today's students are considered digital natives (born into the digital world), everyone else is considered a digital immigrants (not born into the digital world)

• Classrooms need to be more engaging to connect with today's students.

• Teachers need to get input from students about how they feel they should be taught.  Students need to be active participants in all areas of their learning experience; curriculum development, teaching methods, discipline etc.

• Students are fully engaged in the digital world outside of school and teachers need to find ways to encourage the digital world in the classroom through gameplay, interesting choices and immediate and useful feedback.

• Teachers should allow students to choose their own group partners to encourage optimal learning.

• Digital tools are becoming increasingly important in student's lives.  Perhaps the most important tool, the cell phone.  Instead of banning cell phones in our classrooms, teachers should find ways to embrace them.

• The job market today in changing rapidly.  Students want to learn subject matter that is relevant to their lives.  Utilize guest speakers that are on the cutting edge of new technologies and jobs. 

• Students want to voice their opinion in their education. 

Reflection

In Digital Natives, Mr. Prensky takes an interesting angle on the direction that the education system needs to take to be more effective for today's students.  Although some of the ideas that Prensky brings up are interesting, I felt that they were more ideological in nature than practical.  

I do agree with him that education systems need to incorporate more technology into their classrooms.  It is a digital world, and students need to be familiar with those technologies to stay on par with the rest of the world.  My concern with Mr. Prensky's analysis is that he believes that we need to totally revamp the system to accommodate student's lack of interest and attention span.  Classrooms needs to be engaging, but turning it into a "gameplay" area does not mean that we are actually encouraging learning.  Sure we can keep their attention, but are we actually teaching students how to think and become better citizens of our communities?  

Walking through the halls at our school, I can't even say hello to a students because they are all on their cells phones or have ipods in their ears.  Our society is becoming increasingly distant from each other.  Bringing these tools (cell phones) into the classrooms seems at first like a management nightmare, and it contributes to the ever increasing divide between students and students, and students and teachers. 

I must admit that I do not agree with a lot of what was written by Mr. Prensky.  I believe that there is as much a divide between students as there is with teachers concerning technology.  Many students (especially in Alaska) do not have the same technological prowess as maybe students down south.  Maybe that is because of access or financial differences, I don't know, but just because kids are born in the digital age does not mean they have the same access to or understanding of that technology. 

As I look over what I am writing, it is becoming increasingly clear how much of a digital immigrant I am.  Is it possible for our generation to really change the system, or will it have to be the digital natives that come behind us that bring about the change.  At this point I feel torn.  Maybe I feel anxious about where I see technology moving our world and I long for the days of knob turning television, and easy fix automobiles.  I realize those days are long gone, but the question remains; can we digital immigrants survive in this new era or are we going to become another species on the extinction list?