Digital Natives

I’ve been doing a fair bit of studying this week for the SUNY online conference. I’ve enjoyed listening to the keynote speakers (particularly Sir Ken Robinson – I could listen to him for DAYS!). I’ve done heaps of reading, the articles that we were invited to view and also more that these articles led me to. I could read about this 24/7 and forget the day job. Alas, I need to pay the bills. 

So what have I learnt or gained from all this study? I think the most important aspect of education it has made me think about is the fact that the students of today are very different from those of twenty years ago, ten years ago, even five years ago. They are growing up with technology as an integral part of their lives. They live and breathe it from the day they are born. They are growing up being what Marc Prensky calls ‘Digital Natives‘ and us (the adults that are teaching them) are ‘Digital Immigrants’.  He observes that: 

“Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, 

video games and the Internet.”

Scarily, the Digital Natives article was written in 2001. That’s more than a decade ago and it seems that nothing has changed significantly (in many schools, not all – I know some are well on the way). 

Something along these lines has been at the back of my mind for some time, niggling away, but reading more about it has brought it to the forefront and has made me realise that Mr. Prensky and all those other educationalists who are saying the same thing (in different ways) are right. I know they are right. I see how easy it is for my four-year-old son to pick up new apps and games on the laptop or iPad. Somehow he instinctively knows how to use them with very little instruction. It is mind-boggling to watch.

So, the other ‘biggie’ that came from all the viewing and reading I did for the conference:

Teaching students purely KNOWLEDGE is a waste of time.

Yes, this is also something I have known for a long time. When I actually have time to sit back and think about it properly (like I have this week), I know that it is important to provide students with an extensive tool kit of skills and understandings that will enable them to face and solve problems confidently. Knowledge and the recalling of facts (like the year Julius Caesar was born) are just NOT relevant. Wikipedia and a calculator would give you the answer to most trivia questions. My initial thoughts are that no matter what we plan for our students, the learning engagements must be:

engaging, relevant, challenging and significant.

So my big questions right now (that may never be answered!) are:

* How do we incorporate technology into our teaching to ensure that we are nurturing these digital natives and preparing them for a future we know nothing about?

* How can I adapt my own teaching in the classroom to ensure they are learning, practicing and using skills that will benefit them later in life? 

Somehow writing my thoughts and reflections on this blog help me to internalise and organise what I have read. I’m not putting this out into the world wide web just yet!

#DigitalLiteracy #EducationalTechnology