1. Do you consider yourself a digital native, immigrant, or even alien? Why?
I was a digital immigrant who became a digital native. I got my first computer when I was 18 years old, in 1997. I got my first cell phone when I was 24. As internet speed improved and more people came into owning computers, I became far more fluent with computers. I think being a gamer really helped. I grew up with consoles. So, that familiarized me with technology. Social networking also helped me understand the capability of internet and computers. I think the most profound skill that technology bestowed upon me was the ability to research information efficiently and effectively. Prensky (p. 2) states that, "Today's older folk were "socialized" differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language. And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain." I would say that I definitely have to try harder to understand technology than people who are ten years younger than me. It isn't impossible, it's just not my first language.
2. What experiences have you had with technology in the classroom either as a teacher or learner? Compare high school technology to college technology. Did it improve your learning experience?
As an elementary school student, we had three Apple 2s in our library. I used to check out the 12 inch floppy disks from the librarian and play Oregon Trail on the black and green-screened computer. In middle school, things got digital, and teachers would cart the television and DVD player in from the AV room so that we could watch media productions from the 12 inch DVDs. There were just a handful of the DVD players in our school, and they were considered to be revolutionary technology. When I got into high school, a computer lab was added to the school facility my junior year. We were not allowed to use the computers except for in special circumstances. Through high school, we were still expected to submit our papers in long-hand.
When I got to college, in 1997, my parents got me a Microsoft computer with an astounding 253 MEGs of RAM. This was helpful considering all of my assignments were now expected to be printed from a computer or typewriter. So, I used my computer for school and to play video games. When I started college, internet was provided by an ethernet cord, and websites still took an upwards of 10 minutes to load, so computers were not yet an ideal research tool. Once I neared the end of my undergrad tenure, computer speed, function, and memory had improved a great deal. Professors were starting to put limits on research that could be cited from the internet. It was at around this time that I started to rely heavily on my computer as an efficient research tool. As time progressed, I learned how to effectively research on a computer by typing in key words and comparing source information. Computers have been revolutionary for me in terms of research and work production efficiency. Plus, computers are an excellent tool for staying socially connected to others.
3. Have these articles changed your mind about the use of technology in your future classroom? How might you incorporate it?
I believe that we must do whatever we can to increase learning in students. This means evolving with society. Since technology has become such an integral part of our society, it serves to reason that we would use that technology to help students learn. We no longer are limited to visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc. learners. According to Prensky (p. 1), "Today's average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives." One thing all students have in common is that they are all digital learners. We should use digital learning to our advantage by assigning tasks that follow our students' abilities. We might consider using a blog, online discussion, video game, or cell phone as a tool for completing assignments. Prensky's (p. 3) statement that we cannot expect students to rewire their brains, but that we should use their strengths to garner content interest and fluency is true, "Unfortunately, no matter how much the Immigrants may wish it, it is highly unlikely the Digital Natives will go backwards."
REFERENCES:
Prensky, Marc (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), pp. 1-6.
I was thinking earlier of my first laptop, and how in awe my college roommates were of me that I had one when I was a freshman. It was used and purchased from my best friend's neighbor, so it was not the best one on the market, but it was a laptop (with cord I think it weighed like 12 pounds).
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I am curious about your final paragraph. Do you think that teachers need to be the trailblazers when it comes to technology? Is there a point that sometimes we forget the "foundations" in trying to keep up with kids in this technological world? I mean, as Language Arts teachers, when we learn that kids don't want to do blogs because it is too much writing, or they don't see the value in reading, should we be the ones that hold fast to some tradition ("yes, you will read a paper book")?
If students can function or perform better reading from a screen, I have no problem with electronic reading. I prefer paper over electronic, but I am sure I would feel differently if I hadn't read exclusively from paper throughout my life.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of being a technological trailblazer, I think it is necessary to be aware of anything that might help my students. I will say that I do not foresee having access to the latest technology in class, given the financial state of our schools (you mentioned you'd teach us how to write grants- I am very interested in learning this skill). It is also a good idea to keep in the loop with anything that might be of interest to my students just so I can better understand them culturally, language-wise, and (to an extent) emotionally. Even if we don't have access to technology, it would help me to keep updated with technology. Students are far more willing to listen and believe what I say if I come off as knowledgeable.
So, no, I don't think I need to be a technological trailblazer. I just need to not live under a rock. I am not all that sensitive about receiving documents by email. I'd probably have the kids turn some stuff in via email. Longer pieces, I'd probably have the students print off and submit to me. I read better on paper, and I enjoy writing with a pen, even though typing is far faster.
I don't think that we're really forgetting foundations as long as we teach kids how to read, write, think critically, etc. I am not sure that it matters how travel a path, if the end result of the same.
As far as kids who aren't interested in writing blogs because they are too long: I remember being a high school student and hearing the same complaints. Kids get over it. I should re-emphasize that we had to write everything by hand, so that took ten times as long as typing documents up on a computer. It might be useful to slowly reach the point of writing blogs. In other words, start out with a paragraph, work up to half a page, then a page, etc. It might also be useful to use a blog to free-write like a journal.
On a technology "I remember when" side note, I remember my neighbor had this cell phone that was the size of a baby whale, and she never used it because it cost her 50 cents a minute. My first laptop was purchased about six or seven years ago. I think the first time I'd heard of a laptop was about ten years ago.