Monday, March 4, 2013

Digtial Native

I really liked reading these articles, because I felt the author made a lot of good points that I have never really heard or thought about. I liked the quote that Marc Prensky used in the beginning of the article, which was “Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system  was designed to teach.”  I don’t think that our educational system has always been wrong, but I do agree that the students that we have in our classroom now are more aware of their learning strengths and weaknesses. I am always impressed when a younger child is able to navigate a television remote or Ipad, and many times they know it better than their parents or family members. Also, I was amazed to think about the numbers that students spend watching television or using some kind of technology in everyday life. It's not taboo for a child to know some type of technology, but rather it is taboo if they don't know.

I felt that there were many strong points that I agreed with Marc Prensky. For example, I agree that any subject and a student at any level will be able to learn new information or skills with the support of technology. I believe that since technology is so broad, there is always some way to reach out to a person of any age or skill level to learn new information.  I like that teachers have been given more opportunities to be accountable for their teaching, especially in recent years, and I believe that incorporating technology will be part of that criteria, if it is not already.

I had a hard time disagreeing with Marc Prensky and his points. He seems to believe that teachers that are considered "Immigrant Natives" will have to make choice to accept the change and learn for their students, or just stick to old ways that may not work for the students in the classroom. Marc Prensky made it very clear that what is being taught should still be the same (content wise), but instead he is suggesting to present that information in a different and new way, rather than old traditional ways that may include reading only from a textbook. I think it is acceptable to have students who like to see visuals, enjoy "hands on experiences", and that can multitask. There are plenty of examples of studies that prove that students are still learning even if it seems that they are doing something else. Also, students still need to be given time to think, process, and reflect; because that is all part of the learning process. Since students are living a fast paced world where they can get answers right away, it is still important to demonstrate the importance of thinking about answers and why things are the way they are. There are many good things that technology can bring and I look forward to keeping up to date with it, so that I can make the best use for my students. 

No comments:

Post a Comment