Don’t be scared of Digital Natives
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I plead with all fellow teachers not to be scared of the new era of digital natives found in your classrooms. In response to Scott’s blog, i have formed the opinion that teachers should not fear the era of technology in our classroom. I agree with Scott when he challenges the Rainie article, which implies that student’s use scare tactics to imply their world is becoming dominant, taking over our world and leaving us with no choices in our classroom. The ‘Digital Natives’ should be seen as an opportunity to implement engaging variety into lessons through the application of techology based strategies. The focus should remain on education and the outcomes should be implemented before applying technology for technology sake. Technology such as blogging, podcasts and internet usage offers a great element of supportive learning.
Tagged: reactionary blog August 19, 2008
Blog 2: Does the ASX ‘Share Market Simulation Game’ Fit?
The ASX website provides a simulation game based on the Australian Share Market. This simulation game is a common teaching strategy utilized within the commerce and business studies syllabus aimed at our students who are now immersed in the digital culture. The purpose of the simulation game is to apply necessary skills required to locate and monitor share investment activity. The application of this strategy will hopefully engage students and provide meaningful learning for a better level of understanding. The concerning question here is whether effective teaching targeting the digital generation is applied or is this a routine ICT activity that becomes a distraction within an already loaded course syllabus.
Have the ideas and content become secondary as the ‘Share Market Simulation’ show becomes the focus of effort. Jamie McKenzie’s article entitled Stuffing Technology into the Curriculum emphasises learning goals and strategies should be implemented first and then teachers should select the tools that match the purpose. Business studies and commerce teachers may well want to follow such a thought process rather then pack the annual ‘Share market Simulation’ into an already crowded syllabus. The concepts covered by this game are only small areas of both syllabuses. Therefore management of such a game is vital to ensure that students are not exposed for the sake of technology but actually prevail with productive outcomes in a sensible time frame.
Tagged: blog2 August 17, 2008
Blog 1: Limitations or Excuses???
‘Fifteen minutes it’s taken to assemble my class and march them down to the computer room in the library. A room containing 22 computers shared amongst 1055 students at the school. Between forgotten log ins’, passwords and applied instructions we now have only 30 minutes remaining in the lesson. Our fortnightly visit to the damn computer room is almost over and I can’t wait to get back into some proper teaching next lesson’. This scenario was my first observation of how to apply appropriate teaching strategies to the cognitive learning patterns of our new digital learners or ‘digital natives’ as discussed by Marc Prensky in his article Digital natives, digital immigrants.
Is this a common scenario within the majority of large, comprehensive, co-educational public high schools throughout NSW? Is it the lack of teaching resources or inability of teachers to recognise the cognitive differences and skills of the so called digital natives that mould the digital limitations throughout the under resourced public high schools? Can teachers meet the changing cognitive styles that digital natives acquire through a fortnightly 30 minute lesson on a computer? Rorris (2008) reports on the under resourced public school system drawing on the capital investment required to meet short-falls in Australian Government schools illustrating the limited funding and investment in facilities for Government schools. It seems a comfortable and reasonable excuse for many teachers to blame the limited access of computers as a means for remaining digitally illiterate as a ‘Digital Immigrant’. If the same ‘Digital Immigrant’ teachers were armed with knowledge of how to engage ‘Digital Natives’ through simple blogs or pod casts strategies, would they find new ways around the issue of limited resources? Even if such strategies are used occasionally in a classroom. Surely the smoke screen of limited resources cannot continue to deprive the ‘Digital Natives’ of effective teaching practices.
Tagged: blog1 August 5, 2008
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August 5, 2008
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