Dec 09 2007
Digital Natives have invaded my classroom
by; Brian Van Dyck
My world as an educator changed forever after reading Marc Prensky’s article: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants . That was six years ago. Since that day I have immersed myself in Education Technology training. As a middle school teacher I have had the pleasure of watching these Digital Natives explore my classroom environment and make their mark on it. The numbers of Natives populating my classroom have been on the rise. At this point in time, my learning environment has been overrun by these little wired people. It was clear upon reading the article that I must change or find a different job. With the help of these little natives I have learned to change. The walls of my classroom have virtually disappeared as our learning environment has become more and more connected to the outside world. We blog, we podcast, we iMovie, we PowerPoint, we video-conference, and we create content all our own, just to name a few things. Learning for my students and I has taken on a new dimension. I have been to conference after conference on the subject of digital natives and have had my brain rewired by the thoughts of speakers like Marc Prensky, Hall Davidson, David Warlick, and Will Richardson. Thank you to those that have shared their wisdom, experience, and learning with me. It has made a difference. I am curious what experiences other Digital Immigrant teachers have faced during these exciting times.
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Hi Brian
It is interesting that you make reference to the Digital Natives. I have occasionally wondered how native the students are in fact. The students certainly have the tech skills and are easily entertained by the tools. As teachers I feel we need to share with them how to become truly productive, creative and original in their use of the tools. I posted about this earlier. Feel free to read.
http://blog.larkin.net.au/2007/10/23/the-digital-natives-debate-continues/
http://blog.larkin.net.au/2007/09/16/digital-natives-or-simply-digital-dilettantes/
Cheers
John
John,
Thank you for responding. I have posted a similar response on your blog in case you miss this.
Having read the posts and articles referenced on the Digital Native debate, it would seem that this is an issue of semantics. If the terms “Native” and “Immigrant” are perceived to create some sense of distance or insurmountable chasm between student and teacher, then the discussion surrounding the trends, observations, and opinions on this subject will break down. I agree that perhaps the terminology needs to be revamped, yet my experience with educating middle school students would suggest that the digital age has had a profound impact on the way students approach their learning experience. I do not feel that being a “Digital Native” suggests any level of mastery or proficiency, rather a shift in the manner students approach learning. My observations from my classroom experience confirm this suggested shift. I agree that my students, be they “Digital Natives” or “Digital Dilettantes”, demonstrate a wide range of ability, creativity, understanding, and proficiency when it comes to the use of digital tools in learning. The diversity of digital proficiency in the classroom only makes the task of differentiated instruction that much more daunting. I agree that the use of technology must be aligned to the curriculum and learning outcomes within a unit of study. When technology is used to teach students how to learn, how to problem solve, and how to create new content from their newly acquired knowledge, then the technology becomes valuable in creating meaning and understanding for our our students. This is a discussion that needs to continue for the benefit of every classroom teacher faced with teaching in the digital age.
Aloha,
Brian