Blog #21: Reading Reflections for 11/9/2009

Articles Referenced in this Post: “Using the Internet in the Music Technology Lab” by Dr. William I. Bauer.
“How People Learn (and What Technology Might Have to Do With It)” by Marcy P. Driscoll
“Multimedia Basics: Pictures” by Dr. Estrella Jorgenson
“Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky

All of the readings listed above were interesting; however, the article that provokes the most discussion might be Marc Prensky’s. Overall, I really enjoyed what he had to say and found his immigrant/native analogy to be quite accurate. I think I might have been born into a generation that came just slightly (and I mean slightly) before the current “natives,” although most people my age feel much more comfortable using computers and digital technology than I do. I believe that I will be in one of the first wave of teachers to work with the true digital natives. My “foreign” accent is very strong as I attempt to complete assignments with as little technology as possible. I don’t think I am able to take action the way the author has by creating a video game to teach with (I apparently forgot to take that course in college) but the author did convict me that it is important that I try to relate with young people who may have grown-up in a different culture than I did. The bottom line is, I consider it an honor to be able to teach young people, and if adapting technology to my classroom strategies is the most effective way to relate to them, then I will do everything I can to learn to do that.

Similar to how an immigrant never truly feels at home in the new country he/she has traveled to, I guess I always simply feel betrayed by technology as if I’m on the outside. For instance, in attempting to type this blog, the formatting came out different on this Apple computer I’m using so that the top portion is double-spaced. After clicking every possible button I could find on the tool bar and formatting palatte to change this, I finally gave up, realizing I have no idea what the top of this post will look like when I paste it into Blogger. Computers are not something you can reason with so when my grades and professional future are on the line, I prefer not to rely on them. I don’t feel like I speak their language. I’ve seen many presentations fail due to computer problems and I often wonder if it’s really worth the risk. At the very end of his article, Driscoll mentioned that understanding principles of learning must come before implementing technology. I think that teacher education programs must remember this point.

Prensky did note that digital natives often respond best to video games. I do believe that learning can be fun, but I worry about rather or not all education can be restructured into games. I worry that digital natives often simply turn-off their brains when looking at a video game screen. I think that they may resist thinking on a more critical level when going into this mode. When describing the process of creating such an educational video game, the author stated that he hoped to “eliminate any language that even smacked of education.” That’s a strong statement. Is it wrong for children to know that they are attending school for the essential purpose of learning? However, I thought the author’s ideas on creating real-life simulated challenges (similar to games) was great. He believes these will be more engaging for the current digital generation. I think this encourages teachers to be more creative in their planning and to provide students with learning experiences that may be more meaningful. I’ve heard of a WebQuests before and they sound like a great way to relate to our current students. Young people live and breathe the internet. This resource should be utilized by teachers as often as possible. Many students have the internet at home now so assigning WebQuest tasks for after-school work is not unreasonable. The article mentions that some of these Quests can last for a month or more, which would really help students follow an entire unit and provide a capstone experience. I’m looking forward to learning more about how to create one of these.