Digital Natives

Dexter Charles, Eboni Thomas, Anthony Yim

Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives

Immigrants Natives

Prefer to give information or teach slowly

Go step-by-step Prefer to print text and

then read Like for students to

work alone Teach seriously

Are used to receiving information really fast

Like to parallel and multi-task

Prefer graphics before text

Prefer random access Like to be networked Prefer games to

serious work

• Digital Natives are bored in class and choose not to pay attention

• Digital Immigrants have to learn to speak the language of their students because the Digital Natives aren’t going to go backwards

• Schools need to change the content and the methodologies they are using to teach that content

• Video games should be used to teach all subjects at all levels

According to Prensky

There is evidence indicating the same students who are most at risk for failure in the traditional classroom setting also spend an average of twenty-seven minutes per day more than their counterparts using video games

92% of children ages 2-17 play video and computer games

Approximately 80% of American families own a computer and 78% have video game equipment in their homes.

Evolution Classroom:What Teachers Need to Know about the Video Game Generation

"They say one of a baby's first non-verbal forms communication is pointing. Clicking must be somewhere just after that."

Parents are the catalyst behind the video game conglomerate. In 2004, over 50% of parents polled said they were going to buy their child a videogame for Christmas. 90% of all videogames are purchased by individuals 18 years or older.

“…many of the gamers (digital natives) in school today are at risk for failure…The gamers (digital natives) are not formally labeled. Instead they are referred to as lazy, apathetic, behavior problems, truant, disengaged or suffering from a bad attitude. Simply put, they are not happy in school. They are bored. They aren’t challenged. They see no relevance in the subject m atter.”

Evolution Classroom:What Teachers Need to Know about the Video Game Generation

90% of all elementary and secondary students polled, by a study done by National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2003, use their home computers for videogames, while only 83% percent use them for school assignments. Why not merge the two?

Evolution Classroom:What Teachers Need to Know about the FGame Generation

More then anything, digital natives need new methods of being taught to integrate what is being taught and comprehension of it

Henry Jenkins, professor at MIT writes, “[one] with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one's creations, and. . .one in which members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another“-that students today need the teacher to teach to their strengths so that they feel connected to what is being taught

Too often teachers are teaching through media not to it. Ontario, Canada is the first place in North America that

required integrated media be taught This has soundly embraces critical thinking skills, the

latter emphasizes hands-on creative expertise.

SKILLS FOR SURVIVING THE 21ST CENTURY

Generational Myth Asserts that there is

no such thing as a “digital generation”.

Classes are made up of a range of students with different interests and from different backgrounds; some of which don’t allow regular access to computers

Although some students may have open access to technology, many don’t know how to use it beyond entertainment purposes. (They lack skills.)

Assuming that all students love a certain form of classroom interaction means that we will change policies to fit those assumptions, when we very well know that all students learn differently.

Generational Myth

The concept of "born digital" flattens out the needs and experiences of young people into a uniform wish list of policies that conveniently matches the agenda of digital enthusiasts and entrepreneurs of all ages.

Generational Myth

All researchers don’t agree on the best way to teach Digital Natives

Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives need to meet somewhere in the middle

Teachers need to give students opportunities to reflect on and verbalize their learning

Both legacy content and future content are important if we want the students to stay engaged

In Conclusion

Duncan, B., & Arcus, C. (2009, January). SKILLS FOR SURVIVING THE 21ST CENTURY. Education Forum, 35(1), 20,22-23.  Retrieved September 20, 2009, from CBCA Complete.

Prensky, Marc (2001, October). “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5.

Prensky, M. (2001, December). “Do They Really Think Differently?” On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 6.

Simpson, E. (2005, September). What Teachers Need to Know about the Video Game Generation. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 49(5), 17-22. Retrieved September 18, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Vaidhyanathan, S. (2008, September). Generational Myth. Chronicle of Higher Education, v55 n4 pB7 Sep 2008. 1 pp. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from Academic Search Complete.

References