Digital Natives, Digital ImmigrantsPart I

Group 4: Abey, Nikhil, Amrutha, Chetna, Natasha, Sheldon

Introduction

“Our Students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach” -Marc Prensky

Prensky feels there is a huge discontinuity between our generation and our teacher’s generation.

Coins two terms: Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, to simplify the discussion.

Digital Natives

The “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet have been defined as Digital Natives

Some of the characteristics that define them includes fast information reception, parallel processing, multitasking, prefers graphics over text, instant gratification and frequent rewards, believers of fun with learning rather than serious work.

Digital Immigrants

Definition: Are those not born into the digital generation and are struggling or slightly fascinated by the technology era.

Characteristics:

Turn to the internet as a secondary reference.

Speak in an outdated language

Have little appreciation for natives and their skills

Read manuals when in doubt about technology rather than just go and wing it method

Are the majority of our teaching population and struggling to keep up with the young digital natives that fill up our classrooms

Problem?

Considering the characteristics, problem arises when the digital immigrant teachers assume that learners are the same as they have always been and that the same methods that worked for the teachers when they were students will work for their students too.

Kinds of Content

There are now two kinds of content: “Legacy” and “Future” content.

Legacy content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and the ideas of the past - all of our traditional curriculum.

Future content includes software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, etc.

Why is content important?

Educators need to be thinking how to teach both Legacy and Future content in the language of Digital Natives.

Legacy content involves the major translation and change or methodology; Future content involves legacy content along with new content and thinking.

The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy1.CAD Software- mechanical engineers -

resistance, first person shooter game, learn software to win game

2.The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy- widely used, 1 million copies in print & several languages

3.Invented by digital natives- easy

4.Content creation by Digital immigrants- difficult

5.Success- approach worked, was adopted as model for teaching

Rethinking Education

1.Rethinking Education- use of calculators in Mathematics, better presentation in Geography

2.“Thought experiments”

3.Author argues- Digital Natives will have to change

Do They Really Think Differently?Part-II

Neuroplasticity

It was earlier believed that the human brain doesn’t change based on stimulation especially after the age of 3.

In latest research it is proved that the brain does change over time and structures affects the way people think and this transformation goes on throughout life.

The old idea was that we have a fixed number of brain cells that die one by one has been replaced showing that brain cells are constantly replenished.

The brain constantly reorganizes itself all our lives and this is known as neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity

The earlier research in this field that rats in enriched environments showed brain changes with those in impoverished environments as early as two weeks.

Changes showed consistent overall growth, leading to the conclusion that the brain maintains plasticity for life.

Many other experiments have some conclusions that:

Additional languages learned later in life goes into a different place than the language learned as children.

Imaging experiments have shown that when blind people learned Braille,”visual” areas of their brains lit up. Similarly deaf people use their auditory cortex to read signs

Malleability

Different Cultures, Think Differently

Brains that undergo different experiences,develop differently

The brains thinking patterns do not just change overnight

Children raised by computers have parallel cognitive structures

Digital natives with their repeated exposure to digital media have enhanced thinking skills

ConclusionAttention SpansShort attention spans of digital natives old methods of learningAttention stronger on things that interest, engage and are fast for them

What have we lost?The ability to reflect. He process of learning experience.High speed, hence bored of old learning methodsTeachers have not adapted to the methods to teach the natives

Conclusion

What have we lost?The ability to reflect. He process of learning experience.High speed, hence bored of old learning methodsTeachers have not adapted to the methods to teach the natives

Does it work?adding gaming to the curriculum ( well structured)Further research to be conducted in the area

Conclusion

Brains do change and adapt with new input

Two options for teachers- to adapt or to ignore