Article Assessment 1

Listen to the Natives

by Marc Prensky

Overview

In Listen to the Natives, Marc Prensky discusses the digital age and the students that have grown up with digital technology and are now present in our schools. Today's students are fluent in speaking the language of digital technology and it is a native language to them. These students will evolve and change as rapidly as new technology emerges. The article also discusses the growing gap between teachers and students. While our students are digital natives, today's teachers are what the author refers to as digital immigrants, meaning the digital language is a second language and we speak the language with an 'accent.'

• Digital natives are those who have been born in the digital age, while digital immigrants are those who were born in the predigital world.
• As educators in the 21st century, we must engage students by using 21st century technology.
• Students can be a good resource for teachers learning to use digital technology. "Digital tools are like extentions of students' brains."
• Over 50% of U.S. teachers say computer technology has affected the way they teach.
• A great deal of teachers and administrators do not know what a cookie, a blog, or a wiki is.
• Educators in the 21st century must stop and listen to students, discover how they learn best and incorporate new ideas into their teaching.

Reflection

While many educators are what Prensky refers to as digital immigrants, there are many that have adapted to the new technology available and use it quite effectively. Students need to be engaged in order for them to learn and to make it meaningful to them and most technology is useful to fulfill that need, but some technology, such as cell phones and ipods, are distractions in the classroom and cause students to become disengaged. I disagree with the author regarding lessons in video game format, and while video games can produce some learning, students need to learn in other ways and discover the many different ways to find information. It is extremely important for teachers to understand today's technology, but at the same time, it is more important for teachers to use methods of teaching that will reach as many students as possible, which may not necessarily utilize technology.

Futuring

A. How would you "grade" or assess Fox Becomes a Better Person, and School Train?

In order to appropriately assess School Train and Hannah- Fox Becomes a Better Person a rubric would be necessary. The vidoes were both innovative and interesting in their use of digital technology, and as long as all required elements and information required by the assignment are present, "grading" would be straight-forward.


More specifically, for School Train, their assignment asked the students to show they understood the meaning of a metaphor. The students comparison of school to a train clearly displayed their understanding of the term. Their use of technology also displays the amount of digital technology knowledge young people have in our present day.

Also, for Hannah-Fox Becomes a Better Person, without knowing the requirements for the assignment, it is difficult to know if she accomplished the task. I would assess the assignment based on the following:

• Was the story Hannah told an accurate accounting of the story based on cultural knowledge?
• Did the digital technology enhance the story?
• Were all the required elements present in the final project?

B. What impacts could the developments prtrayed in epic2015 have on your classroom, particularly with respect to things like podcasting?

The developments portrayed in epic2015 could have positive and in the classroom. The ability to share information through podcasting could enable students and teachers to have greater access to information needed to enhance the learning process. Conversely, and perhaps it is a bit pessimistic, but podcasting could make cheating more prevalent, without greater diligence by teachers. Another possible negative aspect is the ease of posting information on the web. Information found by students could not be accurate or completely false, and that possibility also requires greater diligence and knowledge by teachers.


C. How might you use Sabrina's piece as a model for something would do with your own students?

How would I use the piece as a model? As I ponder that question, I think about how Sabrina's journey is her personal history and how, as a history teacher, how can I incorporate this type of assignment with my students? One idea is to have students link their personal histories and journey's through school with an historical event or person that inspires them and to continue with their goals for their futures.