Name:
Sherice Mitchell
Class:
2BHSS
I.D.
#: 20123797
Lecturer:
Mr. Onywere
Course:
Educational Technology
Date:
February 21, 2014
Title
Page
“What should we call these “new”
students of today? Some refer to them as the N-[for Net]-gen or D-[for
digital]-gen. But the most useful designation I have found for them is Digital
Natives. Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital
language of computers, video games and the Internet”. (Prensky,
2001)
This assessment task is based
on the article by Prensky (2001). Write a six (6) page essay which uses or
captures the quotation above and the criteria provided below.(N.B. The cover
page and reference page are not included in the six (6) pages required.)
1.
Discuss three (3) ways in
which Digital Natives demonstrate being “native speakers” of the digital
language.
2.
Explain one (1) implication
for the teacher who teaches Digital Natives.
3.
Describe one (1) implication
for policy makers in their quest to equip Digital Natives with the required
skills for the future.
4.
Using relevant examples, give
details of three (3) ways in which the teacher could integrate technology in
teaching and learning, to aid in improving the quality of students’ learning
experiences. The examples given should indicate how the teacher will be able to
speak the language of the “Digital Natives” and improve the quality of
education for our students.
Please note that included in
the criteria for assessment are evidence of research, use of language and
proper referencing using APA.
Mark Scheme
|
Content
|
25 marks
|
|
Evidence of Research
|
2 marks
|
|
Language
|
3 marks
|
|
Total
|
30 marks
|
“What
should we call these “new” students of today? Some refer to them as the N-[for
Net]-gen or D-[for digital]-gen. But the most useful designation I have found
for them is Digital Natives. Our students today are all “native speakers” of
the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet”. (Prensky,
2001).
In the twenty first century we as members of society
have seen and or continuing to see how the technology has been impacting and
changing the today’s world. The young people of today’s society are more
technologically advanced than the older persons. They are able to learn and
adapt to the different variety of technology such as the phones, computers and
video games that are readily made available. Who are these young people? They
are referred to as the “Digital Natives”. According to Techopedia “Digital Native is an individual who
was born after the widespread adoption of digital technology”. Digital natives
demonstrate that they are native speakers of the digital language by
incorporating the using of the internet, video games and cell phones into their
daily lives. One implication for teachers who teaches digital natives is that
some of the teachers are not as technology advanced as the students; therefore
they are not able to cater for the different learning needs. Thus students
become bored. One implication for policy makers in their quest to equip Digital Natives with the required skills for the future is
that policy makers were not prepared to accommodate the changing needs of this
new generation of learners entering Colleges and Universities, therefore the
resources that are needed to enhance the teaching process and that will help to
mould these young people that will become teachers of the future are lacking. A
teacher could integrate technology in the teaching and learning, to aid in
improving the quality of students’ learning by incorporating a digital
projector into the lesson, use multimedia to engage students and computers.
The
term digital native does not refer to a particular generation. Instead, it is a
catch-all category for children who have grown up using technology like the Internet,
computers and mobile devices. This exposure to technology in the early years is
believed to give digital natives a greater familiarity with and understanding
of technology than people who were born before it was widespread. Gone are those
days when children would gather together and play games and have fun together
on the outside. In today’s society children prefer to stay indoors and watch
the television, play their video games, use the internet for various reasons
and cell phones. According to the model, in 2012 there were around 363 million
digital natives out of a world population of around 7 billion – or 5.2 per cent
young people aged 15 to 24, this means that 30 per cent of the world’s youth
have been active online for at least five years. This makes one think, “What
should we call these “new” students of today? Some refer to them as the N-[for
Net]-gen or D-[for digital]-gen. But the most useful designation I have found
for them is Digital Natives. Our
students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers,
video games and the Internet”. (Prensky,
2001).
Digital natives demonstrate that they are native speakers
of the digital language by incorporating the using of internet into their daily
lives. Young people aged 16 to 24 are digital natives, meaning that the
internet is a ‘natural’ space for them and is fully integrated in to their
lives. The fact that young people can interact and communicate with family and
friends by emailing each other and taking on face book as well as the other
social medias, maintain their anonymity, play games, watch movies and videos
and carry out researches empowers them to use the internet. Young people’s use
of ‘new media’ allows them to create a continuous stream of multiple
conversations, interweaving differing media formats. They associate the
internet with a strong sense of community. Computers and the internet service
being established in schools has improved education due to the fact that students
are better able to navigate the internet and gain easy access information, it
allows students to become motivated, allows students to participate in class
discussions. These young people have learnt the language of the computer and
the internet as they communicate instantly with their peers. These digital
native students adapt quickly to the changes in their environment and look for
new ways to incorporate the latest technology in their fast-paced lives.
Another
technology that Digital Natives incorporate in their daily lives is the using
of cell phones. This
generation has a special affinity to mobile devices - young people often carry
their mobile phones with them at all times to keep a constant connection with
their friends while also consuming and creating digital media. Cell phone are now the primary means of
sharing videos and images among young people in many places, they either send
pictures to each other by phone or they pass their cell phones around. Photo
albums appear to be a thing of the past. Digital natives can be anywhere in the
World and use their phone to communicate and socialize with other people by
means of the internet. These young people lives are taken up the task of
texting and chat with instant messaging.
Digital natives also demonstrate
that they are native speakers of the digital language by incorporating
video-games into their daily lives. Electronic or video games are interactive games that can be played on a
personal home computer (PC), television or portable hand-held device. Electronic
games are also being played on the internet, mobile and ‘smart’ phones and
other digital devices such as iPods. Video games
also provide many opportunities for simultaneous learning. Video games are
craved by young people which can be used as a motivational tool, a tool for
socialization and helps with the cognitive development.
The World has radically
changed, and technology is driving much of the change we see. When many of
today’s teachers were children the primary sources of information were libraries
and encyclopaedias. Today the internet is the major source of information. With
the internet and many other new technologies questions can be answered in just
a matter of seconds. Today’s students visit Google more often than the library.
Just as modern technology has already altered our world drastically, it is
certain that there are many more changes to come in the future. Today’s
learners are often referred to as “digital natives.” A digital native process and deals with
information differently from how previous generations do. Digital natives also
tend to be more visual and interpret and develop images easily. Digital natives
learn better through discovery than simply being told information. One
implication for teachers who teaches Digital Natives is that the current
educational strategies and practices must keep up with our ever changing world.
Therefore this has a negative impact on the teachers who teaches digital
natives as the students can be ahead of the teachers and get bored when the
teachers are teaching due to the fact that they are unable to implement
technology in their teaching and learning process. Some teacher’s refuses to
incorporate technology in their lessons while others find it difficult to adapt
to the new technologies and learn how to operate and implement them in the
classrooms. According to (Prensky 2001) “Our Digital
Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital
age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new
language”.
One implication for policy makers in their
quest to equip Digital Natives with the required skills for the future is that
the current educational system is not equipped to accommodate the changing
needs of this new generation of learners entering Colleges and Universities. For
example the Colleges and University of Jamaica lack professional development
systems, pedagogy, the curriculum system need to be more advanced so as to meet
the needs of these “Digital Natives” and the infrastructure of the schools. Even
though there has been a strong push to get educational technologies in the
hands of teachers and student-teachers. Because these Digital Natives are not
equipped with these tools that will provide them with the necessary skills they
are not able to prepare for the future. Therefore the Government has to be
finding means and ways of providing for these Tertiary Institutions. Because
the Government did not plan for these young people it will take awhile for them
to pull together the resources that are need in the Tertiary Institutions. Lack
of resources such as the development system and curriculum system equals lack
of skills.
Integrating technology
into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills and
software programs in a separate computer class. Effective teaching integration
must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and
enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key
components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent
interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. Effective
technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and
transparent and when technology supports curricular goals. Therefore, the
teacher could integrate a digital projector into the lesson. Digital projectors
are the most exciting classroom tool ever. As people say a picture is worth a
thousand words. The teacher could project his or her desktop image on the
screen for the students to see. For example
the teacher is teaching a History topic such as “The Indigenous People”, the
teacher could project pictures on his or her desktop showing the Indigenous
People. This would show that the teacher is adapting to the digital age and
using the technologies of the digital age to fit into his or her lesson. This
would allow the students to get a better understanding of the topic and be
better able to imagine or visualize who those people were. This would allow
students to actively engage in the teaching and learning process. Thus learning
would take place and the quality of education would be improved.
The teacher could also integrate the multimedia technology in
the lesson to enhance the teaching and learning process. For example the
teacher could be teaching about “Economy and Slavery” he or she could do a
power point presentation and share it with the class. The power point
presentation would include texts, videos, animations and sounds that would grab
the students attention, thus make teaching and learning more worthwhile. The
teacher implementing all those forms of technology into the classroom would
show that the teacher is able to manipulate and incorporate technology into his
or her daily life in order to improve the quality of the children education. The
power point presentation would help to deliver the lecture more effectively
because it is only one part of the interactive classroom experience. This would
therefore, improve the quality of the student’s learning experience.
Another technology that the teacher
could implement in his or her class is the computer. Computers have evolved and they have
changed the way they look and the way they function. Now days we have both
desktop computers and portable computers commonly known as notebooks or
laptops. New technologies have also emerged and birthed some new computer
related gadgets like the iPad or Galaxy tablet. These computers can be used by
teachers to assign work to students and study groups in a classroom. Also
teachers can use computers to illustrate visual related subjects which help students to learn
easily. Modern computers come with installed applications which can help
students study well. For example, students can use internet explorer to search
the internet, they can use word processing application to write notes. Teachers
can also help their students to learn complicated applications on these
computers as a way of making it easier for students to learn and also make the teacher’s
job easier. Therefore, the
quality of education for the students will be improved.
References
Czerniewicz,
L. and Brown, C. (2005). Information and
communication technology (ICT) use in teaching and learning practices in
Western Cape higher education institutions. Perspectives in
Education, 23
(4) 1 – 18.
David, B. (2008). “Origins and concepts of digital literacy,” In: Colin Lankshear and
Michele Knobel (editors). Digital
literacies: Concepts, policies and practices. New York: Peter
Lang, pp. 17–32.
Etienne, W. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning,
meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Howe,
N., and Strauss, B. (2000). Millennials
Rising: The Next Great Generation. New York:
Vintage
Books.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon (MCB University
Press, Vol. 9 No. 5.
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