When working with teachers in rural areas, township schools or private schools we often reflect on best practices in teaching and how do we get it across the schools. As well as best Math system, the role of resources in Science, Technology and Mathematics, integration of the subject of Technology ensuring it aligned to the SA curriculum, all these issues and others arise when evaluating our projects. Reading Mark Prensky article about the students of today and how fundamentally they are different from the students of the past raise serious questions in our knowledge about “how kids learn”.
Mark Prency in his article “Digital Natives, Digital immigrants” has defined today’s students – K through college – as “Digital Natives” – who were born and grown with digital technologies “Today‟s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives” this leads to students who THINK AND PROCESS INFORMATION DIFFERENTLY!
This leaves the rest of us as the “Digital Immigrant”, those who were not born into the digital world and have adopted many of the new technologies on a later stage.
I recommend you read the article (click the links above) as this article calls on educators to shift old methods and find ways to communicate in the language and style of their students.
In my blog I am hoping to share my experiences and learning as we work with teachers to find “new ways to do the old staff”.
As English is my second language, I am used to carry an accent, I sure do expect that while I try and adopt the new “digitally” language I will bear an accent as well, but for that I have my daughters or my “digital natives” to help me out. (I just hope they will have the patience for me…)