DIGITAL NATIVESVERSUS

DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS

A DIGITAL IMMIGRANT Is an individual who was born before the

existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later. Also, this term generally describes people born in the latter 1970s.

Alternatively, if you, like me, cannot figure out an X-Box 360 or Playstation 3, you are likely a digital immigrant!

A DIGITAL NATIVE Is a person who was born after the

general implementation of digital technology, and, as a result, has a familiarity with digital technology such as computers, the Internet, mobile phones and MP3s over their whole lives.

HUMOROUS, BUT TYPICAL!

COMPARING THE DIGITAL IMMIGRANT TO THE DIGITAL NATIVE

DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS We work at

conventional speeds. We do things step-by

–step. We process in a linear

fashion. We read text first. We are work oriented. We are used to stand-

alone problems or concepts.

DIGITAL NATIVES They process things at

“Twitch speed.” They enjoy random

access. They use parallel

processing. They look at graphics

first. They are play oriented. They are always

connected.

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN TEACHING DIGITAL NATIVES

They think and process information fundamentally differently.

They can multitask. Their thinking patterns have changed. They socialize and interact with one

another in a different way. Technology is the catalyst for socializing

students today in a way that is vastly different from their parents and teachers.

DOES THIS GET YOUR ATTENTION?

Here are some overwhelming statistics for today’s college graduates. They have: Spent over 10,000 hours playing video games. Sent and received over 200,000 emails and

instant messages. Spent over 10,000 hours talking on cell phones. Watched more than 20,000 hours of TV (a high

percentage fast speed MTV). Viewed over 500,000 commercials. Spent, at the very most, 5,000 hours of time

reading!

TYPICAL EXAMPLE:Frustrated teachers say (or think) things

like,“Students can’t concentrate.” “My kids have the attention span of a gnat.”

which are things that are just not true overall.

Although these things may be true in the context of school, most students concentrate just fine on topics and activities that interest them.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Understand them and the way they

learn. Realize that they are different. Learn their language. Motivate and engage them. Most important thing “We need to

partner”.

WHAT IS “PARTNERING”: According to Marc Prensky it is: “letting

students focus on the part of the learning process that they can do best, and letting teachers focus on the part of the learning process that they can do best”.

MARC PRENSKY SAYS: “In a partnering pedagogy, using

technology is the students’ job. The teachers’ job is to coach and guide the use of technology for effective learning. To do this, teachers need to focus on, and become even more expert at, things that are already part of their job, including asking good questions, providing context, ensuring rigor, and evaluating the quality of students’ work”.

HOW DO WE DO IT? Adapting the materials to their

language. (Create video games, videos, songs, computer based activities)

We need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, using our students to guide us.

SOME TOOLS Video Audio Games Wikis

http://johnsonsclassmvps.pbworks.com/ Blogs

http://johnsonsblogmvps.blogspot.com/ Podcasts (iTunes, YouTube, Teacher

Tube)

WHAT IS A PODCAST?

A podcast is a series of digital media files (themed audio, multimedia, or video shows) that is released episodically that people can play on demand and subscribe to.

TYPES OF PODCASTS: Audio podcasts: Are the most popular

kind and are designed for listening. They are easy to make using a free audio- recording software such as audacity or using yodio.com.

TYPES OF PODCAST CONT. Enhanced podcasts: are audio podcasts

with images and text. They are most often PowerPoint presentations. To make them you will use PowerPoint and a free web-based file sharing program called author STREAM.

TYPES OF PODCAST CONT. Video podcasts: also called vodcasts,

and they are video clips. To make them you will have to use the Windows Movie Maker (usually comes preinstalled on all windows PC’s) and a converter to turn those movies into MPEG-4. There is a free program that is called FormatFactory, and this program also make the videos sharable. Or you can use a flip camera.

STEPS FOR MAKING A PODCAST

Plan Record

Produce

Publish

PODCASTS LET US DO IMPORTANT THINGS

We can differentiate instruction, communicating messages in visual and audio formats.

We can make learning a mobile activity. We can share our information online. We can motivate our students by using

and integrating the technology that they crave.

PODCASTS MIGHT BE USED FOR: Reading poems and stories. Delivering the weekly schedule. Sharing student writing. Recording book reports. Doing math lessons step-by-step. Listing geography terms and definitions. Worldly wise activities. Practice pronunciation of words

(Spanish).

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.

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.

REFERENCES Digital natives. (2007, October 9). In Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:58, August 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Digital_natives&oldid=163254831

Digital Immigrants. (2007, October 2009). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:00, August 10,2010, From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. NCB University Press, 9(5), 15.

Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching digital natives partnering for real learning. USA: Corwin

Podcast. (2010, August 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:56, August 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podcast&oldid=377942776