by: lanadmr
I am a digital
immigrant; that is my aha moment from
the readings! Having completed my first
year as a media specialist in a middle school, I found myself saying (many
times) “When I was your age…” I had to
actually GO to the library to do research; I had to actually BUY the MLA
Handbook; when I was a freshman in college, I actually had a typewriter! But my junior year, we got a computer lab,
and I immediately saw the benefit of typing papers using WordPerfect (which by
the way, I taught myself.) instead of using my typewriter and white out (you
digital natives probably don’t know what that is!) I did have to use floppy discs :) I think I was
probably 30 years old when I got a cell phone, and six or seven years later had
a smart phone. I distinctly remember
having a conversation with a friend about how cool it would be to have
(affordable) internet access on your phone.
It’s hard for me to believe how quickly the world has changed.
My video is a true story; I
had to build a website for my class last semester, and I was getting so
frustrated. I finally asked my son to
help, which he did, very capably; I was quite impressed, and thankful. Technology can be very frustrating to me, but at the same time, I love it, and I see the importance of teaching and using it in the classroom. Solomon and Schrum
References
Prensky, M. (2006). The emerging
online life of a digital native. "Don't
bother me Mom, I'm learning!": how computer and video games are preparing
your kids for twenty-first century success and how you can help! (pp. 40-51). St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon
House.
Solomon, G., & Schrum,
L. (2007). Students and learning. Web 2.0: new tools, new schools (pp.
25-44). Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education.
I love that Picasso quote! I think that may be one of the most difficult things for education as a whole to come to terms with (though many educators have really great ideas, like these: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reimagining-education-highlights-summit-bob-lenz ). To help a group of students whose thought processes are different than those for which the system was created, the whole thing will need to be reimagined. We also can't expect standardization to work for a generation that expects customization.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that one of our motivators in teaching students new technology is that they will likely have so many unrelated jobs. Although our students have grown up with technology there is still so much that we can teach them. I have started reading one of our outside reading books "Who Owns the Learning" and the author writes about how his class of digital natives can navigate google on a surface level but cannot do custom searches that involve looking at international sites. I'm not sure if you have the book but it has sections for library/ media specialists! It has been really helpful for me as a teacher but I think that it would also be worth your time to look at it! It outlines ways in which media specialists can work with students and teachers to better use the internet to connect globally.
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline! I did not choose that book, but I'll have to take a look at it. I agree with your take on students, and that even though they are comfortable with technology, there is still a lot they don't know, especially their searching techniques.
ReplyDeleteI remember all of those technologies! Word Perfect, Coral Draw, etc... What memories. Regardless of what people may say, I think that having experience in these older technologies gives us the understanding of the skeletons for most of the new technologies. We have knowledge that others may not have.
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