Comments on: Digital Immigrants Teaching the Net Generation – Much Ado About Nothing?

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:37:52 +0000

In the report, Student Shortcomings – Anything but Masters of Technology, you mentioned that one surprise is that there is no evidence that digital natives are more savvy and adept at using technology than digital immigrants. From my experience as a middle school teacher, I am not surprised by this finding at all. I currently teach 8th grade and 100% of my students have access to high speed internet in their home and close to 100% of them have mobile phones and iPods. However, I am continually shocked at how little they know about using the Internet effectively or using common programs such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Just because they are using technology everyday doesn’t mean that know a wide variety or technology and it doesn’t mean that they know how to use the technology effectively. I think it’s essential that students are taught in school how to use the Internet properly, how to use Microsoft programs effectively, and I believe they need to be exposed to a wide variety of interactive tools that can help them learn. I think we are mistaken if we think students are tech savvy just because they send 100 text messages a day or because they have the newest iPod or because they own a laptop or because they are under 20 years old.

Thanks for writing about this topic… I have enjoyed reading the posts.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:30:55 +0000

As a middle school teacher I am definitely “old school” but I do integrate technology into my classroom. The foundation of Education will never go away but with this new age of students we cannot hide from technology. It is here to stay. What I do each week is to incorporate some type of technology into my curriculum. My students love to blog so I have weekly discussions of what we are learning in class. I supply interactive games and videos which hold their interest. Over the Thanksgiving vacation I said that there would be no homework but I would still post a blog. They were excited about that and stated that they want the blogs to continue. I am able to bring in new technology while teaching them the fundamental of my subject area. What I am found with my younger students when I am stuck on something I incorporate them into my lesson plans. Since these students were born into this era I learn from them. I assign some of my students as my “IT” specialist if I cannot figure out how something is done (I do know how to get it accomplished but this is a way to connect with the students). My students have actually went home and conference each other on the subject matter and have brought me back a report the next day. They also assess my interactive games to see if the material is challenging for them. Most of the time I hit a home run but there are times when I make a “dud” and they let me know it. This keeps me challenged. It is more work? On some level it is but the goal for me as a teacher is to keep them engaged. Putting in the extra work for them to learn my subject area is priceless to me.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:54:54 +0000

As an elementary school teacher I sympathize with educators who feel that their “digital immigrant” status leave them struggling to make lessons interesting and relevant to their Digital Native students. I do agree with the report that students are still in need of better research and writing skills. I strongly agree that teachers needs to be trained to teach students how to navigate the Internet safely and effectively. However, many teachers don’t have the confidence because of false claims that students know “so much more” about technology than their teachers or other Digital immigrants. If school systems would take the initiative to budget required professional development for teachers, then digital immigrants would have more tools to use in the classroom that really engage students and increase their inquiry about content in the curriculum that may have otherwise been taught in a traditional “old school” style. I believe, student success all depends on how the content is delivered and these days, it needs to be interactive and relevant to their technology-filled world.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:49:53 +0000

I am a “digital immigrant” while my 23 year old daughter is a “digital native.” My daughter embraces technology but I’m the true lover of new technology and she comes to me for help. I don’t think we can generalize and say it is one generation or another. I think we have to look at what technology has given the new generation–entertainment and instant access, therefore, their expectations of education are different. They expect to be entertained. With the age of information, we cannot know everything but we now need to know where to find it–and quickly! It has added a new perspective to how students learn and their expectations. For example–if you have a multi-media class at school–do you expect to just learn the history and read articles about how technology is applied OR do you want to experiment with some of the new technology such as podcasts or movie making? In the past there was normally mainly one way of learning–reading the textbook, going to class, etc–now we have so many opportunties of learning that are so much more interesting. Students expect us to use those techniques.

By: Perneita Farrar

Perneita Farrar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:14:49 +0000

If “nothing” is referring to our future state of economy, then the statement “much ado about nothing” is inaccurate. Afterall, the big picture of advanced technology is to make things happen faster, easier and with stimulation so that the tasks at hand will be fruitful. The digital natives are stuck between two worlds where the advantages and disadvantages may cancel one another out. Critical thinking, reflection and mastery of literacy skills may suffer, while multi-tasking, collaboration and increased response reactions are heightened. All are important tools in education and lifelong learning. Finding the balance and creating tools that will match the learning goal is where the “brain work/regeneration” must happen constantly.

By: Patricia McCormick

Patricia McCormick — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:04:52 +0000

Even as a “digital immigrant” I extol and applaud the pervasive access to information provided by the Web environment. As a middle school teacher, I find that my task is to be a “purveyor of research strategies” to guide my students to more efficient searches that may answer their questions or satisfy their curiosity. Otherwise, the Web may become a huge “time suck.” And valuable teaching and learning opportunities are lost with “Net wandering.”

By: Kayteague

Kayteague — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:23:18 +0000

We always have to be careful about developing generalized theories about entire generations when wide disparities exist in terms of access to variables that affect their characteristics. I believe student expectations have changed due to their extensive experience with advanced multimedia and Internet applications, but not necessarily their thinking patterns in terms of learning. There are geographic areas where, due to socioeconomics, there is a higher instance of students who use technological devices, and this should impact instructional strategies. However, school districts and teachers need to consider the socio-economic characteristics that define their educational environments when considering how to most effectively adapt their teaching methods to a changing student population. Just my two cents’ worth.

By: Anne Collier

Anne Collier — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:27:33 +0000

I think some of the surprise over these youth-not-all-that-tech-literate points is based on a kind of egocentric view on adults’ part: extrapolating about youth literacy from the way *we* use tech and the Internet. My take-away from reading studies from both sides of the Atlantic over the past 10 yrs is that it’s not that young people are *generally* so much more tech-literate than adults but that they’re much more literate in the way they use it for their own purposes. They just use technology and the Internet *differently*. There’s creative networking or social producing, which is more “native” to them, I think, but I think also there’s more diversity and individuality in the way they use technology. Just some thoughts. Thanks for the great post!

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