Week 1: Learning Styles and Intelligences 3/4

Engagement Activity 3: Reflection on Prensky's Ideas

My snippets of commentary are based on the two articles provided; 'digital natives, digital immigrants' 2001 and 'engage me or enrage me' 2005 both by Marc Prensky. (Marc has a Marsters in Teaching)

Article 1: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Part of this argument is not whether ITC is being used, but the usefulness of it.

Prensky opens with the idea that "today's students are no longer the people our educaional system was designed to teach". While it is true that school students are very different today I believe the education system was never and is still rarely ever designed for the students.

So the idea is that students are natives and teachers are immigrants. Being an immigrant suggests the person is unable to fully adapt to the technology, they may consciously resist it or just not make the most of it. Prensky is suggesting that

Teachers, being older than the students (school students) are always going to have differences, prefer different hair cuts and like different music. having different preferences doesn't mean a teacher can not engage a student or take them on a learning journey.

So school may not be the same faced paced multi faceted experience as kids are getting through their devices, but then neither will most jobs. While moving towards a digitised education system may be most interesting for the student it is going to leave other parts of their life lacking. How will they cope with having to sit down to a family dinner?
What are the down sides to so much stimulation? Do we need a break occasionally? Are there some instances where sequence and logic are still needed? What will happen to relationships if we stop communicating verbally, physically and with body language?

Is Prensky suggesting that we simply adjust the old way so that it is presented faster, electronically and with multiple elements going on at once? This seems like old teachers using new tools badly.

It is going to require significant 'training time' to teach old dogs new tricks. Or a new career path for someone like me, who is interested in teaching and has a background in learning and works for a web technology company. I want to be the in between person that designs learning activities that meet the teachers requirements and are interesting to the students.

Article 2: Engage Me or Enrage Me

I am not sure that education should be competing for attention.
Its true that our school aged children are bombarded by energetic, creative digital media, but they like it, they are using it and it is not going to stop. Their life will be self perceived as boring with out it.
But in most cases it probably isn't being used effectively, and it was pointed out that students are using the same limited number of programs.
Students still need to be taught how to use digital tools in a learning context.

For me the take away is that we can use some of the concepts that make these programs interesting, addictive and engaging in the design of our e-learning materials.
It will take more effort and therefor more money to create this type of experience and as a result the first wave of designers will have to use current research to justify why it is necessary until corporates/schools get the picture that this new type of design is normal and essential.
Good riddance to the 'click through text and do a quiz at the end' modules!