Sunday, September 15, 2013

Talking Points ( Reflection)

REFLECTION

The article “Digital natives, Digital immigrants” by Marc Prensky was a very interesting that article that I was able to relate to 100%. The whole article reminded me of when I was in high school. I had teachers who were stuck in their old ways of teaching, and others who were trying to bring more technology into the classroom. I found that I had a much harder time learning when I was asked to just read something and memorize it, but when it was put in the form of technology in the form of game or computer program I retained the information much better. Growing up in the time that I did I found myself very confused. I had people telling me that because I had difficulty learning through reading and direct instruction I was lazy, and I believed them. People have been learning this way for hundreds of years, why doesn’t it work for me? After reading this article and taking into consideration the massive change in technology recently I see that I’m not alone. This article is all about the drastic differences that have occurred in the upbringing of kids in the last 20 years. Kids today have completely different learning styles; in fact our brains are wired differently than adults. It makes me think about how teachers are not even equipped to teach today’s youth. It’s like when your parents get frustrated trying to use a computer and you come over and immediately know how to fix it. Today’s world is technologically based and if we tried to teach our parents using only technology they would be screwed. But this is what is happening in today’s schools, kids have technology rich minds and teachers are speaking a foreign language when they ignore that. This article relates to me because I can take all this into consideration when I am addressing youth in the future. I’m sure the way technology is advancing there minds will be even more tech savvy than my own. But I will stay up to date with all the new technology and learn how to use it well. This way I will be able to communicate in a language they can fully understand so they can get the most out of there learning experience.


Something that I plan to bring up in class is how youth today is even more technology based than we were. My little sister is in eighth grade and all here friends have iphones and have access to millions of apps. This is something not even we had I remember in eighth grade when the first iPod came out and if you had a phone it was a flip phone. In less than a decade we have come a long long way. It will be interesting to see if we find ourselves speaking a different language just as teachers are doing now because of how fast technology is taking over.

6 comments:

  1. Steven, I liked what you mentioned about being able to learn and retain more information through technology. I wonder what it is that has changed in the brains of youth that makes them learn better from games. I also like the picture of the Iphone you posted, that is really intense I dont know if I can imagine using that!

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  2. Steven,
    I liked how you tell us that you personally are going to keep in touch with technology. Not that you really have a choice. I also like how you relate technology as talking in a different language because for some people it is! very good post!

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  3. Steven,
    I remember when I was in 8th grade and I had a flip phone too! It was one of my first phones. Now some kids in second grade have iphones. It's so crazy to me!

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  4. I think your point about different generations of digital natives is really interesting! When I was 17 and in high school, I remember having to stop at the pay phone at Whataburger to call my parents before I drove back home to the farm late at night. I got my first cell phone after I got my master's degree. I feel like I have to run sometimes to try to keep up with technology -- it's exhausting!

    Here is another interesting article on the brain and technology:
    http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/how-technology-wires-the-learning-brain/

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  5. Steve I laughed about something my Dad says to me all the time, "If you knew as much about school as you do about movie quotes you would have graduated already." I think you truly related to the reading especially being one of many that learns using a different style. I am glad you put yourself out on the blog. I feel like I know a little bit more about you.

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  6. Steve when you mentioned how you felt that there was something wrong with you when learning was hard because reading just from a book was not working for you made me think of myself. I have always been a hands on learner and just picking up a book and being told to read it just does not do it for. I am not the most tech savvy person out there but I do rely on technology to get me through many things. The simple fact that I almost hate hand writing and I communicate everything through my phone especially with my professor, even down to my papers. I can edit them and send them back to my teacher without ever sitting at a desk. I completely agree with the fact that technology is forever changing and as up and coming professionals in this field working with youth, to the best of our abilities we have to keep up and at the very least be aware of the trends

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