The One Where We Become Digital Natives
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks." A popular saying we have all heard before. And while that may be true to some, those who resonate with that saying will likely have trouble finding their place in this tech-crazy world we live in today. Generations such as the Baby Boomers and Gen X did not grow up on technology like todays generations have. Especially for educators, teaching an old dog(educator) new tricks(technologies) is a challenge. Some embrace it and others reject it. Those who reject it and likely finding themselves struggling to connect with their Millennial and Gen Z students.
After reading an article titled Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky, this clause stuck out to me. "It’s not actually clear to me which is harder – “learning new stuff” or “learning new ways to do old stuff.” I suspect it’s the latter." I agree with the writer, I suspect the latter as well. Having taught for 5 years with many "older generation" teachers, I can say that this rings very true. For so many educators changing the way they taught for years and years is not easy. Teaching, in general, is not easy and now add new technologies, year after year, to the mix, for some it's almost impossible to adapt to the changes and stay on top of the trending teaching methods. You can imagine how hard this must be for someone who did not grow up with video games, cell phones, TV, computers and all the other tools and gadgets school-aged children use today to be asked to take years old lesson plans and convert them to resonate with the minds of those who spend their days behind a computer screen.
After reading an article titled Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky, this clause stuck out to me. "It’s not actually clear to me which is harder – “learning new stuff” or “learning new ways to do old stuff.” I suspect it’s the latter." I agree with the writer, I suspect the latter as well. Having taught for 5 years with many "older generation" teachers, I can say that this rings very true. For so many educators changing the way they taught for years and years is not easy. Teaching, in general, is not easy and now add new technologies, year after year, to the mix, for some it's almost impossible to adapt to the changes and stay on top of the trending teaching methods. You can imagine how hard this must be for someone who did not grow up with video games, cell phones, TV, computers and all the other tools and gadgets school-aged children use today to be asked to take years old lesson plans and convert them to resonate with the minds of those who spend their days behind a computer screen.
For me, well, I consider myself more of a Digital Native than a Digital Immigrant. I grew up in this digital age and believe I am a "native speaker" of this digital language. Even having grown up in a generation similar to my current high school students, some things are still new and need to be learned. And that is okay. But think about someone who teaches Algebra. A Baby Boomer, who has been teaching since the 1970's. They started with with just a chalkboard, pen and paper. Lesson plans were done by hand, students learned from a lecture and a textbook. Years into their careers, they were forced to transition to an overhead projector. Remember those? As kids, we LOVED "old" teachers who were not tech savvy and would spend half the class period trying to turn that projector on! Now today, those teachers who are still braving the classroom and teaching Algebra are being given smart boards, online platforms such as Canvas, Blackboard and Google Classroom to administer their lessons, worksheets and even tests, and being forced to use ed-tech applications to stimulate the young mind with online math games and tools. Students just don't accept the traditional method or writing problems on a blackboard and practicing problems from a text book, as a valid way to learn.
No matter your profession, you can see the stress for someone who started their career on a chalkboard to now delivering that same content in a new way. Student driven learning is on the rise and strictly gaining knowledge from a teacher is on the decline. Why? Students are so used to be kept entertained by the numerous devices and technologies around them, they don't focus and grasp information when just being told, they need to participate to learn. And as educators, we need to accept that, not reject that, if we want to make a difference and get into the minds of our Digital Native students. Like any Immigrant it takes time to learn and master a new language and that is exactly what technology is for those who did not grow up learning it. It may not come easy but this technology is crucial to education and how we learn and is very unlikely that things will turn around and go back to the days of just a blackboard and textbook.
Hey Lauren, I agree with your sentiment about digital immigrants trying to navigate the digital world in the classroom. I used to be a teacher and the digital natives of the school were always utilizing their SMART boards in the best of ways and using interactive apps to keep student engagement. However, the digital immigrants of the school had a hard time finding new ways to use technology in the classroom. They used the board to write down notes and wrote their lesson plans by hand. It's interesting to see the effects this had on the classroom. It was much easier for me to adapt to needs of my young students than it was for the older generation teachers to learn the new digital language.
ReplyDeletePlaying "devil's advocate" here, should we try to teach kids to focus vs keep their focus? Sometimes it seems like there is too much entertainment expected out of lessons.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that we have to do our part as educators to reach our students, but not at the expense of their growth. That being said I do believe in using technology in the classroom, I think it is very important! But I would still like to hear some thoughts on the above. I really enjoy debating ideas, that is when I find myself growing the most!
Jodie, I agree that it's important to teach kids to keep their focus. I just think there needs to be a good balance of digital and non digital instruction in the classroom. Technology doesn't always have to be bells and whistles. Concepts can still be presented in "boring" ways using technology. In my experience, those kids who had teachers who are digital immigrants and didn't get any sort of technological stimulation in the classroom weren't happy. They became bored, acted out more, and the teacher was always dealing with behavioral problems instead of teaching.
DeleteHi Jodie & Leah. I see your point! Kids have a hard time focusing today without all the bells and whistles. In a perfect world we could just lecture and provide the information and they'd take notes, absorb it all and be happy. Sadly, that is not the case. In my classroom, I do lecture. I still use technology, like PowerPoints and ask the students to take notes either on paper or on a computer, depending on the situation. I usually try to pair that with something interactive that they can relate too to try and enhance their knowledge on the topic I lectured about. Also, with todays education standards that teachers are evaluated on, they are looking for academics games, technology, movement in the classroom. Just a standard lecture would not receive a high evaluation score and I believe that is why-- because kids just don't learn like that.
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