Are students today fundamentally different than students in the past?
My original answer to the question "are students today fundamentally different than student in the past?" is yes. I feel that students today are fundamentally different than students in the past. With the students now who are growing up on technology, they are constantly around information that is right at their hands. With any and all information being at their hands through various uses of technology, and ways to communicate via social media and various apps, they are fundamentally different by the way they decode and use/view the information.
After reading the article and blog, Marc Prensky's article from 2001 does not ever say that they are fundamentally different, but "think and process information fundamentally differently" (paragraph 4). The Prensky article was mainly about the difference in how students have changed by the way "our students; brains have physically changed" and their "thinking patterns" have changed (paragraph 4).
Prensky's article also talks about the digital immigrant teachers, saying that those teachers need to learn how to modify the way they teach to be able to speak the digital native students' language because "instructors are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language" (paragraph 9). Teachers have to learn to be able to "communicate in the language and style of their students" (paragraph 19). Modifying lessons to meet the needs of the digital native students can help the way they learn because they are used to using technology on a daily basis.
The response to Prensky's article by DT Quin did not support my original answer to the question. Quin's blog states that "humans will engage with tv, internet and games for unhealthily protracted durations" (paragraph 4). In the same paragraph he also talks about how "attention spans decrease and 'twitch speeds' increase as humans are exposed to digital media". To me, this means that because of the technology they are using, it will decrease their attention span. However, given the fact that they can focus on the digital media, especially a tv program or gaming system, for long periods of time tells me that they can still focus and be attentive to what is going.
Overall, I agree with the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Students today are fundamentally different than students in the past. Even though the article was written in 2001, I feel that Prensky was right about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants in which I feel supported the question "are students fundamentally different than students in the past".
I believe my original answer was best supported by Prensky's article because students ARE fundamentally different than students in the past. Today's generation views/uses and decodes information differently than students in the past. I find myself in between a Digital Native and a Digital immigrant in which some things I find easier to read if they are printed but then I also prefer graphics before test rather than the opposite as Prensky said (paragraph 11). Teachers today can learn to adapt old teaching methods to meet the needs to our digital learners by the way they teach the information.
Hello Laura,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that students today are fundamentally than students in the past. Although written in 2001, I believe that Prensky’s article does hold substantial value. Fourteen years after the article was written, there is still a noticeable gap between the Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. However, I am basing my opinion on my experiences at my school. I would say that I am one of three Digital Natives in grades 7-12. I did not have a lot of exposure to technology growing up, but as technology advanced, I found myself drawn to learn more about it. This is the second year for our school having one-to-one instruction, and it is very noticeable who uses it and who doesn’t. I find it essential in my lessons, because with the stigma of social studies being “boring”, I have to find a way to relate it to my students. I really could not find anything in your post that I disagree with. I look forward to learning with you.
Take care,
Ryan McKinnon
Thanks for the comment. I find myself to be a digital native as well however, some things I find myself to be a digital immigrant. If I get any long emails, I find it easier to read and comprehend if I print it out vs reading it on the screen.
DeleteLaura,
DeleteI feel the same way as you about being a digital native and immigrant. I feel that I have been raised to use technology but there are somethings I would rather do the old fashioned way. Taking notes and reading are somethings I would rather do without technology. Staring at a screen for long periods of time bothers my eyes and gives me a headache. Kids today are definitely different than we 20-30 year olds who still grew up with technology.
Matthew,
DeleteI agree, staring at the screen for a long period of time, especially for reading, bothers my eyes as well and usually ends in a headache. So avoiding that, I would rather print out the articles and read from there as well. :)