Change vs. Contiunity

{ February 22, 2010 @ 11:56 am } · { 1 }

In his article, Prensky makes his argument that students have changed from years ago. Prensky says that this change is so radical that they are no longer are the students that the educational system was designed to teach. In a small way I do agree to some small degree. I believe that new technology has made people more aware of this and be more open to these new technologies. As educators we should keep up technology as it does help us reach out to students to educate them better and help them learn more effectively.
Dr. Prensky states “Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures”, I have to say I do not agree all the way this statement. I do not think that the brain physically changes; it is our mental thinking that changes. For example when a teacher gives an assignment, like a report, they tell children they need resources. In the old days up to the late 1990’s all students ran to the nearest local library to get resources. Now at days everything is at the click of a finger tip and hi-speed internet. Everything they need to do, they do from home unless they do not have those resources at home. Unlike past students they do not have to dig through books to find what they need, all they do is Google, Yahoo, or Bing it.
Prensky calls students that use today’s technology “Digital Native” or otherwise as he calls them to be “Native Speaker” due to the use of knowledge and knowhow of language of computer, video games, and internet. In today’s students we have to keep things creative and interesting for them to learn. I have seen it first hand with my children that they can sit there all day and listen to their teacher lecture all day along, I am the same way. We need to do a little bit of everything so we can keep on track and focused. I believe that using such things as YOUTUBE and Power point can help children stay more focused and interested in learning the subject you are teaching them.
I remember when I in school and the teacher played a video on a subject he/she was teaching I seemed to focus and want to learn more, while at the same time taking notes that I needed. As for that some things haven’t changed because, I was multi-tasking just as the students today are as they sit down to do work, for example, homework and having music in the background, I did that while been on a landmine phone. I don’t think like said before that the brain has physically changed we have just programmed it to do sereval things at once. With today’s technology we need to come up with low cost ways for schools to provide these technologies for educators and students in every subject area so they can learn to the best of their abilities, so they won’t be bored in class, and be more assertive to learning.

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