Digita Natives and Digital Immigrants

I am a Digital Immigrant.  Reading the article on Digital Immigrants gave me a deeper understanding concerning the work I have to do to reach the Digital Natives that are in our classrooms.  Digital Immigrants speak a different language, have expectations that limit student potential, and have troubles understanding the Digital Natives that sit in our classrooms daily.  How do we reach this generation?  The research states that current students in K-12 think and process differently than students in the past.  Learning from the Digital Natives will provide our students the opportunity to learn in a setting that integrates technology to enhance the education students are receiving from their teachers.

The video “The Vision of Students Today” provides a deeper understanding of the facts that drive the thinking of today’s college students.  They are multi-taskers.  Colleges around the United States boast that they are providing students with an education that will allow them to thrive in today’s world.  Why is it they sit in auditoriums and listen to lecture’s?  The corporate world is looking for critical thinkers who are able to communicate and work with others effectively.   Is that what students do on a daily basis?  Have we changed our educational systems for the 21^st Century?  Many have not.

“A Day in the Life of Web 2.0” provided me with hope that our systems can change.  Professional Development that is centered on technology use in the classroom and staff fidelity in implementing the technology will create schools where technology isn’t planned as something new and exciting.   Technology is fully integrated into all classroom activities.  

Students have the right to learn in classrooms where Digital Immigrants can only be spotted by their age, not by their knowledge base.