Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

I feel that Marc Prensky’s article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” is very relatable and quite relevant to today’s educational system, but also relevant to the entire work force.  Technology is growing at a rapid pace and for many older people it can be quite difficult to keep up and learn the new technology.  Not only is it challenging to begin to learn, but it can be scary for those who are afraid of the unknown.  Additionally, learning new technology can feel very similar to learning a new language.  The older I get the more challenging picking up on technology can be.  However, kids seem to pick up on new technology instantaneously and don’t even worry about learning how the technology works, rather they simply just explore with it and end up teaching themselves.  I completely agree that the educational system continues to teach students in the exact same way we always have.  Some districts, teachers, and schools are working to incorporate more technology to make learning more relevant to students and to engage them in the process.  The videos on YouTube by the professor at Kansas State really made me think about what kids are doing outside of school and how they learn versus how we are teaching them.  Are textbooks and lectures really the best form of teaching?  I never thought so when I was in class, and while I try to make my teaching very hands-on, I know there is more I can do to incorporate technology at school.  Lets face it, kids spend almost all of their time learning, connecting, and interacting with technology; from Facebook to Twitter and Google, the resources available through technology are never ending and continue to grow at a rapid pace.  It is essential for educators to work hard to learn the technology available to students in order to prepare our students for the globally connected world we now live in.  Technology can do a lot for us know, and I agree that it is not always reliable.  For instance, I no longer have a white board in my classroom, but rather a SMART board and a projector.  This is an amazing tool that is interactive for students; however, when my bulb goes out I have to wait up to two weeks to get a new bulb.  This means that I have no board to teach from, and I have to adapt all of my lessons.  This makes using technology frustrating for many older educators.  Also, I know many teachers at my school have just become comfortable with emailing and typing, let alone developing lessons on their SMART boards.  We need to provide educators with proper education on how to use technology, not just give it to them and expect them to figure it out (that is what is currently happening).  I have seen what happens when teachers are not provided support on how to use the new technology, it simply goes unused and teachers continue to teach the same old way.  The greatest failure to our students is not keeping up to date on the latest in the globally connected world and helping to make them the most competitive we can.  I consider myself to be tech-savvy compared to my peers, but I also consider myself to be a digital immigrant. I still have to learn the latest and most up-to-date in technology and never feel that I am ever caught up.  What I have begun to do is let my students teach me.  Then, not only am I learning, but they can complete lessons using technology.  I also try to take as many courses in technology as I can and then incorporate that into my classroom.  It will take time to change the philosophy of our educational system, but it must be done.