Unit 2: Building a Learning Community

This week in Digital Age Classrooms, we were asked to read several articles and watch videos about "Teaching in the Digital Age."  This information has intrigued me ever since I took my first graduate class, Issues and Ethics in Technology.  Over the past few days I have learned valuable information that has challenged my original thoughts on this stimulating educational topic.

The video "The Machine is Using Us" emphasized that the web is not just linking information, but is connecting people (through social networks, blogs, professional learning communities like Classroom 2.0, and YouTube- to just name a few). The internet has made sharing ideas and collaborating with colleagues effortless and immediate, and has impacted the future generations dramatically.

The video "Vision of Students Today" clearly stated that adolescents spend an incredible amount of their personal time online, and that the web affects them on much more than just an educational level.  Students are on Facebook while in class, will spend more time watching YouTube clips than they will reading a book, and depend on the internet every single day.  Educators need to take advantage of what interests their students and what the web has to offer, and not just depend on a chalkboard.  When the "digital immigrant" teachers write on a chalkboard, they are neglecting the opportunities to enhance their lessons with photos, videos, animations, and networks- all which are available on the web.

The information presented this week corresponds with a social experiment I did in my classroom a few months ago.  I was interested in seeing if social networking assisted teenagers in creating positive self-images during the adolescent development stage, and if so, did that affect their academic performance?  Though my experiment illustrated that students with the highest GPAs used social networks in moderation, it was not statistically significant (I only surveyed 50 students). I would like to pursue the same experiment in the future, surveying a larger range of the student population for more consistent results.  If technology can affect a student's personal life, to what extent can it affect their educational performance and achievement?

My favorite part of this week's assignment was the article by Marc Prensky about "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants."  Prensky defines digital natives as the generation that grew up with technology present in their every day lives (cell phones, computers, video games, etc.), and digital immigrants as those adults who are learning and may still be unfamiliar and intimidated by advancing technology.

I am 24 years old and consider myself more of a liaison between the two groups, as I have characteristics of both a native and an immigrant.  I was first introduced to computers around 7th grade when I took a typing class (are those even offered anymore?), and struggled in it since I could not practice at home, since my family did not own a computer until a year later! My "native" qualities include using some technology in my classroom, like YouTube clips and Powerpoint presentations. I own a digital camera, shop on the internet, and check Facebook at least once a day.

However, I could be more of a Digital immigrant, since I have a very basic cell phone (for calls and texts only!).  I usually print out important emails or documents, and even hand wrote a first draft to this blog post since I prefer that method over just typing!  I usually have help when I set up gadgets or machines ( like my computer printer or television), and I'm in no hurry to get an iPad for my personal use. 

I do see the benefits of using technology in my art classroom, and I'm slowly starting to become more comfortable and confident with it!