Thornburg and Davidson weigh on on Digital Natives/Immigrants

On April 11-12 I attended the Leadership 3.0 Symposium in Millbrae, CA, put on by ACSA, CUE, and TICAL. I have worked in the classroom for over ten years, and this is the first year I have worked out of the district office. I felt privileged to attend a conference where many of the attendees and presenters were administrators instead of teachers. I almost felt like a "fly on the wall" as I sat in on presentations such as Visalia's discussion of how their district moved from grade-based assessments to standards-based assessments (i.e. sstandards-based report cards vs. letter-grade report cards).

I felt especially gratified to hear a spirited discussion between David Thornburg and Hal Davidson regarding their views on the Digital Immigrants/Digital Natives "debate." Thornburg posted an "apology" in his Oct. 20, 2007 Thornburg Center blog regarding his use of the term digital immigrants. He now believes that "the designation of 'digital natives' and 'digital immigrants' suggests a difference that is, at best, largely inaccurate and, at worst, demeaning to educators," and vows to no longer use this term.

Davidson argued that he never thought of this term as an insult. He argued that the designation was useful in several ways. Most importantly, he pointed out, it helps us realize that a significant change has happened due to the affordances of technology. He cited evidence that shows how changing one's environment results in significant changes for individuals. Since many of those who are 35 years of age and under have spent a great deal of their lives in the digital environment, compared to those of us 35 years of age and older, it seems to be a no-brainer that the younger generation will be more impacted.

Thornburg tried to defend his position by pointing out that this "label" suggests that it is the immigrants who need to change. Rather, he insists , it is the SYSTEM of education that needs to change. He believes that calling educators and parents "immigrants" demeans them and gets the focus off the need for systemic change.

As anyone knows who has suffered from the symptoms of an unknown disease for any period of time, only to eventually find out the name of their disease, being able to give a prescriptive name to something provides a valuable service. For one, it validates the person's experience. Second, it gives the experience a "handle" and a starting point from which changes and adjustments can then be made. Labeling students' ability to quickly adapt to technology vs. adults' need to take a little longer to adapt, points out that students' immersion in their digital environment has actually changed the way they think and learn. Yes, the educational system needs to change, but systems also change as individuals change! As argued in my dissertation, students have developed a new social-connectedness and a new cognitive-connectedness due to their immersion in the digital world. Educators need to develop instructional designs that take into account students' new schemata. Yes, the system needs to change, but so do the digital immigrants.

Inserting Photoshop Backgrounds

Saturday, March 8, I will present "Inserting Photoshop Backgrounds" at the 2008 Palm Springs CUE Conference. The handout for this presentation can be found at http://tinyurl.com/29q3ye, or download here. A video of the presentation can be found on TeacherTube at http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e3457b2718a29dc0018c.

Using the Clone Stamp on Photoshop, students can easily immerse themselves in the curriculum as they become a character in a story, a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Lab, or a musician at Carnegie Hall!

Asking Prensky about Digital Natives/Immigrants

I did get to ask Marc Prensky about the debate surrounding his terms of digital natives and digital immigrants. He said he has asked CUE for an opportunity to respond to Thornburg's article, so I'll be looking for that in a future CUE publication!

CLMS/CLHS/CUE Technology Conference

I will present two workshops at the CLMS/CLHS/CUE Technology Conference Nov. 29 - Dec. 1, 2007. On Friday, Nov. 30 from 1-2pm I will present "Virtual Worlds for Language Arts and Social Studies". The workshop includes time to participate as either a Native American or a white settler in the online virtual world of "Yosemite Valley" during the 1850's. Teachers will learn beginning steps in how to design their own virtual world, and will explore already-created virtual worlds they can use for language arts and social studies. Using a MOO environment, these already-created, free virtual worlds include Poetry KaMOO, Trojan Horse KaMOO, and Aeneid KaMOO. Complete lesson plans and links for the Aeneid KaMOO can be downloaded from Aeneid Lessons.

On Sunday, Dec. 2, from 9:30-10:30am I will present "Multimedia Keys to Reach All Students". This workshop will presents practical ideas on how to harness the power of multimedia to help our diverse student population achieve academic success. This workshop includes a free drawing for CD's of multimedia presentations used in the workshop.

Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

In the Fall 2007 publication of OnCUE, David Thornburg published an article titled The Myth of the Digital Native. He took issue with the notion of digital natives vs. digital immigrants. He says, "I've since come to find that the distinction is deeply flawed. This brief article is, therefore, my apology for having been suckered into a presumed cultural difference that could be expressed as a sound bite. I was wrong."

Prensky's 2001 book, Digital Game-Based Learning (2001, McGraw-Hill), helped popularize the idea that the gap between the digital knowledge of today's students and those 30 years of age and older, could be termed Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants. To relegate this insight to the category of a "sound bite" does a disservice to both Prensky and the concept portrayed by this phrase. Thornburg takes the view that this concept of digital natives vs. digital immigrants somehow places students on a pedestal of thinking that they are, somehow, better equipped to understand technology than those of us 30 years of age and older. At its best, the concept helps us to understand why learning and adapting to technologies seems to come more easily to the younger generation, just as learning a new language is much easier when a person is young. Like the accent many adults learners maintain when speaking a second language, those of us not born in the digital age have adapted to the new technologies, but we still have an "accent" compared to today's students. It's interesting that OnCUE published this article just one month before CUE will help to host the CLMS/CLHS/NHSA & CUE Technology Conference in Monterey, CA (November 30-Necember 2), where Marc Prensky will be one of the featured speakers. Maybe I'll get to ask him about it at the conference.

CyberCitizenship

How safe are students on the internet? I attended a CyberCitizen Summit conference at Yahoo on Friday, Oct. 19 and heard speakers such as Dave Warlick and Nancy Willard address this issue. Here's a quick news clip from the conference.
For more information on CyberCitizenship check out CTAP4's website . It has links to games and great videos for students informing them about cybersafety. Another source, especially for parents, is Nancy Willard's site. Union Middle School's Media Librarian, Janette Adams, was also interviewed after the Yahoo conference on CyberSafety. You can see her video clip at this link.
This link also has a great article regarding CyberSafety.

Technology Plans

I just attended a workshop on the EETT Formula Program to learn more about creating a new Technology Plan for our district. The workshop was very informative and provided great resources, such as the CTAP 5 Grant Resource Center. The Santa Clara County Office of Education will hold a similar workshop at SCCOE September 13, 2007. Contact Diana Paradise at diana_paradise@sccoe.org for more information.