I hope to speak with only a slight accent

Prensky's closing thought in his article "Listen to the Natives" is that if we don't stop and listen to the kids we serve, value their opinions, and make major changes on the basis of the valid suggestions they offer, we will be left in the 21st century with school buildings to administer—but with students who are physically or mentally somewhere else. I need to take this to heart because as a digital immigrant, it's much more work to figure out how to function in my new language, the digital language. I don't want to be managing a building; I want to be teaching children.

When I lived in Eastern Europe, I worked very hard to learn the Russian language. For a native English speaker, this is not a simple task. It would have been much easier (not better, and very limiting) to function in a small English speaking subculture. Learning Russian was serious work! Sometimes I had encounters with strangers and a native speaker would ask me if I was from one of the Baltic republics. Inwardly gloating, I would respond, "No, I'm an American." I wasn't gloating because I was proud to be an American; I was thrilled that my accent was perhaps more subtle than an American accent. I was flattered to be perceived as a close neighbor.

Prensky advises, "How can we make our instruction more adaptable and, as a result, far more effective? Just ask the students; they'll know. Adaptability, along with connectivity, is where digital technology will have its greatest impact on education." These are words of wisdom I plan to keep with me.

The tools of the digital natives can be useful in the classroom as well. Prensky writes about cell phones being used for many functions in classrooms in Europe, Asia and Africa. This surprised me. There are many cell phone functions I have yet to learn, but I was surprised how the phones are useful in classrooms. Cell phones are banned in classrooms at the school where I work which has always seemed wise to me. I have only seen them as a rude distraction in the context of students texting under the table when they think they can't be seen. Tools such as calculators and MP3 players are like an extension of the student's brain and Prensky feels that leaving these tools out of education is senseless.

Prensky's article is challenging and eye opening. I am a language student yet again and I am very thankful to have three native speakers (my children) in my home; they are my tutors. It's time to do serious work to challenge myself in order to function in this digital age with hopefully, just a slight accent. If I want to be an effective and engaging educator, becoming fluent in the digital language is critical.

My Little Digital Native

My husband left for Thailand last week. I was talking with my daughter Anna (age 9) and we were wondering if Terry had arrived yet. I said, "I have no idea what time it is now in Thailand," and she replied that she could find out on her ipod. Within 30 seconds she had the time figured out, and also reported on several other cities around the world.  She found the time in Thailand faster than I could begin to consider where to look.  It's good to have a digital native in the house to help me, the digital immigrant, learn the language.

PowerPointlessness

Jamie McKenzie makes the point that powerpointing can become a goal in itself (technology being done for technology's own sake).    I have witnessed the downside of powerpoint in  the school I work in.  Some students get so consumed with creating a spectacular powerpoint that the information is secondary at best.  It can be very fun and very distracting to make slides; for some students this is far more engaging and interesting than doing research.  I love the technology of powerpoint, but am concerned that it can be more of distraction for a school research project than a help at time.  Perhaps this is more true with young children who haven't learned much about doing research.

I've only created a few powerpoint presentations myself and while reading McKenzie's article, I realized how many mistakes I've made.  Powerpoint is a tremendous tool, but has potential to be a tremendous distraction as well.  I agree with his point that the proportion of research and thinking should be monitored so that it is not compromised by the time making slides.  If research should comprise 80% of the total project time, then creation of the presentation should be restricted until  the research is complete.  I'm now understanding the wisdom of our assignment for session 3. This is going to be very helpful!

Opening up higher thinking with the help of technology

How can technology help develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills?  The articles posted on education-world.com and educscapes.com gave many ideas and links to great web tools that can be used in the classroom.  

Bloom's taxonomy outlines levels of intellectual behavior in learning.  The levels in this taxonomy are:

knowledge

comprehension

application

analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The metaphor of a Russian matrioshka doll is helpful.  Beginning with the big idea (the largest doll) is knowledge.  Each intellectual level becomes more specific, similar to the dolls getting smaller as each piece is opened.  The final piece is evaluation, which is very focussed and specific.  Each piece fits together for greater understanding, but the process of higher thinking is like taking apart the doll and discovering more depth through the process.

The articles on education-world and eduscapes provide links to several great tools that children can use to explore their knowledge and help develop higher level thinking and problem solving skills.  There are sights for creating surveys and graphs. These could be great tools to analyze, synthesize and evaluate math and science knowledge.  There are history sights that provide short movies that can bring a historical episode to life.  

I'm helping sixth graders who have studied ancient Greek history and architecture to build their own temple on an interactive web quest through the British Museum.  They are synthesizing the knowledge that's been introduced.  It's effective and so much fun for them.

While exploring several of the links provided on education-world and eduscapes, I found myself bothered by the pop up ads.  This is one pitfall of using free educational websites in the classroom.  The ads which are designed to grab a person's attention serve their purpose.  They are very distracting and in some cases very disruptive.  Even so, the resources available because of technology provide valuable connections for children who thrive on variety in how material is presented.  

Time to Learn

I am back in school after many years and enjoying  the challenges of being a student.  My husband Terry and I have been married for 20 years and we have three amazing children. Alex (13), David (11) and Anna (9) keep life interesting and plenty busy.  I work part time at Northbrook Junior High and enjoy seeing my oldest son in the halls and being called "Disch's mom" by his peers.  My husband is battling cancer, so this is a very intense time for us. It's also been a rich time of experiencing God's grace in amazing, new ways, and experiencing the love and support of family and friends.  Our community is a treasure, especially our neighbors.  

I have entertained the thought of teaching for several years, but have been pushed to take the plunge to go to school because of my husband's health. I need to be ready to work and support my family.  Being a mother and living overseas are two experiences that opened my eyes to education.  My children's natural curiosity inspires me. I want to support other children in their learning, to help nurture that natural desire to learn in them.  Living overseas, I had to start from scratch with a new language, learning to read and write in Russian.  In order to be functional in my new home, I had to begin with a new alphabet and learn to read, write and speak all over again. This helped me to appreciate the challenges children have in learning and has contributed to my desire to teach.

My children live in this era as digital natives. Technology is second nature; it's their native language.  I am a digital immigrant.  At age 43, it's time for me to get serious about mastering the language of technology.  This class is a welcome and needed challenge to push me in that direction.

Technology can be integrated in endless ways.  Watching my children's teachers, I've witnessed many creative ways to use technology in the classroom.  Using technology is second nature to my children.  I hope that will be the case for me as well before long.  I use my computer daily for email and now for writing for school assignments. I'm comfortable with Microsoft Word and am now teaching myself how to use Pages.  I also have some experience using powerpoint.  I use the internet regularly for school and personal use.  I have limited experience with a digital cameras.  I have never used a scanner or CD burner.  I have so much to learn about technology.  

I often joke that I was born into the wrong generation. Abraham Lincoln's era seems more my speed because technology is not my natural love, but at the same time, I realize that it's time to get on board and become a student of technology. I need to learn to speak the language of technology in order to be fully literate in this society and competent as a teacher.  Technology is a wonderful part of education today.