Recently I was sitting with a group of friends that all had children ranging in age from new-born to late-teens. The conversation drifted from subject to subject, until it came to our children - their education or lack of, how to get them outside more often and away from the computer or play station, how to get them to read more, and a variety of other concerns all involving technology of some sort. Seven weeks ago I would have joined this conversation, today I would not! The course Managing E-Learning has given me a fundamental understanding of how digital natives (Prensky, 2001) think, learn and behave. Consequently it has changed my view on this generation of kids persuasively. I personally feel Mark Prensky (2001) should add another type of digital persona to his list, that of a `digital alien`.
The majority of ICT`s (Information and Communication Technologies) introduced through this course I have not ever used and initially struggled with the concepts and reasons why these would or could engage students with their learning, my thoughts were similar to that of a teachers remark, “I don’t see what is so much more engaging about this other life, other than the pretty graphics”, which can be found in the article Engage me or Enrage me (Prensky, 2005). Surprisingly I found the answer to those initial struggles in `the pretty graphics`. Though not by reading alone, instead I became engaged with my learning. Kearsley and Schneidermans (1999) suggest in their Engagement Theory that meaningful learning occurs where students actively participate; in activities, interaction with others and perceiving the task as worth while. The three elements that aid in the Engagement Theory are relate, create and donate. It is this framework I utilised for my own learning experience and it is through this framework that I began to understand how to engage students with the use of ICT`s.
The technologies introduced in this course that have given me insight into how best to engage digital native are Vokis/Avatars, Online Quizzes, Podcasting, Google Earth, Mahara, Wikipedia and Digital Storytelling. Though Power Point is the one I see as the most effective at this point in my learning journey, for these reasons; it does not require Internet access unless one wants to donate their work, it is easy to use, has multiple functions - that this course has helped me discover- and that it can be embedded into other programs or ICT`s such as Blogs, Wiki`s and Mahara. Even though at this stage I feel Power Point the most effective for me to use, I do see myself using different ICT`s in the future.
Throughout the first half of this course I have actively involved myself in the majority of all processes, from reading, doing the activities, creating and donating my own work, replying to comments made on my Blog, adding my own comments to Blogs I have been following and ones I have not, joining forum chats and listening to what my cohorts were saying or asking. Even though I classify myself as an autonomous learner, the whole experience has shown just how connected to the rest of the world I could be and am. One principle of the learning theory of Connectivism (Siemens, 2004) is, the `Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known`, meaning personally, there was room to learn and an offer - through engaging in this course - to learn differently.
Being a student Learning Manager still in their first year I also struggle with the concept of teaching strategies that could assist students in acquiring and integrating knowledge and truthfully some of the technologies introduced in this course I still have no idea of how to utilise into classroom teaching strategies. Siemens (2004) concludes his article on Connectivism by saying,` Connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era.` The technologies introduced in this course that have given me insight into the digital era . My journey to digital enlightenment will not end here, it will be an ongoing journey that might not end until the lights actually go out, but until then my endeavors to reach the ranks of `digital immigrant`(Prensky, 2001) will continue.
List of Blogs I commented on:
http://myblogckeegan.blogspot.com/
http://jimslearningjourney.blogspot.com/
http://tonytalk68.blogspot.com/
http://shihosroomblog.blogspot.com/
Mahara e.Portfolio Access URL: Valid from 21/08/2009 to 21/09/2009
http://cqu-mahara.netspot.com.au/view/view.php?t=94w2jKKuolgv3q65kFN1
Dominique
References:
Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (2008). Engagement theory: a framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me: what todays learner`s demand. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from:
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved August 19,2009, from:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
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