The Natives are Restless

Marc Prensky discusses the role that technology plays in the 21st century in his article entitled, "Listen to the Natives". http://www.ascd.org/authors/ed_lead/el200512_prensky.html

Mr. Prensky makes the argument that our classrooms are stuck in 20th century thought and methods. He says that "It's time for education leaders to raise their heads above the daily grind and observe the new landscape that's emerging". He states that we need to involve our students in almost every detail in the schools.

His case is based on 3 points.
1) "The digital natives", as he coined the term, are the incoming students. We, as teachers, are "digital immigrants". He summarizes that we, as immigrants, must come to terms with what is in common use and engage the students with their own tools.
2) To engage the students, we need to include students in all our discussions, classrooms, meetings, discipline, etc. Since students are the natives, and we are the immigrants, their technological superiority means that we are the students. Because they are and we are both students learning from each other, we need to complete each other instead of hindering and making global decisions without each other.
3) Analog no longer the job of the specialist, it is the job, as Prensky states, of the programmer, which often is best shown in today's student. To use programming technology to reach the students where their interests lie, means that students themselves know best what interests them and how to get there.

In Summary, Prensky states "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.".

My Comments - The Natives are Restless
I agree with Nate the Great's http://natethegreatsfate.blogspot.com/ blog comments about this article. Nate says that, "I find that technology projects and assignments merely become busy work and less about learning". That comment hits the nail on the head. While technology aids in teaching, real learning is not about what tech savvy can bring to the table, it is about digging deeper into issues of truth, beauty, love, laws, etc. Technology is allows the student to more easily "stand on others shoulders" so that these tough human issues can be properly investigated.

Allowing the natives to help run the institution evens the playing field of adult and student. No amount of technology can even that field. Human endeavors are the result of experience, not tech savvy. Technology helps bring the experiences faster and easier to the student, but there is no substitute for life.

While I agree that students should be helping the teacher with technology, helping the teacher with life decisions seems a stretch. While I also agree with the terms, "digital natives" and "digital immigrants", Mr. Prensky is wrong to extrapolate the reality of tech savvy to include global decisions and institution running. The logic of the analogy is false.

A youth soccer player can not tell a adult coach how the coaching job should be done just because the child may have better equipment than the coach had in his youth. What the youth doesn't have is HUMAN ANALOG LIFE experiences.

Technology must be made to be meaningful. Busy Technology based work will only make the natives become restless. :-)