Digital immigration

Having described myself as a "digital immigrant" in my first post, I am now compelled to comment again after reading Prensky (2001) and commentary related to the DI/DN debate.

When arriving in a new country the immigrant is faced with a new and perhaps strange environment about which he or she needs to develop understandings in order to build a fulfilling life. In some cases the culture shock may be enormous, in others the changes are subtle.

An immigrant to NZ myself from the UK, the transition was, on the surface, reasonably straight forward. However there was a whole level of language that I found hard to relate to. I picked up words that I heard and began to use them in what I hoped were appropriate contexts. Other words I didn't even attempt to use as the meaning was unclear. The same goes for making meaning from the language of the digital world.

Since I have begun this paper I have learned a whole lot of new digital vocabulary - some of which I understand and some I have a rough idea of what it might mean. I feel like an immigrant as I am getting to grips with the words of the environment. It is not just the language, it is also working in an online environment. I am using the Moodle blog to record my responses to readings, but I confess I have also invested in a paper notebook with real pages which I do find easier. I went to the university library and got out a book so I could read it and not be tied to a screen (actually in the bath - sorry Christine!)

There is change in the way we do things in the 21st century, who is to say whether it is better or not. My own kids should be, in Prenksy's terms, "digital natives" in that they are experiencing their formative years in the modern environment; they turn first to the computer for communicating with others, 'googling' homework questions, enjoying online entertainment. However they still love getting books from the library, will use a atlas as it is quicker and appreciate the joy of the 'real' thing, rather than a digital image (the result of having a museum educator for a mother?).

Research shows that learning builds on prior knowledge (Nuthall, 2002) and students need to experience a concept four times within a short time period to develop understandings around that concept. (Nuthall & Alton-Lee, 1994) Less structured learning experiences as suggested by Prensky (2001) which may not build on each other or relate to similar concepts might mean lost learning opportunities for some learners; others may thrive in such an environment, the difference between these learners however is not whether they are natives or immigrants but their personal learning styles.

I picked up the terms "digital immigrant" and "digital native" and used them as I had a hint that I knew what they meant. Maybe we actually have dual citizenship in my family! We are enjoying what is out there to be offered by our new country but still appreciate the value of the old.

References;
Prenksy, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants http://www.markprensky.com/writing

Nuthall, G. (2002). The cultural myths and the realities of teaching and learning. New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 11, 5 - 30

Nuthall, G., & Alton-Lee, A. (1994). How Pupils Learn. Set: research information for teachers. 2. (p.1-8)

Reflections on week 3 of edprofst 714

Brown (1998) made entertaining reading as he explored the theme of ICT based learning strategies which offer exciting promises that have little major impact on the education system in reality. The memory of the coloured supermarket receipts to be collected with the goal of the latest Apple came flooding back (1993/4?). I can't recall being allowed the then treasured Apple in my classroom or what I would have done with it had it been there (maybe that is why I wasn't allocated it!); I'm pretty sure it wasn't online so our equipment would have been used for publishing stories and using various topic/level appropriate 'educational' software.

Campbell (2004) again cites a long list of initiatives to get effective use of ICT in schools up and running, but with a more positive outlook. I was involved in the ITTPD contract that she mentions which opened up more ways of using technology in my classroom. This PD may not have changed the world, but at least did get a substantial numbers of teachers on the first step of the ladder. Campbell feels that New Zealand teachers have taken the challenge of e-learning on board "by examining their own practice and how this can be enhanced by the use of new and different tools" p.23. This type of reflection is encouraged by Brown (1988) in his analysis of a good 'ICT-using teacher'. He comments that effective e-learning is reliant on the quality of the teacher who is facilitating that learning and issues a challenge to policy makers to ensure that happens.

Selywn (2008) echoes Brown's disappointment in the missed opportunities to achieve successful e-learning in schools and again attributes one of the reasons for 'failure' in the inability of teachers to keep up with the play.

The 2006 e-learning Action plan addresses the issue of "teacher capability" and has detailed strategies to develop the skills and knowledge of teachers, their leaders and communities.

Will this be another promise that fades away, or are schools working on professional development and confidence building for all staff? The world of e-learning changes so fast with new applications being developed all the time, so for the passionate e-learning advocates enthusing other teachers and maintaining the motivation may be a hard ask (along with all the other things on their plates), but it needs to happen if that promise is to be kept.

References

Brown, M. E. (1998). The use of computers in New Zealand Schools: A critical review. Computers in New Zealand Schools, 10(3), 3-9.

Campbell, N. (2004). The vintage years of e-learning in New Zealand Schools. The Journal of Distance Education, 8(1), 17-24.

Selwyn, D. (2008). Business as usual? Exploring the contining (in)significance of the e-learning policy drive. Computers in New Zealand Schools, 20(3), 22-34

Ministry of Education. (2006) Enabling the 21st Century Learner An e-Learning Action Plan for Schools 2006-2010.

2 August 09

End of week 2 - have got the laptop - yeah - thanks to a kind friend who didn't need her old one anymore.
Have just been on the Voicethread site. How cool is that!!
Images of all sorts of stuff, with people able to respond and share by voice, text, drawing etc.
One of my goals from this course is to develop more lines of communication between the museum and schools - this has heaps of potential.
Ideas off the top of my head include posting images of objects that a visiting school group are likely to see or handle. Students could record their response to the object before visiting in the form of questions/statements etc. We get an idea of what they like/don't like/know/want to find out about. This info comes direct from the students to us (and anyone else I suppose). Students could look at voice threads from other visiting groups. We can respond directly to the students on the voice thread too.
This is a practical way of communication as it is asynchronous - we don't all need to be at the computer at the same time, however only relatively small amounts of information can be shared.