Learning and the Digital Age?

Part of my fellowship year focus is to become more aware of the digital age and culture my students are fluent with. I have recently re-acquainted myself with the writings of Mark Prensky.

Mark Prensky (http://www.marcprensky.com/ ) coined the terms, 'digital natives and digital immigrants to describe the difference between this generation of students and their teachers. His articles 'Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - A New Way to Look At Ourselves and Our Kids' and the follow-up Part 2 - "Do They Really Think Differently?' are thought provoking even though written in 2001.   [Cartoon courtesy of www.creativityatwork.com]

They are available to read online.  The following excerpt provides interesting statistics!

"Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their 

parents.  The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 

200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on 

digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), 

over 500,000 commercials seen—all before the kids leave college. And, maybe, at the 

very most, 5,000 hours of book reading.  These are today’s “Digital Native” students. 1   

 

In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between 

our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great 

many of today’s educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives’ brains are likely 

physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up.  And I 

submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their 

“native language.”   

 

Here I present evidence for why I think this is so.  It comes from neurobiology, social 

psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning. "

 

I am keen to read his latest article, flagged as coming in March - 'Turning On the Lights'. His website has a wealth of knowledge, resources and ideas. Checkout his powerpoint "Give Us 21st Century Tools" 2004!

This year Mark wrote about the new scribe of the 21st century. His comparison between the power of the scribes of the written word in the past and the scribes of the digital language of today are interesting:

"I believe fluency with multiple spoken languages will continue to be important, and that multimedia, interactivity, and other game-derived devices will be increasingly significant tools for communicating twenty-first-century thought. Nonetheless, I firmly believe that the true key literacy of the new century lies outside all these domains.

I believe the single skill that will, above all others, distinguish a literate person is programming literacy, the ability to make digital technology do whatever, within the possible one wants it to do -- to bend digital technology to one's needs, purposes, and will, just as in the present we bend words and images. Some call this skill human-machine interaction; some call it procedural literacy. Others just call it programming."

How many of us cannot make digital technology do what we we want it to and are in fact frightened to try?

They are outside our comfort zone and require thought processes and skills that are not inherent in our repertoire. My first step in my quest to better understand these technologies is to explore my cell-phone,the i-pod and i-tunes then lurch into online games!!!

Sharing Visual Language through Digital Technology

Just thought I would share my initial foray into digital photography in preparation for developing some original images to work with in Photoshop - one of my major learning areas for professional development this year and a few comments about iPhoto. The fly was my attempt at using macro!

iPhoto is an intuitive programme for organising photos and much more. Photos can be organised by events, albums can be created, photos can be rated with keywords for searching. There are tools for editing, creating slideshows, web gallery, sharing by email and creating photo gifts eg:a calendar. The beauty is that it seamlessy integrates with all other iMac programmes. 

I kept coming across references to .Mac so checked it out. It needs to be purchased but provides you with all sorts of online tools. 

See website:    http://www.apple.com/dotmac/webgallery.html  to find out more.

They provide a 60 day free trial that provides you with a facility to share your photos in a web gallery. This year is all about having the time to learn so I have set up an account - it will expire on April 13th, but until then my photographic journey can be seen at the following address!

http://gallery.mac.com/rsnzfellow#100025&view=grid&sel=9

From PC to iMac: Entourage v Mail

As a new iMac user, the last few weeks have been both frustrating and amazing.

Frustrating in that every little nuance and control that I have spent years perfecting on the Windows platform is non-existent on the mac platform.I am becoming better acquainted, however, and no longer move to the right to close the current window!

Amazing in that the ability of the mac to blend all programmes that deal with multimedia is exciting. I will be using the next few weeks to meander my way through these and practice the tools - ready for my foray into learning how to create visual images to a professional standard (hopefully).

I have both operating systems on my notebook but am forcing myself out of my comfort zone to get used to mac os. 

The last two days have been particularly challenging as I have attempted to get to know mac mail. All set up but have been unable to forward emails from my old school address (uses school zone). 

The joy of being a fellow is that I have had the time to investigate. I discovered Entourage in the MS suite of programmes and after Googling 'entourage v mac' discovered that it is the Microsoft mail version for imacs!

 Even more confused after reading the multitude of comments for and against. Many die-hard mac users are dead against Entourage and there are many conflicting opinions on what works and what doesn't!!!

At the end of the day I have decided that what works for me is the best choice and because Entourage recognises all emails that have been sent and forwarded and allows me to open them I am staying with Entourage. It has a similar interface to outlook express. It also has a calendar in a visual format which I think will be great for organising and viewing my year at a glance.

Hosts and Fields of Investigation

I have two Hosts: Natcoll in Wellington and UCOL in Palmerston North. 

UCOL. Both institutions have kindly agreed to allow me access to their facilities, their tutors, their time and knowledge to aid my journey of discovery in the areas of Photography, Video, Animation, Design and Web.

UCOL - Universal College of Learning

I will be investigating the 'Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging' course offered in Palmerston North. Details in link:   www.ucol.ac.nz/main.asp?page=489&course=1126&campus=1

I will also be liaising with Chris Hubbard (HOD) over a possible programme, with resources and assessments, for secondary schools that will provide teachers and students with opportunities to aid future studies in these creative and exciting fields.

Natcoll Design Technology 

Natcoll specialises in these fields and I will be undertaking professional development provided through short courses later in the year. Details of programmes, courses and fields of study in link:  www.natcoll.ac.nz/Home

My Fellowship Objectives

My project has specific objectives that must be met. The progress of my project investigations to meet these are monitored by my RSNZ mentor. It is appreciated that other learning and opportunities unrelated to these objectives will occur during the year and fellows are encouraged to extend our horizons beyond the base-line objectives that have been set.

These are my 'base-line' objectives for the year:

1. Investigate and report on the integration of graphic design/visual imaging into classroom learning environments
2. Map the increase in my knowledge, skill base, and creativity in applied graphic design/visual imaging by producing a digital dairy/portfolio or case study of my explorations and progress
3. Understand and report or case study the career opportunities available in this field
4. Communicate my findings to colleagues, students and/or other groups through at least two activities such as a workshop/hui presentation at a conference, or by writing an article, curricula aligned teaching resource or case study for a web-site or print media
5. Promote the NZ Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowship to six school and three community groups
6. Provide information in various mediums for the RSNZ

The NZ Science, Mathematics & Technology Fellowship

The Royal Society of New Zealand is an independent, national academy of sciences. They promote a critical awareness of science and technology in schools, in industry and in society. They administer several funds for science and technology.

 One of these is the Government funded NZ Science Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowship scheme. This scheme seeks to raise the profile of science, mathematics, social sciences and technology within the wider community. To help achieve this the scheme provides teachers with new experiences and understanding outside the classroom that enables them to become more effective educators. (Information courtesy RSNZ web-site)

There are new types of applications being offered for 2009. Find out more here:  http://www.rsnz.org/awards/teacher_fellowships/

I have been fortunate in being awarded a fellowship for this year. My project, "The visual world of the digital native and the technologies that provide it", arose out of my passion for how the medium of visual media and technologies can enhance the learning environment.

The society provides guidance and support during the year. This support began when the 2007 and 2008 fellows met  for a symposium in late January. This was an incredibly supportive experience and clarified what the year is all about. We gained an insight into the experiences of past fellows - they provided us with 'Pearls of Wisdom' regarding the fellowship year. A few of these gems were: 

• to feel no guilt
• be willing to step out of your comfort zone
• time is finite; use it wisely
• grab hold of all opportunities offered
• relish and enjoy having the time to concentrate on your passions and interests
• Remember - even a bad day during fellowship year has less stress than a good day in the classroom

I intend to do just that and will regularly post my experiences and progress as I work towards achieving my aims for 2008.