The New Breed of School Students: “Digital Natives” (edited)
The gist of this post:
- New breed of generation called digital natives whose minds are accustomed to the digital world
- Differneces Between Modern and Digital Genrational thinking
- Traditional teaching methods not suited for digital natives
- My reflection questions: How I can teach in an engaging way towards this generation?
We live in an era where it is almost impossible to escape from digital technologies in our daily lives.
Digital and Communication technologies are electronic devices that runs on a processing chip and utilising the electromagnetic spectrum to send and receive data to communicate with other electronic devices.
You could say our lives have become more revolved around these technology. So babies, toddlers, and children in this generation basically grow up with digital technology around them because they are readily available, and where certain apps are adapted for their use.
As a result, Prensky (2001) notices a shift in how people think by comparing the old generation thinking habits with the modern digital generation. categorised the people who grew up with technology around them as “Digital Natives”.
Differences Between the Traditional and the Modern Digital Generational Thinking.
Prensky (2001) points out that the current/previous teaching methods reflect old traditions and beliefs, where slow, methodical, step by step method is practiced because those were the ways their previous teachers and parents had taught.
Now imagine someone who was brought up with digital technology. The vast amount of information they can readily access coupled with almost instantaneous receiving speed is going to affect their cognitive (thinking process) development. They become accustomed to instant gratification, accustomed to the randomness of information received, and are engaged in digital information that are packaged in the form of visual and auditory entertainment (TV shows, animations, pictures, documentaries, music), neglecting the old fashion pen and paper.
Now put that digital native student in a class where the teacher teaches in a traditional fashion. What happens?
Digital native students get bored very easily as they have not habituated to the traditional way of learning!
They prefer information to be fast, random, and entertaining, and prefer to learn over a digital platform over its predecessor: the pen and paper.
I was taught in the traditional way throughout my Primary and Secondary education and I’ve adopted those ways throughout my TESOL experience in China.
Reflection questions
The questions I am left after contemplation are
“How can I teach in a way where my lessons are as, or even more, interesting than the digital information they receive and consume?”
“How can I build my future students’ interest in areas I will be teaching?”
To answer these questions requires exploration in the realm of digital technology
Reference List
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/docview/214629645?accountid=8194
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