Week 3

The article "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" presents quit a new concept to the educational world. It's really fascinating that studies have determined that the brains of the younger generation, as compared to the older, think much differently. I agree with the article to some extent. For one, I think that teaching to the "digital natives" in their own "language" is very important. The article stated that students often do not pay attention because the information is presented in quite a boring manner. If teachers want to reach their students, then they need to adapt to their learning abilities. However, I do think that some of the "old ways" are also important for the younger generation to learn and appreciate. I understand that the world is changing, and what is important to the older generation isn't necessarily the same for the younger. However, I can never truly accept that because everything is changing we need to adapt all our teaching to be "edutainmental." Some things are still important for students to know that are not fast, easy, and overly accessible. For example, learning how to read properly is important. I'm not talking about simply knowing how to read words, but learning how to process and to analyze it on a much deeper level. This can be done through "edutainment," but it's still a process and isn't as instantaneous as students are accustomed to. With all of this said, I am worried that I won't be an effective teacher because of the way that students learn today. I am not really technologically savvy, but I guess that's the process of being a teacher: being flexible and willing to grow and learn.