Hypermedia & Ed. Summer 13'

This is where I will be sharing reflections to course readings for mstu4036. 

Week 1: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

The assigned Prensky reading just reaffirmed the idea that one of the biggest obstacles schools face in engaging students today is helping experienced teachers change their ideals regarding what they feel students learning looks and sounds like. The readings mention how seasoned (digital immigrant) educators often reflect on the way things used to be...students sitting engaged on the content they were presenting. It could be that they were so busy presenting content that they did not see the amount of disengaged students mounting as new technology tools and the language that goes with it started to emerge around them. I say they in that last sentence but I include myself as a digital immigrant, the only difference I have to the educators noted in Prensky's article is that I embrace the potential of the ever-evolving tools we have at our disposal to engage students in collaborative learning experiences. I found it also helps if the learning goals link to parts their everyday lives which automatically injects technology into the mix. 

As a proactive digital immigrant, I admit change is very hard. People proposing any change need to present results and lots of evidence to support people buying in, but as the Prensky piece notes, there is plenty of evidence to support anyone who is an educator to utilize technology tools available to engage students in learning.