Comments on: Typecasting ‘Digital Natives’

By: Joe Corbett

Joe Corbett — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:59:32 +0000

This is really a great post I wish I had it on hand when I posted about the Iste poll that asks the question What Is The Most Effective Ed TEch Tools From THe past 30 Years. Dean it would be great if you could Vote in that poll and leave some wisdom for our readers about why you voted the way you did. Great post all around!

By: Jeff A.

Jeff A. — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:15:18 +0000

Sometimes you put words to what is going on better than anyone I know…

By: Graham Wegner

Graham Wegner — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:46:46 +0000

Dean, this post has made me think (again) about what I try to do with technology in my classroom and whether it is transforming anything to do with learning. For example, a lot of well versed edubloggers have written that student blogging needs to connect students beyond the classroom in authentic ways – but kids can’t automatically do that on their own. They need a teacher to stage manage that, find the connections and where’s the authenticity in that? What I did find out was that my students created their own community via their blogs as it opened new channels of communication focussed on their learning. Commenting became the currency of goodwill, feedback and self improvement – so the comments from some of my network for a specific curricular focus was a bonus, but not a replacement for the affirmation and constructive feedback of their peers.

So, I think there is value in social media tools in the classroom but never just for the sake of the tools. Strategically used, these tools can facilitate learning that has its own brand of uniqueness that complements but is not necessarily superior to the other innovative methodologies used by the non-Web 2.0 “masters of the craft” you referred to earlier.

By: Sylvia Martinez

Sylvia Martinez — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:14:25 +0000

Like you point out, making primary sources available and bringing the real world into the classroom is important (and always was). New technology can make this somewhat easier, but it still needs to have a teacher who is building these experiences and resources into a big umbrella idea.

I think we could also say that a teacher’s role is also to build student-student relationships as well, but directed at academic purposes.

So, if you want to Skype an expert, that’s great, but maybe the kids should be doing the work of finding, contacting, interviewing, setting up the connection, troubleshooting the technology, recording it, sharing it with others, reflecting on it, etc. They should be working together to figure these things out and make meaning out of the experience.

Lots of teachers who are having these fabulous Web 2.0 experiences and learning a lot themselves are rightly excited about their own learning and want to share. But then are pre-chewing it for kids.

Bringing the students in as full actors in every part of the equation allows them to make choices and shape the learning activities to be more relevant to them.

By: Frances Manning

Frances Manning — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:02:06 +0000

Dean, you talk great sense! Effective teachers are the ones who truly connect with their students no matter what the technology of the time. They make the learning real by connecting with their students and making the learning significant and relevant. A teacher’s relationship with their students, their pedagogical style and their enthusiasm for their students and the content they teach, can make all the difference.

As a mother of teenagers, I know that social media tools are a means for students to connect with their friends. It is all very much seamless and everyday. It is a very thin line to not look like a ‘geek’ – the emphasis is on connectiveness.

Where does that leave educators who want to be relevant to their students? I liked your perspectives…it all comes down to good pedagogy…good teaching. The tools are really secondary…today’s students are living in a connected world…how can we embrace this perspective & fashion learning activities to be relevant to them? How can we capitalize on this way of working? How will the tools help?

You’ve given me the chance to ask more questions about teaching & learning in our school, relevance & the use of technology to assist learning. Thanks again for your thoughts!