Digital Natives V.S. Digital Immigrants

    From reading Prensky's article it was made clear that there is a big difference between Digital Natives those that have known nothing but technology in their lifetime and digital immigrants those who are playing catch up to learn new technologies. The natives learn best through using technology do to their wanting information right now and how they do not like using the old technology such as writing stuff down.  According to Prensky a lot of immigrants do not want to use these technologies because that is not how learning has been done in the past.  He explains legacies and how this is the old way of the thinking and that we need to move into the future which is heavily digital.  He explains how computer programs can be used to teach new learning skills such as using simulations to have students experience how it may have felt like in a holocaust concentration camp.
            I see the good that these simulations can bring to the native learners. That this is how the students of the future will learn best.  I hope to incorporate these simulations into my classroom but also to teach my students that it is important not to forget the importance of communicating directly with people and that it helps when you actually talk to someone and that these computer simulations could also been done in class with actual interactions with other students.
            I am looking forward to hopefully look into some of these programs through the course of the class to see how they work and to become familiar with them so that I am not left to far behind as the technology wave keeps moving forward.
 

Helping our students with the web

      Richardson brings up the point that the internet is not "read only" any longer and that we need to be actively engaged in the internet by both writing and reading.  He explains how we need to help our students understand that they will be searched for college and jobs interviews through the internet and that they need to be careful with what they post.  He also points out that people need to be online publishing blogs and wikis so that employers will see that you have accomplished things in your life. It is also clear that we as teachers need to get technology into our curriculum and with strong pedagogy we will show our students the correct way to use technology to increase the academic achievement as well as getting them ready for their future jobs.
      Richardson's work made me realize that as a teacher and a person that internet is a great big classroom that allow us to learn from others and pose questions and receive all kinds of answers.  We can become mini experts by helping others with youtube videos.  I have had personal learning experience from using youtube.  I have used it to figure out how to fix a lawn mower as well as how to tie certain knots.  Google docs will really help students be able to learn to collaborate and get comfortable with technology because these tools are going to be used in almost areas in the coming years.
    I want to see how we can help our students use technology to become better at networking but also showing them how to behave safe and ethically online as well.