Giving Digital Natives A Choice

Liz, in response to your question if social media and cell phones could be considered technology since they are so ingrained into our lives, I think they are no longer the "new" technology.  Look at the pencil, at one point it was considered technology and today we don't even give it a passing thought when we pick it up to use it.  Liz I also think about the computer lab being run by robots but will tell you more in my presentation. As I dig into the impact that technology has on the Digital Natives the more I lament over what will be lost. 

Please don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to technology as it is inevitable and has made some parts of my life easier, but I was happy to see that Maha & Kristin understood where I was coming from in my previous blog.  As mentioned at the beginning of this course, I was the Technology Support Teacher for my school and my job was to train/mentor other teachers on using more digital devices in their classroom. Preet, I think you misunderstood me at the beginning of the course.  I did know how to use blogs and knew of Twitter, from my Tech Support time, but I didn't want to spend the countless hours that were put into creating and maintaining my school blog.  I did not want the same scenario to  play out in my master courses.  Preet I applaud you for learning Prezi.  I too looked at it for presenting my presentation and it was more than I was willing to put effort into at this time. I keep wondering about when Socrates or Martin Luther King Jr. were speaking to crowds and they did not have  visuals,  people did not walk away, instead they were engaged in what they were saying.  Today we have to have the latest and greatest visuals so we can keep our audience listening.  Yesterday when I was working on my PowerPoint for this class, I almost spent $60.00 on buying 3D clip art so you guys would be engaged!  The Digital Immigrant in me refrained me from doing it and ensured me that my content would be engaging enough that I would not have to resort to the latest and greatest.  Again, it's not that I am afraid to learn the new software and purchase the latest and greatest add ons, it is that I chose not to buy into the hype.  It is the hype that I lament over.

While I'm working on my presentation and my literature review I am sad to see  what technology has done to the Digital Natives in my classroom.  At the beginning of the year, I had to tie my first shoelace in about 15 years.  The last one I remember tying was for my niece when she was two years old.  My student could not tie his shoe since he was use to Velcro.  Velcro was the newest technology.  All school year long, students have been asking me what time it is (they have to sign out to go use the washrooms) since they aren't able to tell time on an analog clock.  This week I had enough (maybe doing my assignments for this class had some impact on it) and I began to teach them how to tell time on an analog clock.  If I could go back to teach the students how to tell time by the sun right now, I would!

My job as an educator is to present my Digital Native students all the different ways to do something, be it tying a shoelace or using Velcro, telling time digitally or by analog, handwriting or typing and let them decide which way they chose to do it and what median is the most appropriate for them to demonstrate their learning.  As I mentioned in class, I have a stack of cards I use when students are deciding which format to use when giving presentations.  It has everything from digital displays, artwork to hands on construction.  To me each student can be honored and are not told "you have to do this the old fashioned way" or you have to do it the "new fashioned way".  These approaches takes the ownership and creative process away from the student.  I would be no better than the ones who are pushing for technology or the ones who are opposing technology in the school if I told my students which way to do something.  I have to give them the tools and they have to decide which tool works best for the job at hand.