In Reponse To "Listen to the Natives":
I think that Prensky gets a bit ahead of himself in this article. Yes, we should certainly be listening to our students and learning about their digital culture as they share their point of view. However, it is unnecessary to learn about many of the digital functions "out there" in order to educate our students. Students will still want connection with people, and that is a need that teachers can meet (whether or not they moonlight as Ebay novelty merchants). If anything, the technological gap is an opportunity for connection with students. Teachers can help their students put technology in perspective, and help students to not be enveloped by the far reaching tentacles of this digital age.
I'm becoming more indignant of this digital age, as it seems to encourage distant relationships instead of intimate friendships. We have so low expectations for community and friendship. And this may not all be at fault of computers, but the combination of a weak human nature with computers.
Prensky thinks we should integrate students' use of video games into education? This may be helpful to a point, but many students are wasting their young lives in fabricated worlds of pixels and gigabytes. Discussion of video games may well be facilitated around the topic of unhealthy escapism.
Hopefully we do not adopt Prensky's anxiety concerning communicating with youth. It may well trip up good interaction with students.
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3 comments:
I think that you're right about the substitution of false "friendships" via technology for real relationships with people. This is something that is slowly going wrong in society. I would posit that as we become more dependent on technology for communication, we become less capable of communicating. When we reduce everything to email or alphanumberic abbreviations, we lose the nuance of language and face to face communication.
Incidently, "whether or not they moonlight as Ebay novelty merchants" is probably the best line I've read in these blogs thus far.
I agree with you in that I think the author was "off." Man I think he must have lots of investments in video games and technology and just wants the government to spend more money on it so he can get rich. Who in their right mind would suggest video games as the Savior of education? I realize I maybe exaggerating a bit, but he mentioned video games several times in his article, not webquests or wiki's or chat forums, but video games. I agree with you and think that in fact we need less video games for kids or more discipline with them. This has got to be the reason we are growing a generation of ADD kids... they can't sit still, can't focus, fail their classes.. The last thing we need is to implement video gaming into schools. I hated the article, but I am also an "immigrant" so I realize I am biased. Of course I'm going to prefer my native tongue, but I do think technology can and should be used.
On the other side,I do disagree with "false friendships" being made over the internet. If anything I think you will find on many youths blogs they are more open and real about life, depression and struggles than they are in person. If fact the internet in some way takes down the fascade because it comes with the illusion of being safe and that people really care what is going on with me. I think internet relationships enhance community and do not take away from it. Most people don't prefer to chat online rather than be with somebody in person, its what you do when you can't be with them or they live in another country. It expands people's understandings of culture; as a person in Podunk, Iowa talks with a person in India that they never would have met. It also allows a person who travels alot to keep up with friends from junior high they never would have kept up with. I think social networks have done wonders... Of course I met my wife online so in that sense I'm a "native" and of course it would make sense to me. I think false relationships built on pretense are part of life, just ask anybody thats been on a date anytime recently. As people get to know one another more, the pretenses come down and sometimes the distance and seemingly "safe" environment (nothings safe) propritiates this...
mike. i totally agree. i think they need the face to face communication with each other. I too thought video games could help to an extent. But I like the good ole face to face communication which helps promote that deeper, more intimate relationship that you were referring to.
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