Response to Prensky and Boyd

Question:  What do you make of the (divergent) positions of Boyd and Prensky?  What do you hear each of them saying about who youth are?  Where do you stand on the “digital native” terminology?

Answer: Based on the two articles that we read and the TED talk we watched about Robinson's point of view it makes me feel as though there are many parallels that can be drawn between all three.  

    Prensky: This article made me think about the way in which I teach and how I can use the students strengths and weaknesses as a tool for my classroom.  However the terminology that was used " digital natives" and "digital immigrants" made me feel a bit uneasy as i thought about it.  Based on the interactions I have had with students over the past few years however digital savvy the students are they still need to understand the basics to some extent.  Something else that I did notice when I was reading is the way which the font changed from line to line or statement to statement which reflect an almost childlike play on the main themes in the text.  

    Boyd: When reading chapter 7 of  "It's complicated" one would notice that the author had given the students a similar title as Prensky did but not as problematic of terminology.  The labeling of students as digital ‘natives’ leaves out the nuances and inequities that exist in any skill acquisition.  Boyd seems to show that the skills that is being acquired on any and all levels is where it all starts and that the educators are the ones that facilitate that action. On some level I can see this when new students arrive from countries with less technology experiences- this is where the students need to have direct instructions that are explicit.

    Robinson: When watching this TED talk, it really resonated with me as I felt that he grasped the way that Education is presented in the United states - that it is TEST CENTERED and not as student oriented as it should be.  

Overview and connections: All three of these people seem to be getting at the fact that there has been a global change in the way that students learn and develop.  the epitope of this occured when this Global Pandemic hit and we all had to become more digitally adapted and formed spaces for the students to communicate, learn and grow.