Engage the ‘digital native’

Are you reading this on paper or are you reading this on your iPhone, iPad, laptop or desktop? Chances are, many of you are viewing today’s paper online (hit “like” if you are reading this through a digital medium).

This is because we are living in the digital age. Technology has grown over the past decade or two at an exponential rate. Look back at what your technology was 20 years ago, and even 10 years ago. Now look at your smartphone. People are using technology as an integral part of everyday life. It has become ubiquitous. As adults, we usually adapt, adopt, learn and move along with the rapid changing flow of technology. For everyone who denies this, there is a grandmother with an iPad opening a Facebook account and a business professional uploading a profile on Linkedin right now. If you want to see pictures of your nieces and nephews, you better be able to get online. While you are there, they may want you to watch the video they uploaded to YouTube and comment on their blog.

As adults, we are constantly dealing with the rapidly evolving technological world. What about our kids? How does this affect the world they live in and the world they will work in? Marc Prensky coined the term “digital native” to describe today’s students. Prominent educational expert Ken Robinson says, “Teenagers and younger children speak digital as their native tongue. Most adults speak it as a second language. Our children don’t even consider these devices as technology. They are as natural to them as the air they breathe. Technology, as was once said, is not technology if it happened before you were born.”

They were born into the digital age, where there have always been computers, Internet, cellphones and video games. They have always been immersed in technology. It is their world; where they live, socialize and play. It is how and where they learn.

It is that last part that most occupies my thinking on children and technology — how and where they learn. Are we meeting our kids where they live and learn? Are we using technology to enhance teaching and learning and to engage the digital native?

Just because a child was born into the digital age does not mean he or she is a proficient user of technology. The Internet has turned the purpose of educating children on its ear. There was a time in our country when information was at a premium, stored in libraries and museums. Children had to memorize information and facts that weren’t as readily accessible. Today, it is the opposite. An avalanche of information on any topic imaginable is available at the touch of a fingertip, and while students know how to do a Google search, they are not pre-programmed to sort information, understand bias, check validity and sources, differentiate fact from opinion, think critically and process all of this information.

The rise of Web 2.0 (user-generated content) means our children are more connected than ever across the world. They are sharing their lives, experiences, friendships, photos and videos, and expressing their creativity in the digital environment. They do not necessarily come to the table with an understanding of the inherent dangers of putting yourself out there. Our students may be native to the digital age, but it is still the job of parents and teachers to educate them, guide them and help them navigate the world successfully. It is perhaps not a primary goal of schools to educate students on using technology, but instead to educate them on using technology effectively and safely.

Our children are citizens of the global community. They may play games online with someone from New Jersey and India at the same time. They can watch YouTube videos and be Facebook friends with real people around the globe. Our job is to help them navigate this world, to meet them in it and educate them there. We must prepare our children to be responsible global citizens if they are to succeed in the digital age.

Along with giving them the tools to safely navigate the digital world, how can we use technology to better educate our children? In Mat-Su classrooms, technology such as interactive whiteboards, LCD projectors, computers and laptops are regularly used to enhance teaching and learning. Furthermore, the district is moving to embrace personal electronic devices as tools for learning and add cybercenters to schools to facilitate learning online. Online, blogs, wikis, document sharing in the cloud and social media can all be effective educational tools.

At a time when it seems like the whole world is on Facebook, we must ask ourselves how to use this tool to engage kids and facilitate education. Some social media sites, due to their open nature, are rife with dangers. Our school district has adopted a site called Edmodo (edmodo.com) that looks and acts similar to Facebook, but is a closed, secure network. Staff can set up profiles and share information and resources. They can also set up their classes, post topics and facilitate online discussions. Edmodo allows teachers to provide student access to notes, lessons, assignments, assessments and more online, from anywhere. Social media and other Web 2.0 tools allow teachers to facilitate online collaboration, a critical 21st century skill. Students can share ideas on a blog, upload and share documents in the cloud, meet and talk online, co-produce videos, take on team roles in research projects.

Web-based classes, without the need for a physical classroom, are more common every day. Most colleges have online course programs, and public schools are following suit. Education is quickly moving online, and schools must keep up with this to meet the needs of children.

How deep are the changes in our world brought on by technology? Some researchers and authors believe brains are actually being rewired, that the Internet and gaming generation may actually think and process information in a fundamentally different way than adults today. Intelligence, along with the skills needed to survive, succeed and thrive in the 21st century are being redefined. We are in the midst of another technological revolution that is changing and will redefine our world similar to what we experienced in the industrial revolution.

This is both exciting and frightening. I do not know what the future will look like (who could have predicted what we do with smartphones alone just 20 years ago?), but I do know that we need to be agile, willing to change and adapt, and keep striving to keep up with our kids while guiding them, preparing them and meeting their emerging learning styles and needs.

Adam Mokelke is principal at Burchell High School.