After reading Marc Prensky (2001) Digital Natives Digital Immigrants article I can openly class myself as a “Digital Immigrant”. I use the internet, texting, mobile phones and digital music players everyday, although I still carry the “accent” of a Digital Immigrant as I prefer print form over the computer screen and struggle to keep up with the technological ‘lingo’ and abbreviations. Having said that, I agree with Prensky and do not want to allow my outdated and pre-digital age experience to limit the education of my “Digital Native” students. Therefore I do not expect my students to ‘power down’ when they enter my future classroom, rather I will ‘power up’ as I intend not only to learn new things but learn new ways to do old things.
My aim to ‘power up’ my skills is evident with my enthusiasm to the new tool of blogging. After setting up my own blog and reviewing some of my peers’ blogs, I believe web logging offers a plethora of opportunities within the classroom. Firstly it motivates students to become actively involved in discussion as they exchange their point of view with their peers and the rest of the world. This in turn creates a sense of responsibility for the students and makes them more conscious and dedicated to creating a thorough response. Blogging also allows students to engage with content in the real world context as they can interact from the comfort of their own home and communicate with the rest of the world not just people in their immediate environment. The comments and interaction between blogs allow students to identify what others think of their responses and give them the opportunity to receive and provide feedback.
There are clearly multiple benefits in using Blogs; however there are also some issues that concern me. I am curious if including blogging restricts some students’ involvement in the classroom as they may have limited access to computers and internet at home due to finance and so forth. I am also interested in what age group will benefit from this technological tool and if it is restricted to older children. Another factor of interest is whether the comments and peer feedback may have a detrimental impact on students’ confidence as some students are sensitive to criticism.
Just a few thoughts for now and I look forward to hearing what you think.
About Me
- Pauline White
- Hello Everyone, My name is Pauline White and I am currently completing the Bachelor of Learning Management through Central Queensland University, Noosa Campus. Managing E-Learning is a course conducted within the program as it explores the technological competencies required within a 21st century connected society. Throughout this blog, I will expand and enhance my existing repertoire of technological competencies as I will analyse a variety of elearning tools and methodologies. This reflection and analysis will highlight the cultural and critical dimensions of technological literacies required in our ever changing teaching context. Blogging is a totally new experience for me and I am excited to begin this discovery journey with you.
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