Discussion 1

I guess I have to be the different one. I was in agreement with most of Prensky's viewpoints throughout his article. I consider myself to be a digital native, but being born in 1985 I feel that my generation was the beginning of the D or N- generation. I grew up playing video games, we had a computer at my house, and in middle school I was constantly on AIM instant messaging my friends. I used technology for academics and socialization. But nowhere near to the extent that my students do today. I teach 8th grade math and I see every one of the characteristics that Prensky pointed out in his article. They want immediate feedback, instant results, no wait time on anything! They are bored with traditional notes, even in digital format. It is too slow for them. I struggle everyday with trying to engage my students in our material. It is easier with certain topics where students can do more hands-on, computer based activities.
I saw where someone disagreed with Prensky because of him mentioning how all students have access to the computer. I can see your point there, but when we gave a survey in our school it was around 5% of students that don't have internet access at home. So we have to teach to the majority, not the minority. Besides, our school systems are giving them opportunities to learn computer skills, and they still play video games. Access is not the point of Prensky's article, it is mindset. Our students' brains did not develop as ours did.
I thought the Straker article was outdated, even though the date says otherwise. The authors continued to bring up points that have been hammered over and over again for the past 10 years. Yes there are pros and cons to technology access for students. But there's not much we as educators can do about it. We still have to educate these students somehow. I did not find it as helpful and relevant to my classroom.