Week 5 Response - Digital Natives vs Digital Immigrants

The idea of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants, presented by Prensky,  is a hefty one. Do these two groups really exist, and if so, should instruction be modified to adjust to the new normal facing Digital Natives in the classroom? After reading the three articles assigned, I am uncertain how I really feel about the topic, though will do my best to explain my thinking. 

I found myself agreeing with many of Prensky's statements, even though they were harsh. Supported by my own anecdotal evidence from experiences I have had with veteran educators and my experience in the classroom, although broad, I found some truth the claims. I have worked with educators that fit Prensky's Digital Immigrant characteristics remarkably well (printing out emails, turning to the internet for information second, and lack of appreciation for the new skills Digital Natives bring to their classroom, just to name a few). Students in my classroom are used to accessing and getting information fast, they like to and they can multitask, and graphics are one of the best ways to relay information, much like the Digital Natives described by Prensky. 

Although I recognized these generalized characteristics of Prensky's argument, I found myself attributing those differences to a greater scope of influences than just technology. The people I know that fit the Digital Immigrant camp, are few. Not everyone in the pre-new technology falls into the descriptors Prensky uses. There are many that have mastered and become more technology-literate than I am, even though I would technically be a Digital Native according to Prensky. 

I do agree with Prensky that "our students have changed radically" and "are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach," I just think there are deeper, more complex reasons than just the new technology these students encounter on a daily basis. I believe family structures, life style options and choices, and parenting styles contribute just as much, if not more to the characteristics of the crop of students in our education system than just the new technologies. I have not done research on this, I cannot claim this is researched fact, simply my own observations and experiences reacting to the readings. (So McKenzie could pick my meager thoughts apart just as much as she did Prensky.)

Our educational system can appear antiquated as a whole. The 9-5, Monday-Friday jobs are getting fewer, yet we still run our schools in a similar fashion. New technologies are slowly being integrated. Where individual cell phone use is commonplace in our daily lives and workplaces, it struggles to find its place in the classroom. It is important to recognize that there are incredible teachers and entire schools that fight this notion and have found a way to bring meaningful content in relative ways to these new students. 

So, although I agree with parts of Prensky's ideas, there are so many more topics to include in our discussion with colleagues that impact our teaching. 

Assigned Articles:

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants – Part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

McKenzie, J. (2007). Digital nativism: Digital delusions and digital deprivation. From Now On, 17(2). Retrieved fromhttp://fno.org/nov07/nativism.html

Reeves, T.C. (2008). Do generational differences matter in instructional design? Online discussion presentation to Instructional Technology Forum from January 22-25, 2008 athttp://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper104/ReevesITForumJan08.pdf

Supporting New Teachers: A professional responsibility

Supporting New Teachers: A professional responsibility

Week 4 - Guest Post written by Brooks Cooper

Being a first year teacher presents itself with many unique challenges. First off, first year teachers are expected to perform with the skills, knowledge, and performance of a veteran teacher. Being a first year teacher is not an excuse for poor performance, however with that said there is the reality of a lack of experience. Very few first year teachers subscribe to the idea that they are held to a different standard because they are new. Most want to provide the highest quality of instruction regardless of the years behind their name. Like a freshman in high school new teachers are faced with learning a new and larger system and are not afforded the freedom to simply focus on teaching. They are responsible for learning their evaluation tool, understanding the school climate, learning how to communicate with parents, how to do grades, how to take attendance, how and when to be involved in school activities, how to collaborate with their peers and this list goes on.

The old adage "You don't know what you don't know" is an appropriate statement for why we need  to support our new teachers.  For this reason my experience has led to me conclude that supporting teachers through their first year is not only professional responsibility we bear as educators but one that is so complex, not one form of support is sufficient. New teachers need support from their teacher peers, building administrators, and the district office. Each group has a different lens and one that is important and valid to the performance of teachers. Our teacher mentor programs should be consistent, relevant, and provided with a variety of lenses to offer new teachers with the support and knowledge of the larger system they are now a part of.

Brooks Cooper is a High School Assistant Principal in Longview, WA.

Why I'm not Offended by a rise in homeschooling numbers - Commentary Entry - Week 4

Why I'm not Offended by a rise in homeschooling numbers

I recently came across the article, Number of Homeschoolers Growing Nationwide, by Julia Lawrence from Education News. Although this article is a few years old, it remains a relevant topic in education today. Homeschooling has always been an interesting topic to me, even though I was raised through the public schooling ranks and even chose teaching, public school teaching, as my career. Needless to say, I have no personal experience within the area of Homeschooling, yet my feelings toward homeschooling have changed and developed over the years.

In short, the numbers of students engaged in homeschooling is going up and some of the stigmas that have historically plagued the choice are are being dropped. Home schooled students are scoring well on standardized tests and finding success at the next level, and even earning four-year degrees at a higher rate than students produced by the public school system.

Rather than take offense to homeschooling or try to argue against it, I have chosen to embrace the movement. Here are a few of the reasons that even as a public school teacher, who is also married to someone working within the public school system, I feel strongly about this.

Another point of view can often challenge or make one think about current practice. There are so many different and strong opinions about public education in our country. I believe that the tension that exists between those opinions ultimately benefits the public education system for good. Questions and challenges to current practice, whether it is about teacher evaluation, curriculum, or standards spur discussion and conversation that may not occur without difference of opinion.

Choice and individualized instruction is not a bad thing. Public education is not about a one-size-fits all approach. As many educators know, differentiating instruction is the only way to survive. Educators are constantly tweaking and adjusting lessons and plans to service the variety of students sitting in front of them. I may not be a 30-year veteran teacher, but I know enough to know that my classroom may not work for every given student in the country. There are so many factors that go into a student's success at any given time. Although I believe all students can learn and I strive to create an environment in my classroom in which that occurs, there may be something offered at home that I cannot provide.

Frankly, I respect a parent's parenting domain. We are lucky to live in a country where differing worldviews and lifestyles are  prevalent and allowed. It may not be the same decision I would make, but I fully support a parent's choice in how their child is educated. Whether it is religion, content delivery, schedule, pace, etc. that spurs the decision to home school their child/children, I believe it should be an option a parent can choose to make.

Discussion Post Week 3 - Lesson Openers

Washington State has recently gone through a major change in the teacher evaluation the state uses. I have personally embraced the process and have enjoyed the focus on teacher growth and instructional practice. One of the focus areas for instructional practice is lesson openers, teachers are evaluated on their use of this strategy. Lesson openers are generally a classroom activity that engages students in addressing the skills and content taught in the lesson for the day. Other common teaching vocabulary for this instructional practice include anticipatory set, bell-ringer, entry tasks, hook, leader, lead-in. These can be used in a very systematic way each day to get their classroom going even if there isn't a direct tie to the day's lesson. They can also be used to heighten student awareness about the lesson and pique interest and curiosity. In my ideal world, those two purposes would be combined every day. Though, I struggled to do this on a regular basis.

What are some of your favorite lesson openers? How do you blend the two purposes to make an awesome lesson opener?

List Entry Week 3 - Great ways to use Interactive Student Notebooks in a middle school Social Studies Class

Something I played around with quite a bit while in the classroom were Interactive Student Notebooks. The general idea of them, being a living "textbook" the students build over the course of the class with teacher notes and a variety of assignments, colored the way I attempted organization for my middle school students each year. Some years I used composition books and others I branched out to spiral or 3-ring binders. I haven't found a favorite, but loved basic idea of them.

Here are some great ways to use an ISN:

• Classroom Expectations - I loved to include our classroom expectations in the front section of the ISN. Students can tape or glue it in and it provides a reference point when behaviors need redirection. 
• Class Notes - Students can take notes from direct instruction, modeling of note-taking, or readings from textbooks or articles that can't be marked-up.
• Reference materials - When I have included reference materials, it can end up being a fairly loose definition of what fits into that section. I have included everything from district passwords for online resources to sentence starters for short responses, discussions, and exit tasks. 
• Foldables - These can seem a little "elementary," however I have enjoyed incorporating at least one into the rotation each year. Foldables provide a place-holder for learning, some active, hands-on construction time, and a usable tool to review afterward. Many fit into a notebook really well. 
• Vocabulary - Including a vocabulary section in your ISN can be a great way to track new vocabulary throughout the year. Adding one or two terms at a time can be less intimidating than a whole unit of terms at once. 

There are so many great ways to use ISN, do you have another I can add to the list?

Links Entry Week 3

Links Entry Week 3 - Current Events

Current Events can be such a great activity in a Social Studies classroom. I have enjoyed incorporating them in some way into all of my previous classrooms, both Reading and Social Studies. Current Events can provide opportunity to practice reading, summarizing, debating, drawing conclusions, quoting, vocabulary, search techniques, etc... the skills can go on.

Here are some of the news sites I provide to students to get them started:

CNN - http://www.cnn.com/

NBC News - http://www.nbcnews.com/

Fox News - http://www.foxnews.com/

BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/

USA Today - http://www.usatoday.com/

Al Jazeera - http://america.aljazeera.com/

Student News Daily - http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/

Time for Kids - http://www.timeforkids.com/

DOGOnews - http://www.dogonews.com/