Digital natives are those who were born and raised in the age of digital technology. Prensky (2001) says that “today’s average college grads have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV)” (p. 1). Prensky, (2001) writes that younger “students think and process information fundamentally differently” than the older generation that is learning and adopting new technology (Prensky, 2001, p. 1). Their brains are wired to learn differently (Downes, 2010); Siemens, 2005; Prensky, 2001). They assimilate information and speak the native language of technology easily. Yet, they are being forced to learn at the pace and through legacy methods adopted by digital immigrants (Prensky, 2012). Even if we start adapting to the learning needs of digital natives, we may discover that they have moved on to needing even more innovative methodologies for learning (Daggett, 2015; Kelly, 2012).
The legacy methods of teaching students through reading books or listening to lectures and regurgitating that information is a terrible method of teaching. Even I, as a learner get discouraged by these methods. This could even be a contributing factor in declining retention rates, and degree completion rates (Prensky, 2012). We should consider using multi-modal teaching methods that create interest and content inspire critical thinking (Prensky, 2012).
Today’s young people thrive on constant change, frequent feedback, and rewarding acknowledgement (Prensky, 2012). We achieve this by adopting more of a gaming mentality where learners receive constant gratification (Prensky, 2012). As consistent with an interview I just did with a millennial, we should ensure we are setting “clear and definitive” learning goals, so that learners know what they are expected to achieve (J. Sale, personal communication, July 15th, 2019). Teachers should also maximize learning by placing information into bite-sized pieces rather than overwhelming learner with large bodies of text or lecture material. Our working memory has limited capacity. If information is presented in small, discernible chunks that are conceptually related, students learn more effectively (Miller, 1994). Game developers have this same concept with levels, acknowledgment of achievements, immediate feedback (MacArthur Foundation, 2010; Prensky, 2012).
Also, if we consider that the highest order of learning is creating, organizing, or producing information in new ways, then we should encourage learners to use technology to present what they have learned (Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R., 2001). While many of the assignments in this doctorate program have used traditional methods of teaching, some of the assignments we have done were to create digital content (MacArthur Foundation, 2010; Prensky, 2012). Even better, we have also been encouraged to collaborative in groups to create content using various digital mediums (Prensky, 2012). We might want to reconsider having student write so many essays and stop approaching our teaching practices as digital immigrants.
References
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (Complete ed.). New York: Longman.
Daggett, B. (2015, January). Addressing today’s challenging issues within the context of emerging trends. Session presented at the meeting of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders Winter Conference, Athens, GA. Heitner, D. (2014). The challenges of raising a digital native [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRQdAOrqvGg
Kelly, J. M. (2012). Digital humanities: Past, present, future [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.jasonmkelly.com/2012/08/15/digital-humanities-from-web-1-0-to-3-0/
MacArthur Foundation. (2010). Rethinking learning: The 21st century learner [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0xa98cy-Rw
Miller, G. A. (1994). The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. Psychological Review, 101(2), 343–352. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.2.343 Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom: Hopeful essays for 21st century learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Prensky, M. (2012). From digital natives to digital wisdom: Hopeful essays for 21st century learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816
Dr. Matt Goff: e-Portfolio 
Matt,
Research suggests that institutions of higher education benefit from developing a clear understanding of student practices and preferences regarding mobile devices in order to design and implement specialized support services. Mobile learning often occurs outside the classroom; it is essential that educators ascertain demographics of students and their mobile devices in order to determine to specific usage and accumulate data. Modality of courses influence the use of technology; awareness the practices of mobile learners guide coursework. Although there have been numerous studies regarding student perception, attitude, and motivation, more research is needed in teaching strategies and learning opportunities for mobile learners (Chen & Denoyelles, 2013). What are your thoughts??
Chen, B. & Denoyelles, A. (2013). Exploring students’ mobile learning practices in higher education. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/exploring-students-mobile-learning-practices-higher-education
Dr. G
Reports about mobile learner habits such as accessing content, productivity, download rate, interaction, and usage are published each year and can be broken out by demographics. Maybe this was not the case when Chen and Denoyelles (2013) did their research. We know enough from the last few years’ worth of data to establish trends. I do not believe understanding student practices and preferences is the biggest challenge. It goes without saying more research is needed in just about every aspect of education. I am not convinced that the need for more research is what is keeping us from implementation. Chen and Denoyelles (2013) are correct in speculating that faculty support regarding how mobile technologies can be used for teaching is a problem. The biggest challenges are the barriers to implementing the appropriate teaching strategies themselves.
Matt
Chen, B. & Denoyelles, A. (2013). Exploring students’ mobile learning practices in higher education. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/exploring-students-mobile-learning-practices-higher-education
Good evening Matt,
Great job on your blog post. Also I love your blog page. You have some great insightful information that I want to touch base on. Your post reference small or chunk information delivered to students in order to maximize the learning experience due to our short working memory. A couple of years ago our college campus had an interim academic dean that introduced Marzano’s (2017) book The New Art and Science of Teaching. As a faculty I read the book and worked with the techniques he outlined. One of the techniques is TAPPLE. The acronym represents teach, ask, pause, pick a volunteer, listen, and expand. He also stressed the importance of lecture of new information in a timely manner of 6-10 minutes. After 10 minutes, most people are already tuned out. It is very important to make sure to chunk information so that students can hear, relate, do, and get feedback. I also concur with you about instant feedback. This is so crucial to our students. The digital natives want instant gratification in some form, and feedback in a timely manner is what they need.
Your reference to higher order of learning follows Bloom’s Taxonomy that I work with constantly. I participate in various learning committees at the college and one of the most important aspects of curriculum is referencing Bloom’s Taxonomy. Part of our responsibility is to ensure students are prepared with the necessary tools and resources to maximize the complex level of evaluating, analyzing, and creating (Blooms, n.d.). When we review curriculum and the learning outcomes associated with each course, as a group we try to develop and implement learning outcomes that allow students to reach the creation of a project or activity. Essentially we want our students to achieve self-efficacy. It is important to develop steps in the learning process that leads to the ability of creating mastery.
Reference
Bloom’s Taxonomy. (n.d.). Blooms taxonomy. Retrieved from
cehdclass.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/bloomstax.htm
Marzano, R.J. (2017). The new art and science of teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press