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Ah, technology. Can't live with it, can't live without it. I would consider myself to be a digital immigrant teetering on the verge of digital ALIEN. As Prensky says in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: "Today's older folk were "socialized" differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language." (Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5).) Sure, I grew up with the original nintendo and a commodore 64 computer with a floppy disk drive. But I also grew up reading and playing outside far more often than I was glued to a television or computer screen. The majority of the computer and video games I played were educational (Reader Rabbit, Number Munchers, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing) and a great deal of the television I watched was at least remotely educational (Sesame Street) I was never playing fast moving, mind altering video games. After I reached a certain age (maybe 13 or so) I stopped playing video and computer games all together and only read books and played outside (I did watch television.) I got a cellphone at the end of high school but was not allowed to 'text.' One thing I am a strong believer in is that the reason I am such a fast typer is because of instant messaging on the computer.
I mostly base my spot on the technology-savvy scale by comparing myself to my brother, who is four years younger than me. My brother had many video game systems and played complicated computer games. He had a cellphone at a much younger age as well. He never enjoyed reading, and would spend the majority of his time playing video games with his friends. In one of Prensky's articles he says: "They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all other toys and tools of the digital age." (Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5).) Compared to me, my brother is definitely a digital native.
The majority of my technology experience in college was focused on complicated laboratory equipment. I learned things like NANO drop technology and cell counters, but during this time was also when SMART boards were being invented and I had not yet seen one. Through all of high school and college students and teachers were still using overhead projectors and power point presentations. When I entered teaching as a substitute I also used overhead projectors and wrote on clear film with overhead markers. It was not until my first day of graduate school that I saw a SMART board for the first time and I still have not used it.
I think that technology has improved learning through the use of the internet. Being a science teacher, one of the handiest things we have is being able to jump on the internet and immediately pull up a picture or a diagram or a video of something we are trying to explain. Whereas before, teachers would have to request VHS tapes, we now can search for almost any video we want and have it instantly. This is a huge resource. There is a lot of other amazing technology available for teaching science, but realistically, schools will not be able to purchase the majority of it. I do not think much needs to change from what is being used in the classrooms now in order to have valuable learning experiences. I think that Prensky is overreacting when he says: "school often feels pretty much as if we've brought in a population of heavily accented, unintelligible foreigners to lecture them. They often can't understand what the Immigrants are saying. What does "dial" a number mean, anyway?" (Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5).) I think that students frequently feel their teachers are old, lame geezers who couldn't possibly understand what they are going through, but I do not believe that students learning is being severely hindered by having to look at a powerpoint presentation rather than learning via intergalactic video game.
These articles did not change my mind on the use of technology because technology is already going to play a part in our classroom. There is going to be a compromise among the generations. I am not going to go home and spend my free time playing Grand Theft Auto in order to better relate to my students just like I know that they are not going to go out and buy a bunch of punk rock vinyls in order to better understand me. I will learn how to use SMART boards and classroom related technology if it will improve my teaching style, otherwise I think that my enthusiasm, experiments, and some good old fashioned powerpoints will convey my lessons just as well. We also have to think realistically about what our school will actually be able to afford to have in it.