E Learning 2

Part A: Digital Natives

3. Answer these questions in your blog

What are some characteristics of digital natives? (What are they good at? What are they poor at?)

Digital natives(+):

• Develop hypertext minds
• Have parallel cognitive structures rather than sequential ones
• Have a combination and intensified different cognitive skills such as multidimensional visual spatial skills
• Prefer interactivity
• Accustomed to twitch speed multi-tasking , random access (of video games)
• Raised in a technological environment

(-)

• Short attention span

Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

I chose Dana. Dana is a nine year old child being adopted by American parents. She was from Kazakhstan. She is a young gamer and helped to build a new website for needy Haitians. Similar to nine year old Singaporeans, she is being surrounded by common technological devices such as MP3s, computers, PSPs and mobile phones. Like Dana, they are more digitally native at home than school. At home, they spend a lot of their time playing computer games, texting messages and surfing the internet. Also like any other children, she has a 'non-tech' hobby, that is singing. In addition, she has her own ambition. She wants to be a veterinian.

How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

First of all, teachers can use the many devices that are already being used by our digital natives. This will make learning fun, interactive and authentic for them. To engage and teach digital natives, we have to consider several characteristics of digital natives. For them, learning hardly takes place if teachers use the old school (reading and memorising) way of teaching. Since they prefer interactivity, conducting games-based learning sessions is a good way get them involved and learn actively.

Part B: The Digital Native's Future

5. Answer these questions in your blog

As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?

Questions that came across my mind after watching the videos include 'Are teachers still relevant in the future?'/'How does one define smart/intelligent in the year 2015?/'Do examanations (paper and pen kind) still apply?'

What might living, learning and working be like in the future?

• Living in the future is going to be very convenient as dependence on technology is much higher. Hopefully our quality of living improves. Presently, the standard of living in Singapore is rather high but the quality of living is still questionable.
• Learning and working should be more dynamic than ever. Students have to keep learning new things and absorb so much of information. (What they have learnt yesterday can be outdated the next day). Through new tech devices the students learn more actively. Teachers teach less. / Workers have to constantly upgrade themselves if they want to remain in the workforce. They are required to upgrade much more frequently. There is going to be so much competition. The challenges faced by future learners and workers is going to be more complex and definitely different from ours.

How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future? How might you prepare yourself?

One of the ways in preparing is through ICT. Some of the sessions in ICT explore into the many possibilities of how lessons can be conducted in the future using high tech devices. Some of the ideas are really new to me. Hence in order to prepare myself, I have to familiarise myself with the possibilities and embrace them.