What the future hold....

As a future teacher, I wonder if I would ever keep up to date with the technology fast enough to suit the needs of my students. I fear I day my students will find my teaching irrelevant and that I am an old-fashioned teacher. Nevertheless, this is an eye-opening experience, many possibilities lies ahead for me like willingness to convince myself to stay updated and relevant by taking up more IT courses, getting myself gadgets like Wii and PlayStation and playing them of course.
What might living, learning and working be like in the future? The future holds many possibilities which I am not sure what it will but I am sure of one thing... I am sure it will evolve around Information and Communication Technology or whatever it will be called then... Parents, teachers and the society have to constantly be updated of these technologies as they will be changing along with it, willingly or not. So, I feel that to continue living, learning is the key to staying relevant in the working world otherwise someone with more knowledge will replace you.
Life long learning is the way to it all... This is what NIE is preparing its teachers unconsciously. Teachers have to go through modules like this to stay intouch and be aware of what the future hold for us. Many courses on IT skills where conducted every semester for both Student -teachers and Trainers alike in addition to the IT resources they provide and suggest. Platforms are laid for teachers to share their skills with the fellow friends. All these for the cause of keeping us, teachers, relevant and to ease this transition into the DIGITAL FUTURE.
To stay on track, I must not be afraid to learn new skills...To be a character developer, I must first develop my character... I must develop the love for learning...

Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants

Digital Natives are children of today whom their teachers (known as the digital immigrants) characterise as having short attention span, problems with reading and thinking, and do not like doing practices. But research has found the meaningful explanations for these:
They have short attention span only “for old ways of learning” because they choose to pay attention to things that they feel is important can help achieve success in their areas of interest like gaming on which they can spent hours on.
They learn better through digital game-based learning but many educators are not ready or savvy enough for that.
As mentioned by Marc Prensky (2001) in his article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II:Do They Really Think Differently?
Digital Natives are accustomed to the twitch-speed, multitasking, random-access, graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff world of their video games, MTV, and Internet are bored by most of today’s education. The cognitive differences of the Digital Natives cry out for new approaches to education with a better ―fit. And, interestingly enough, it turns out that one of the few structures capable of meeting the Digital Natives’ changing learning needs and requirements is the very video and computer games they so enjoy. This is why ―Digital Game-Based Learning is beginning to emerge and thrive (p.5).
A good example of a Digital Native is Cameron, an 11 year old boy from Indiana,an avid gamer and talented young digital video producer. He has successfully created his very own ‘green screen’ so that he can use the chroma key technique in his digital videos.
According to Wikipedia...
Chroma key is a technique for mixing two images or frames together, in which a color (or a small color range) from one image is removed (or made transparent), revealing another image behind it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroma_key).

Cameron’s digital background is no different from his Singaporean counterpart. Cameron was introduced to computer games at a young age, owns quite a number of digital gadget; hp, laptop and iPod, spends hours on the computer and is quite verse in a number of software application.
So teachers must be prepared...
According to Marc Prensky (2001), “One of the most interesting challenges and opportunities in teaching Digital Natives is to figure out and invent ways to include reflection and critical thinking in the learning (either built into the instruction or through a process of instructor-led debriefing) but still do it in the Digital Native language (p.5).”
Teachers may allow students to explore with online materials example suggested websites and online games, to introduce a lesson, allow the use of mind mapping tool, wikis, blogs and other tools to collate information and present materials using online or computer applications. Game-based learning is the right way but “they must be real games, not just drill with eye-candy, combined creatively with real content” (Prensky, 2001). Games consols like PlayStation, Wii and Xbox, when used the right way can make learning incidental yet significant.

E-Le@rning II

Part A
What are some characteristics of digital natives?

POOR
- They have a short attention span…. when taught in a traditional manner.

- They are poor at reflecting and critical thinking.

GOOD
- They have Enhanced thinking skills by repeated exposure to computer games and other digital media.

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 have selected Dana. In terms of her digital background, I believe that students in Singapore are also exposed to most of the gadgets that Dana are exposed to in the States. The only difference would be that Dana is lucky to have parent's that endorses and encourages the use of IT. Students in Singapore generally do not receive positive support from parents with regards to the use of IT.

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

Teachers should encourage students to make use of the vast information available online. Encouragement alone is not enough. After acquiring whatever knowledge that the students might be looking for, they must know that the information needs corroboration.



Part B

As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?
My impression is that teachers would have more time dealing with the more important aspect of education which is not to teach Math or Science or History but to teach a child. What I mean is in Singapore a lot more focus is currently put into character development of children and citizenship or national education. I guess the government is now more aware that the younger generation of Singaporeans are lacking in character due to the over-emphasis on academics excellence alone. My fear would be that the future Singapore would be very impersonal due to increasing usage of ICT.

What might living, learning and working be like in the future?
The playing ground would get much more even. Individuals who are not tech-savvy would lag behind their peers.

How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future?
I think it is impossible for NIE to prepare us with the hardware as technology changes very so often that whatever is taught today might be obsolete when we start teaching. However what is taught here that could prepare us for this possibility is the awareness that is being instilled. I find this experience meaningful as it makes me face these tough questions and challenges. This will definitely help me prepare my mind for the possibility of me constantly having to change as technology progresses. I feel that this readiness and willingness and preparedness to constantly upgrade our teaching strategies is the first step in welcoming the challenges of the future.

E-Learning II

Part A: Digital Natives

What are some characteristics of digital natives?
- Always online be it on Facebook, Messenger or even Youtube.
- Always creating new content to share with others
- Always sharing new information through blogs, tweets and Youtube
- Multitasking most of the time

What are digital natives good at?
- Good processing habits
- Not just passive users; they want to create better technology and overcome barriers
- They have good collaborative learning style
- Interact vastly with different people even overcoming language and physical barriers
- A community of sharing; they like to share information

What are digital natives poor at?
- They disclose too much about their personal data
- They have very bad attention span for any traditional modes of teaching; “Every time I go to school I have to power down,” complains a digital native student.

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've picked Jalen. Jalen is an artist, animator, and digital-media creator. He has been dabbling in amination for about 2 years and he attends classes on how to produce his own movies and comic characters on his laptop. This is very similar to his Singaporean counterpart where the children here are exposed to various courses on animation in schools and the government is encouraging students to get involved in competitions like NEMATION.

How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?
As new platforms and devices emerge, how we as teachers use the different modes of ICT tools must undergo a process of evolution. After all, the students live in a new digital age, like keeping in touch via Facebook and updating themselves in blogs. We have a task to equip students with the critical skills to engage in the emergent digital media landscape and understand what it means to be literate in an interconnected planet thus the traditional way of teaching is not always the right way to teach.

Part B: The Digital Native's Future

As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?
I expect that the students of the future would have a better understanding of their academics and find that all the answers they need would be at their fingertips and they understand that there is always a resource out there that they can use. My only fear is that teachers would not be fully equipped to guide these students and they may lose interest in schools.

What might living, learning and working be like in the future?
Things would be so much easier. We would be able to obtain information faster and there would be a whole new level of expectations that we would be living in.

How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future? How might you prepare yourself?
I have been exposed to different ICT tools to scaffold my understanding of what is expected of me as a teacher to guide my students along to this future. And I have always been told that there is always help for me in case I encounter any problems. Instead of just teaching these tools I could always keep learning how the tools can help me and my students.

E Learning 2

Part A

• What are some characteristics of digital natives?
  What are they good at?

Playing video games, using handphones to sms, talking pictures with all sorts of digital cameras and finally, sending emails are some technological marvels these digital natives are good at. All these can be done by their fantastic multi tasking skills too.

• What are they poor at?)

I think some of them get easily distracted and they need someone to guide them back on track. There is also a need for more flexibility in thinking.

• 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?

The chosen topic will be - Dana, who is 9 years old.

She is exposed to the digital age fairly young in life and comparing her to tech savvy 9 year old children in Singapore, we can see that Dana is not very far behind.

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

Teachers will have to walk the walk if they talk the talk. Traditional textbook teaching methods do not engage students now. Building good rapport by seeing the world through students’ eyes, and using mediums familiar to them like computers, we teachers will be able to teach better and students will learn better. Then, letting students create something with what was taught to them will strengthen their understanding of the subject.

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Part B

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

It seems far fetched. Like how everyone was going about all excited when petrol-hybrid cars were first announced. That was a way into the future for the automotive industry, but look at the roads now, do we see many petrol- hybrid cars? Nope. All I am saying is, whatever is in conceptualized form sounds great. Actually getting it into usage is another thing.

With that thought, I do not know if we digital and non digital natives be ready for it. There are some people who fall behind in terms of tech savvy-ness. My father does not even know how to use his Nokia N95 smartphone to take down notes. He still relies on the trusted pen and paper….. there will be a gap between users of technology and non users.

On the bright side, children now seem at ease with technology. They have handphones while in primary school, some are even using touch screen ones. At home, they have e learning assignments given by their schools and the media is influencing them a lot with its constant broadcasts of advertisements featuring the latest tech gadgets.

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

Technology will be all around us in the future.

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

Dr Tan and the friendly tutors at NIE have been hard at work designing the courses for us. The ICT lessons designed by them so far are a good way of learning and having fun at the same time. We understand better when there is no stress placed on us. Children will too. Traditional methods of memorizing and pouring out whatever learnt for the exams is long gone. With the changing of times, teachers will be better equipped with the knowledge of ICT to make lessons beneficial for both parties.

How might you prepare yourself?

I will apply what Dr Tan has taught me and use it in my lessons when I am posted to a school. Of course, I cannot rely on this method alone. Doing some SDL on my own and collaborating with my peers to gain even more knowledge in this field will go a long way in making me prepare for my lessons better. Technology moves forwards very fast, and we have to adapt to it if we are going to become a more tech savvy nation.

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.

E-Learning 2

3. Answer these questions in your blog

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

Characteristic

- hypertext mind
- multidimensional visual-spatial skills
- attentional deployment
- responding faster to expected and unexpected stimuli
- mental maps
- representational competence
- inductive discovery

Strength

- able to use the knowledge they get from playing games in their daily life; learn from experience.
- are able to multitask

Weakness

- short attention spans for the old ways of learning

•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 selected the potrait of Virginia. I believed that at the age of 14 years old, the students of Singapore are more exposed to the digital technology. This is because, I suppose that there are students younger than the age of 12 years old that are blogging.

Viginia and Singapore students are familiar due to the fact that they are more engage when dealing with digital media. They are also being introduced to these digital media at a young age since their parents or those who are older than them are using it. Kids at these age will get curious and would want to explore the technology on their own. Hence, the similar background.

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

The need to use more of digital teachnology in their teaching to engage the students. This includes digital games that will attract the attention of the digital natives. These digital games must be of the correct design so that kids are learning the correct things.


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?

I was truly awed by the Singapore's iN2015 vision video. The wonder of technology. Yes, of course there are some fears that I have in mind. Am I able to catch up with the technology in years to come? Will I be one of the outdated Singaporean who refused to accept the new technology?

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

I think that technology plays a huge part in the future. Who knows that paper might not even exist in the future... ;)

Anyway, I forsee that working in the future would be less taxing as I believe that information regarding work will be stored digitally and retrieving the information wouldn't be much of a problem.

Learning will be a fun for the students as there will definitely be less of classroom teaching and more of independent learning using technology.

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

So far, we are encourage to use different media tools for our presentation. This will prompt us to get our creative mind to use. By getting us exposed to the media technology that the students are using or going to be using, it will get us prepared for the future.

On our part, we have to constantly keep updated with the latest technology that the students might get interested with. We must not be narrow-minded and think that only the traditional way of teaching works. Also, I believe in having to experience the technology itself for us to know how it work. Hence, we must also be curious in trying new media technology, just like how the students will get curious with it.