Are We As Educators Prepared to Embrace New Literacies Fostered by "Digital Natives?"

My belief, after reading the articles and thinking about my own experiences teaching and using technology, is that I do think we educators are prepared to embrace new literacies fostered by "digital natives." The Prensky article did an adequate job with defining what a "digital native" is, which is a person who has grown up with using technology. Opposite this is the "digital immigrant" who is a person who did not grow up using technology because it wasn't around at the time, but who may have learned to use it as it developed. I think that the notion of the "digital immigrants" not being able to understand the ways of the "digital natives" does make a lot of sense. I know my students are always in a rush to get things done, and their often times difficult to read homework, is quite telling of this. Now I have a better understanding as to why this is -- because their brain patterns and the way they go about doing and completing their work is different from students of the past, let's say, the students who grew up in the 1920's and 30's. With this being said, I do think that teachers and school administrators need to alter some aspects of the school curriculum in order to accommodate the needs of our "digital natives," or in other words, our students. We make accommodations for students with special needs, whether the students have a learning disability or are of very high intelligence, so why not accommodate every student if we know now a good reason as to why our students so often get bored at school?

I know my school district promotes and supports the use of technology. We don't have all the resources in the world, but we do have a small supply, and I do mean small -- a set of 8-- portable laptops for student use in the classroom. We have a number of digital cameras and digital video cameras that can be checked out by teachers for use in the classroom. We have 4 LCD projectors with laptops, and we have an ELMO. With our limited supply, not everything we do can be done using technology, but of course, some activities can. What really bugs me is the fact that we cannot use blogs or do any online learning projects or online collaboration activities with an outside school. The administration claims there are too many risks yet to be ironed out. I really feel these are what our students need though. They need to have these experiences since they are so immersed in technology in their personal lives and technology is a tool that they probably use most often throughout their day. I think that the administration needs to understand this, but most likely doesn't because school administrators may very well be "digital immigrants." Prensky's article clearly stated that the "digital immigrants" do not understand the "digital natives." However, it's probable that many teachers of today do fall into the "digital native" category and could advocate for more technology to be used.

As for new literacies, namely, "visual literacy" which can be defined as students having the ability to look at and use visual images in a critical, responsible way, is important. Roblyer and Bennett's article pointed out the fact that students use technology so often, and since they are expected to use it at school, there should be some guidelines put into effect and they should have a solid understanding of how to produce visual, technology-based works. Even when students are exposed to any visual image, let's say, a picture depicting children in a Nazi concentration camp, they should have the knowledge to view the image in a critical way and be able to understand the emotions and situations the image is portraying.

Overall, I think that as long as educators realize the impact that technology has on our student's live, and as long as the administration gives us educators the tools, knowledge, and support necessary to carry-out different technology-based activities, such as videoconferencing, blogs, and online learning projects, the students will have a more positive outlook while at school. Students will be more engaged and more motivated to come to school and do the work. Teaching students about visual literacy will help students become more proficient at using technology, and it will give them an opportunity to use images, whether they are analyzing them for a class activity or analyzing them to put in a project, and to create a visual presentation that is of a higher caliber. All in all, it would help our students become more productive students and in turn, more productive and capable citizens of our society. Plus, enabling these new technologies and the literacies that come along with them, would give our students the tools they need to be prepared for their future.