e learning week assignment

Digital Natives

Part 1

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

They think differently from Digital Immigrants. They are able to get use to a certain technology fast. They can easily adjust their brains to the speed, interactivity, and other factors in a game. They have short attention spans for the old ways of learning. However, their attention spans are not short for games, or anything else that interest them. If the particular subject does not interest them at all, they may choose not to learn. They crave interactivity and they need comment and responses from their action and achievements. They are also usually multi-tasker and but may have problem with reading.

Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.)

I selected Virginia. http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-virginia-video

In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

Although in Camilla, a small town in Georgia, they don’t always get the newest technology like in Singapore, she is pretty much the same as to the typical Singapore student her age.

She blog, love taking pictures, play video games, text messaging, have a facebook account which she spend long hours in to load pictures she took and reply to comments her friends’ had made on her profile.

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

By being more in tune to their needs, their learning language and the way they can effectively learn. What I saw in the video that had impressed me was that she also teaches elementary kids on basic cyber wellness which I think is good way for her(and other students as well) to built confidence and share experience as well.

Part 2

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

The pace of education has in store for educators and students are fast and are ever changing. We have to keep upgrading, be more pro active in the technology updates to be used so that it may prepare students for efficiency in the technology when they start getting into working environment. There is a sense of urgency to keep up with the constant upgrading and the educators have some trouble keeping up in the fast changing landscape of technology in hand with education.

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

The pace of life will be so much faster than it is now by so many times and keeping up with knowledge and maintaining a job will be difficult as new skills and knowledge is being transmitted every day. To cope with the hectic fast growing technology, people will depend heavily on Internet for anything and for everything. From sending and receiving email over the internet to getting married online. I think the possibility of the future in regards to technology is endless.

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

NIE prepare us and constantly reminding us that we will have to cater to many future generations and that syllabuses change and become more advance. Hence, we will have to be constantly equip ourselves with new knowledge and upgrade