Online communities for language teachers Maria Teresa Ciaffaroni [email_address] Britsh Council, Milan, November 26 - 28, 2007 Learning Technologies: Bridging the Gap between Technology and Pedagogy

Digital natives or digital immigrants?

Definition A digital native is a person who has grown up with digital technology such as computers, the Internet, mobile phones and MP3. A digital immigrant is an individual who grew up without digital technology and adopted it later. A digital native might refer to their new "camera"; a digital immigrant might refer to their new "digital camera". Wikipedia (M Prensky 2001)

Are you native or immigrant? del.icio.us

Natives at home….

…… ..at school

Preferences Learning that is relevant, instantly useful and fun Instant gratification and instant rewards To learn “just-in-time.” To interact/network simultaneously with many others Random access to hyperlinked multimedia information To process pictures, sounds and video before text Parallel processing and multitasking To receive information quickly from multiple multimedia source Digital Native Learners Prefer

Preferences To teach to the curriculum guide and standardized tests Deferred gratification and deferred rewards To teach “just-in-case” (it’s on the exam) Students to work independently rather than network and interact To provide information linearly, logically and sequentially To provide text before pictures, sounds and video Singular processing and single or limited tasking Slow and controlled release of information from limited sources Digital Immigrant Teachers Prefer

Immigrants teaching natives…

Conclusions “ Joining a community such as Becoming a Webhead is a significant advantage and enrichment at the professional and personal levels. It is a pleasant and useful way to learn about and start using different Web-based communication tools, gradually introduce them in your teaching-learning process and, last but not least, meet colleagues from all over the world and thus enhance your professional horizons in unprecedented ways.” D. Gonzales T. Almeida d'Eça