According to research, today's students have grown up in a world saturated by technology and digital media. They process information differently than previous generations and have spent far more time engaged with digital media than reading books. This has created a "digital disconnect" between students who are used to learning informally online and in social settings, and the formal educational system. Researchers argue that teachers must adapt their teaching methods to better align with students' natural preferences for graphics, social learning, and multitasking if they want to effectively engage digital natives in the classroom.

1. And how it affects their learning.
November, 2010By Mamoona Brace 1

2.  According to Prensky (2005):
 5-10,000 hours of video games
 250, 000 emails and instant messagings (IMs)
 Read books for less than 5000 hours
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3.  Students move at “Twitch” speed
 Those, who grew up without the access to
Internet all of the time: They go at
conventional speed (Prensky, 2005)
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4.  Kids love to be social.
 They will connect with others through
Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other social
networking sites multiple times throughout
the day (Lenhart, Madden, MacGill, & Smith,
2007)
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5.  The 20th
century pedagogy was based on the
fact that teachers, knowledge, and materials
were hard to access.
 This meant that the TEACHER was seen as
the authority whereas the student was
simply taught how to transmit the knowledge
back to the teacher.
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6.  Students are communicating, socializing, and
learning in a variety of settings.
 Clark, Logan, Luckin, Mee, & Oliver (2009):
There is a digital dissonance – it is the
conflict between the student desire to use
their technologies (mobile phones, social
networking sites) and the educational
institutions which ban them.
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7.  Prensky (2001) :
 Those who have grown up without the
Internet and web 2.0 technologies being an
integral part of their everyday lives.
 Many teachers are digital immigrants and
therefore teach with an “accent”. This
means that the way they are teaching is not
adapted to suit the needs of the students.
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8.  Prensky (2001):
 Those who have grown up with the Internet
and web 2.0 tools as part of their daily lives.
 They want to create, share, and collaborate.
 Input from others is key to their success.
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9. Prensky (2001) Prensky (2001)
 Digital immigrants
 Will access the
Internet as a
secondary source
 Choose text over
graphics
 Step-by-step
 Digital Natives
 Will access the
Internet as a primary
source
 Choose graphics over
text
 Instant gratification
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10. 10

11.  Students come from a multi-dimensional
world where collaboration is key (Prensky,
2001)
 Teachers come from a linear world where
collaboration, although important, is thought
to come AFTER individual thought.
 In order to engage the student, teachers
must use technology in ways that promote
higher level thinking.
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12.  Blogging –
 Teachers can ask students to post papers so
that peers can give constructive feedback
before the final deadline (Lenhart, Madden,
Macgill, & Smith, 2007)
 Murphy and Lebans (2008): ESL students were
more careful about posts on blogs and
learned more about the nuances – real life
application.
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13.  Lamb (2004): Wikis created a sense of
ownership. Students were careful with the
edits and contributed more.
 Collaboration and sharing of ideas is
encouraged through group edits.
 Gaming – since students spend so much time
gaming, why not incorporate it into the
curriculum. It allows students to experience
different scenarios in a real-life way
(Foreman, 2004)
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14.  Students are not going back to the “old
ways”.
 Collaboration and socialization are part of
the student’s outside life and therefore need
to become part of their school life.
 Knowledge creation allows for individual and
collaborative thought. Even when a
disagreement arises, it can be discussed
using multiple points of view.
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15.  Web 2.0 tools by their nature promote
collaboration and socialization.
 They can create authentic experiences and
teach students strategies .
 They are an opportunity for teachers to show
students how to use these tools in a deeper
way.
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16.  Clark, W., Logan, K., Luckin, R., Mee, A. and Oliver, M. (2009), Beyond Web 2.0: Mapping
thetechnology landscapes of young learners. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25, 56–69.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2008.00305.x
 Lamb, B. (2004). Wide open spaces: Wikis, ready or not. Educause Review, 39(5), 36–48. Retrieved
from http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp
 Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Macgill, A. R., & Smith, A. (2007). Teens and social media. Washington,
DC: Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved October 21, 2010 from
http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2007/PIP_Teens_Social_Media_Final.pdf.p
df
 Murphy, J., & Lebans, R. (2008). Unexpected outcomes: Web 2.0 in the secondary school
classroom. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 4(2), 134-147.Retrieved
from http://ijttl.sicet.org/issue0802/4_2_5_Murphy_Lebans.pdf
 Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants [Electronic Version]. On Horizon.Retrieved
from
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
 Prensky, M. (2005a). Engage me or enrage me [Electronic Version]. Retrieved from
http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=ELI0606
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