Running head: CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

Our Brains Extended

Kristen Johnson
Church Teachers College; Mandeville

CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

As a powerful learning tool, technology enhances our capabilities in all domains. Not only
can it help in surprising ways with things we still require from the past, such as test preparation,
but it's also a sine qua non for many new capabilities, such as database usage. In our society
today, technology plays increasing amount of development. According to Prensky, technology
has become foundational to both education and life. Educators should think of technology in the
same way they've long viewed readingas a key to thinking about and knowing about the
world. He included three subjects in his new curriculum that he thinks foster the needs of our
children. These are Effective Action, Effective thing and Effective relationships.
Prensky in this article emphasizes the importance of effective thinking by individuals at a
young stage in life which would be in the simple forms such as basic mathematical as well as on
a logical basis. The use of illustrative texts and thought stimulating activities or games is a prime
example which Prensky highlighted that often contributes towards effective or critical thinking.
Research in brain development makes it clear that the first five years of life are the most
important in terms of making connections for later learning. Therefore, when technology is
introduced at these tender levels, students would then learn from the earliest grades how to
master and manipulate various functions such as; databases, knowledge, sources, and teams in
their thinking processes which would in turn enable greater receptiveness of harder tasks in the
future. Effective thinking is the key to work and economic prosperity in the twenty-first century,
there is a long-term trend away from routine-oriented work, which requires people to do the
same things every day, and toward effective or creative oriented jobs that ask people to engage in
analysis and to make judgments. The effective and creative class includes people whose work it

CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

is to create new forms (for example, writers, engineers, and designers) and people who work in a
wide range of knowledge-intensive industries that ask them to make critical and creative
decisions about specific problems in their fields. Successful universities in the twenty-first
century will be those that educate graduates who contribute to a critical and creative workforce.
Taking Effective Action is the second subject that Prensky highlighted. Taking action
would see individuals applying the views of writer Steven Covey who wrote a book entitled 7
(now eight) habits of highly effective people. In his book he presents a holistic, integrated,
principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating
insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness,
integrity, honesty and human dignityprinciples that give us the security to adapt to change, and
the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates. This subject
speaks about increasingly complex challenges in persistence, entrepreneurship, and project
management and focus on creative ways to break down barriers and get things done. Students
will be taught how to start and manage real life projects which will develop their social skills and
also help them in contributing to the community that they are exposed to. They will be capable to
develop a project and seek financial help to carry out their project which will ensure their growth
in the objectives of Effective Action. Students will then be able to pass on information to the next
generation which will then develop the environment and their social and cognitive skills. The
relevance of this subject in the 21st century shows how with the students being proactive and able
to initiate positive actions and programs they will improve their communities, their country, and
the world.

Critique of Prenskys article title Our brains extended

Effective relationship is stated as the 3rd subject that expounds on how students communicate
and blend with their peer groups, their communities and work groups. This subject focuses on
relationships in both the real and virtual worlds and teaches students to negotiate a modern world
in which both real and virtual are equally important. They will earn how to strengthen their
communication skills face to face and virtually and how to adapt to their environments and solve
and problem with the best solutions. The relevance of this subject in the 21st century plays a vital
part in our environment whereas, how persons get along with each other and the choices we
make.
This new way of teaching can impact traditional pedagogical norms because it may cause less
interaction between the teachers and their students and also it may place a strain on the
relationships between the teacher and their students. The teacher will also have to adjust to the
new way of teaching and educate themselves with technology to be ahead of their students and
no longer teach from a set curriculum but to cater for the student way of thinking and interacting
with their environments. One implication of embracing this new curriculum from the teachers
perspective is that the students will no longer need to think for themselves but rather just to use
technology to find the answers to their questions. This is an implication because students may
not fully develop the concept yet will get the answer correct by just browsing the internet and
doing research.
A policy maker is a person responsible for making policy, especially in government. A policy
is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is
a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. One implication of
instituting this new curriculum from a policy makers perspective maybe that students and
teachers will no longer have a set procedure to follow but will do what the three subjects taught

CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

them which are effective thinking, effective action and effective relationships. This will decrease
the deliberate system the policy maker has created because the teacher will now base his/her
teaching on the three subjects.
Three ways in which the teacher could integrate technology in teaching and learning to aid in
enhancing effective: thinking, action, relationships and accomplishments in Information
technology is by implicating the usage of computer applications in her lessons, assign work to
students to create a website or create a version of a laptop from their understand and place the
students in peers to do a project or carry out a specific task.
The usage of computer applications in the lesson being taught will develop the students
critical thinking skills. For example, a teacher allows the students to use database when doing an
assignment which includes mathematical calculations and written word and teach them the
different formulas they can use when calculating and also adding information to the database for
future use and to also widen their logical skills. This assign could be based upon a school that
requires a database to keep update to date of the different transactions that are made at the school
and the name of each transaction.
When implicating effective action the teacher can tell the students to develop a model of a
laptop and include the different components that are present in the laptop. She could also tell
them to create a website and on the website they can include different sections to allow persons
to sign into the website as well. This will give the students the responsibility to find different
ways to get money to start their project and also develop it in a way which will be of use in their
community and country.

CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

When it comes to developing relationships the teaching can place the students in group and
assign to them different duties to be carried out. The students will then communicate with each
other and come to a solution based on their inputs and decisions in the group. The teacher could
assign to them the duty to create a podcast and power point of the topic Input devices. In the
podcast they will tell the meaning of the word input devices and list the devices considered as an
input device and also create a power point presentation of the information. This will develop
their social skills virtually and in the real world.
With technology rapidly developing and children as young as 1 year old being expose to at
least one form of technology shows the importance it plays in our life. With this new curriculum
it shows how technology can be implicated in many different ways to enhance technology and
also help in the development of our children. The traditional method of teaching and for students
to complete tests at the end will not show the capacity of intelligence each students carry but
with the new curriculum it explores and gives he student a chance to show their capabilities.

CRITIQUE OF PRENSKYS ARTICLE TITLED OUR BRAINS EXTENDED"

References
Ellsworth, J.B. (1998). Technology across the curriculum: The teacher as change agent. Canadian
Journal of Educational Communication, 27 (1), 31-44.
Siegler, R.S. (1998). Children's thinking (3rd ed.). Upper Saddler River, NJ.: Prentice Hall.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Habits-Highly-Effective-People/dp/1455892823