Students today live in a digital world and have different skills and learning preferences than previous generations. They are visual learners who prefer images, video and sound over text. They like interactive, random learning and collaborating with peers. To prepare these students for the future, teachers need to focus on 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and technology literacy. Teachers must adapt their instructional methods to engage these digital native students through visual activities, peer learning, exploration and team projects.
Students today live in a digital world and have different skills and learning preferences than previous generations. They are visual learners who prefer images, video and sound over text. They like interactive, random learning and collaborating with peers. To prepare these students for the future, teachers need to focus on 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and technology literacy. Teachers must adapt their instructional methods to engage these digital native students through visual activities, peer learning, exploration and team projects.
Students today live in a digital world and have different skills and learning preferences than previous generations. They are visual learners who prefer images, video and sound over text. They like interactive, random learning and collaborating with peers. To prepare these students for the future, teachers need to focus on 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and technology literacy. Teachers must adapt their instructional methods to engage these digital native students through visual activities, peer learning, exploration and team projects.
need How can we reach these students and prepare them for the world? Have you ever said… “Our students don’t value education.” “They just aren’t ready when they come to my class.” “I am tired of dumbing down my content.”
While these statements may be true at times, we
must also look at ourselves and at our instructional design to help us provide our students with the meaningful learning we know they need. The differences Students Teachers Prefer pictures, Prefer text sound, video Learning is linear, Random learning logical, and Interactive sequential Collaborators Independent and individual in their work Learning Skills Creativity Critical thinking Collaboration Communication Literacy Skills Information literacy Media Literacy Technology literacy Life Skills Flexibility Leadership Initiative Productivity Social skills Who are these digital natives & what do they need? Multi-taskers Like sound and images to convey content See the Internet as the first source for information http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/ skillsbrochure.pdf What do these changes mean for education? Learning is a life-long process where adapting to change is crucial. Learning how to learn is essential to success. Our strengths as digital immigrants
As digital immigrants, we possess
effective skills when it comes to adapting to new ways of operating. As their teachers, we are wonderful models for lifelong learning. What are the educational traits of our natives? Gravitate toward group activities A return to thinking it’s cool to be smart Identify more with parental values Fascination with new technologies Comfortable with diversity Crave interactivity Strong visual-spatial skills Prefer learning through discovery What are the learning preferences of these natives? Work in teams Peer-to-peer learning Visual and kinesthetic activities Learning through exploration We know that we are here to educate our students, not “make them happy”, but student engagement is important to the process. What do they need from teachers? Be a participant in the learning process. Teach quickly and allow for several pathways to the end result Use technology to extend the time and meet individual needs Collaborative opportunities for group/team projects How am I supposed to do this? My answer to you is… a little at a time. Add new tools to your skill set, and work them in as you feel comfortable. Ask me for help-I would love to work with you. Thoughts to ponder!
“Education is the most
powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.” ~ Nelson Mandela, former President South Africa 21st Century skills