Week 5 Reading Reflection

The more I read these articles on technology in the classroom, the more I am enlightened on the serious gap between the teachers and the students in the classroom as a result of technology. The students are not grasping the material being presented to them because it is not being done the right way. We as teachers, need to find the most appropriate route to present our lessons in a way that the students are interested and motivated to continue to learn more about the topic. The traditional way of teaching in which the teacher lectures the entire class is not productive. The students need to continue to be interactive with the lesson.

Marc Prensky does a second article as a follow up to his first article concerning the "Digital Natives" that I found interesting. The students are growing up surrounded by technology, and there is nothing the teachers can do to stop their infatuation with it. The students of today have found something that they really enjoy because of the changing society, and they seem to be pretty stuck on it. The teachers can try to ignore this fact and continue with their usual techniques in the classroom, but it will probably not be the most productive choice.

Prensky brings up the topic of video games and the children's obsession with them. Students will become interested with an attractive learning environment, so why not make the classroom more attractive to them by implementing digital games in the classroom? Students that are raised around technology have a different cognitive process based off of their experiences with technology. The teacher should accommodate this different way of thinking by introducing digital learning games to the lessons. The article discusses that the short attentions spans that children have would not be a problem if lessons incorporated technology because the students would be exposed to something new and interesting that they are not used to. The students will have the chance to have an interactive activity in which they can focus their attention on. The Digital Natives that the students are named, are choosing to not put attention in the classroom because it is not interesting. The students are bored with the traditional tool and need something new to spark their enthusiasm with learning in the classroom again.

Some teachers are scared that introducing digital learning games in the classroom will not be as beneficial as they seem, but they are quite mistaken. Some learning games do have bad reputations, but that is at fault of the game itself, not the learning benefits. Digital games are engaging and get the students yearning to learn. The techniques that the teachers are using now are not too helpful for the students, so it would not hurt to try something new. The students are excited to incorporate this type of learning tool because it is something they are very familiar with, which makes them more comfortable. Digital learning games can bring improvements in math, vocabulary, and ELA skills. Teachers need to be more open with incorporating technology tools like digital learning games in the classroom because the students are in need for something new and interactive to make them more interested in learning.