Where's the evidence?
True or False?
1) Young people are not a homogeneous generation of digital children.
2) There is plenty of empirical evidence that there is a generational distinction between digital natives and immigrants.
a) 1 is true; 2 is false
b) 1 is false; 2 is true
c) Both are true
d) Both are false
Answer: a) 1 is true; 2 is false
What are the four communicative themes identified with Web 2.0?
a) Collaboration, inquiry, attribution and purpose
b) Collaboration, understanding, publication and literacy
c) Collaboration, inquiry, publication and literacy
d) Collaboration, conversation, publication and purpose
Answer: c) Collaboration, inquiry, publication and literacy
Prensky wrongly falls back on which neuroscience theory to justify his the ‘digital nativeness’ claims?
a) Theory of Intrinsic Connectivity
b) Theory of Neuroplasticity
c) Theory of Digital Cognition
d) Theory of Fluid Intelligence
Answer: b) Theory of Neuroplasticity
How can we best indicate whether someone is a digital native or not?
a) Only age should be considered
b) A digital native comes from a media-rich household
c) Ability to use the internet and game playing skills are the two indicators
d) Factors such as age, gender, education, experience and breadth of use must be considered
Answer: d) Factors such as age, gender, education, experience and breadth of use must be considered
The adoption of Web 2.o in education has been slow. What are two factors attributed to this?
a) Socio-cultural values and lack of stability of the tool
b) Conservative hesitancy of schools b) and exaggeration of digital fluency among young people
c) Recreational engagement and uncontrollable nature of Web 2.o
d) Inability of teachers to apply and student disengagement brought by Web 2.0
Answer: b) Conservative hesitancy of schools and exaggeration of digital fluency among young people
For Prensky, what is the one defining factor to differentiate digital natives from digital immigrants?
Answer: Age/generation (digital natives were born after around 1980, digital immigrants were born before around 1980)
The evidence of the study suggests that anyone can become a ‘digital native’. How can that happen?
Answer: By acquiring skills and experience with information and communication technologies.
How do uses of Web 2.0 (Inquiry, Collaboration, Publication, Literacy) vary in out-of-school and school contexts? Name at least 2 differences in any use.
Answer:
Out-of-school contexts School Contexts
Inquiry
- Fragmented Assemblies - Integrated Schema
- Narrative Structures - Taxonomic Structures
- Undocumented - Documented and authorised
Collaboration
- Sustained co-ordinations - Goal-defined episodes
- Cumulative Perspective - Negotiated consensus
Publication
- Within personal communities - Institutional community
- Conversational Posts - Project formats
- Culture of camaraderie - Culture of Assessment
Literacy
- Orientation to multi-modality - Consumption emphasis
- Text and oral fluency - Production emphasis
According to Prensky, how are digital natives different from digital immigrants? Name at least 2 differences.
Suggested answers:
Digital Natives:
Born in the digital era (after 1980); Used to receiving info really fast; like to parallel process and multitask; prefer graphics before text; prefer random access; function best when networked; thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards; prefer games to serious work; speak language of computers, video games and the Internet
Digital Immigrant:
Born before the digital era; may learn to use tech, but still located within the past; unable to fully understand the natives; doesn’t go to the Internet first for info; print out rather than use screen; read manuals rather than work things online.
What propels the tendency to consider technology as a solution to problems in education? Is this tendency correct? Why? Why not?
Suggested answers: the concepts of the ‘digital native’ supports a view that technology is a key driver to change education. However, there is no evidence of such concepts, so it is wrong to believe that technology solves our educational problems.
What does the summary of out-of-school versus school uses of Web 2.0 tools serve to? And why is it important to understand more deeply how young people engage with new digital technologies?
Suggested answer: To emphasize the importance of attending to the context of application into which experience with communicative tools and techs is taken. / It is important to help aim and direct the ‘participatory turn’ towards educational practice.
What does Prensky suggest as a powerful teaching method and why?
Answer: He suggests the use of computer games to teach digital natives. Because there is a gap or digital disconnect between students and teachers; digital immigrants are teaching the digital natives. They need to communicate in a way that fits the natives needs but can’t talk the same language.