What do you make of the positions of Prensky and Spiegel?
If the rising generation is made up of "digital native" technocrats, proficient masters of anything any screen running on a circuit board, why do they sometimes struggle to troubleshoot a frozen screen? Or ask to receive typing instruction?
I respect Spiegel for publishing work that got so many people talking and thinking critically about the young generation. This is not a new phenomenon.
Tension and fear over the education of the young has been in literature since at least the time of Plato. It is an ancient topic to muse over. Although I have not read the source material, from what I gather from Spiegel's critique, Prensky frames generational tension, not as an old topic, but as a manifestation of modern technology.
I get the same impression reading the article about Prensky that I got while reading Don Campbell's The Mozart Effect that claimed listening to classical music, particularly Mozart, made children smarter. His premise was based on one study that showed a link between short term spatial processing in young kids after listening to music. Most of Campbell's conclusions were based on uncorroborated assumptions. Fortunately, after reading Campbell, I read Einstein Never Used Flashcards, which directly refuted Campbell in a well substantiated and scientific way. This work advocated for more student centered approach to learning, one grounded in the notion that children are natural learners. Much like the Ted Talk by Robinson.
Technology is a part of life, not the entirety.
The Myth of Digital Nativism
Generally, I agree with Spiegel's critiques of Prensky's writings and the terms used in them. He does a good job of applying logical arguments to interrogate Prensky's terms.
Particularly meaningful for me was how Spiegel points out the assumption Prensky makes about young people, that because they are "digital natives" they have an intuitive and vast knowledge of the inner workings of technology. In fact, Spiegel points out, young folks need explicit instruction to use technology, just like any skill they are ascending into.
In my own context, students ask me, as an ELA teacher, to include lessons on typing, a skill they have identified as useful and necessary.
My feelings overall are that these terms are generated and perpetuated by assumptions about people. They may have a place to start conversations about generational tension, but they are false in accuracy and can lead to harm if unexamined.
AI Disclosure
I used Google Gemini to generate the image. I entered the prompt: "generate a simple, whimsical line drawing to go with this blog post. Symbolic not literal." This was followed by cut and pasting the post as a whole text.
Student's asking for help with simple troubleshooting issues is something that also came to my mind when thinking of the term "digital natives". Certain issues or devices are also new to our students. It is so important that they are explicitly taught to use technology like other things that are taught in school.
ReplyDeleteHi Dana! I really enjoyed reading your perspective on the reading and the discussion of technology. I appreciate how you drew upon your prior knowledge/history of understanding the student vs (philosopher) teacher "oh no we are changing and what are we going to do?" stance. I hadn't thought about this until reading your blog. It is nice to hear students are inquiring about traditional tech skills, such as typing! I wonder what the next shift will be in the next 10-15 years in accordance with the ideas you bring up about the constant cycle of "tension and fear", as you named it.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you talked about the ancient art of complaining about the youth and their new ways. You really illustrated it well both here in your blog and in class this morning. I completely agree that our society is constantly innovating and that what our parents and grandparents knew is not unimportant knowledge, just that it is not the most recent.
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