Teaching Digital Kids: Key Note speaker Thursday ECCO 2009
Understanding the digital generation : attrubutes of the digital learners
Ian Jutes presentation at ECOO
As parents.... as educators.... and citizens we see our students and children as we saw oursleves when we were younger
On the outside - they look the same as other students from different times
On the inside their brains are very different- not just how they talk, act, think and reason and their maturity level,
They have grown up with "Digital Bombardment" in the world outside of school and the classroom
Our student's brains are quickly adapting and learning to re-wire themselves
They have developed a digtal brain with "Brain RAM" for multi- tasking and functioning
- their brains wiring is changing
- what you do in life changes your wiring
Their brains process information differently becasue of the "Digital Bombardment" and the constant flow of information has caused them to think and deawith information differently.
The different pocessing of multimple simulus causes them to think differently and process/ think and process info differently
- processing of information is parallel
Becasue they have been exposed to "digital bombardment" from early ages or birth - their brain is mauable - neuroplastic - changes how they think and see
The eye processes colour images 6,000 times faster than text, black and white imgaes 3,000 times faster than text, graphis- clip art 2,000 times faster than text
Older eyes use golden mean ( the rule of thirds to process info. The eye reades in a Z direction going down and across the page
A study at Kent State university has found that students don't read the page the same way we do (Digital imigrants)
Digital citzens scan bottom, side of page then top - study in F pattern
The study scanned the brain
Students ignore right side and bottom of page
The new readers will ignore space unless they are enticed or have a need or interest to do so
Different colours and text attract or repell info
Older generation like black on white pages
Digital learners like blood red or pink on black or blue background
- text that is black on white is ignored
The most effective way of learning is not homework
-schools designed in a way to make students learn at home - doing homwork to expand on what they learned in the classroom
- studies show that learning must take place within 180 minutes after the first learning for connects to be made in the brain
Digital learning profile
-digital learners prefer multiple sources and forms of info
- they learn at "Twitch Speed"
- students have a need for speed
As parents and teachers
- we need to be willing to acknowledge the digital world our students live in
- we need to connect with the tools that students use outside the classroom
David Thornburg: we need to help them with their future not our past
Digital students prefer parallel paths
continuous partial tasks - this happens faster for digital genration
- task twitching - normal way students learn
Book: Brain Rules by John Medena?...
students need to focus but educators need to understand the need for multimedia
- digital learner prefer processing images and sound and video before processing text
Traditionally images supported text
Now images are supported or expanded by text
When students were shown 2500 pictures
Digital learners could recall images:
- 98% of the images hours later
- 63% a year later
When it comes to text
- 72 hours later - students will only remeber 10% a year later
- Retention goes up 65% recall will be improved if multi sensory added
From the 6:00 News
- What do you remember most? images or text
- learners who are allows to work in multimedia environment do better
Students learn more in a more non-linear mode
Most Adults learn ia linear fashion
- students are always clicking around- they are use to the hypelinked medium
- multi tasking- hyper text and hyper linked causes a problem for students to learn linear
Digital learners prefer to simultinious link with others
Digital learners have grown up with hundreds of ways to communicate
- takes for granted this ability to communicate with others at any time
Experimental learning is prefer
- just in time learning
Many teachers prefer to teach "just in case"
-if you want loyalty you should buy a dog
We are preparing our students for a job that don't exist and skills and problem that don't exist or haven't been thought
Students need to learn how to find and prioritized info
Just in Case learning- compared to Just in Time Learning
- they are different set of skills
What world are we preparing them for? David Thornburg
Digal learners prefer instant gratification
Digital society provides them with what they want instantly
- how their world is build - wants and need
- if you put in the hours etc... they will attain the next level or next skills..... new technologies excel at rewards
New games are intentionally asked every 1 to 2 seconds to make a decision
Students in the classroom get to ask questions evry 25 minutes
Digital learners prefer learning that is rlevant and fun.....
Book "Everything bad is good for you" by Steve Johnston
they have developed highly developed critical thinking skils- but they are not what are testing
Why in the world am I learning this - Focus or Big Idea\I Brain
Book "Growing Up Digital" by Dan Tapp...
we know this stuff- but it is not being spplied in the classroom
What is the definioion of insanity - if we keep doing what we have been doong- we will constantly get what we have in the past
Outside Canada and United States and Britain- there are few cases of ADT
need to get students to want to learn-
Today's students are not the types of students that we were trained to learn
try to fit square peg students into roud whole learning
Traditional literacy learning is not enough
We need to re-think the classroom
count the number of white shirts passing the baket ball between the players in white
Some people didn't see the black gorilla in the video- they were focused on counting the numer of basketball passes
- perceptual blindness
- gender difference
- if you don't have a specific reference point
- our brain will refus to see it
It is not about hardware - It is about headware
how much are we missing with our students because we are focused on just testing
Are you going to take the new lead or are you going to get out of the way to let other move forward?
A rubber band has a comfort zone.
How to do get a rubber band to stay in a sretched mood?
when the going gets tough we www.committedsardine .com
www.committedsardine.com
ECOO 2009 handout
5000 picturs to download
Understanding the digital genration
Taken the curriculum
e-mail iajukes@mac.com
Bush- if you fish for a person they will eat for a day but if you teach a person tghey will be a fish for ever
