21st Century Learners

Reading through Prensky’s article challenged my thinking. He identified the several types of learners that may be present in our classrooms; however he had not considered every possibility. Many children within society are using technology throughout their homes. Learners are exposed to gaming consoles, Facebook, YouTube, and other engaging Web 2.0 tools such as PowerPoint and wiki’s. However there are many children who do not engage in these activities. Learners who engage in outdoor activities, and read storybooks rather than e-books still reside in our classrooms. There are also families who do live in low socioeconomic climates that cannot afford such luxuries.

In the article ‘Are digital natives a myth or reality?’ (Margaryan & Littlejohn, 2008), “Hulme & Traxler (2005) suggest that that there are mismatches in the learning processes involved in classroom settings and social situations, as these processes are often based around different models of learning.” This statement identifies the differences in students’ learning through different contexts. The article also suggests that learners engage in multimodal technology outside of the classroom, and whilst in school they are required to participate in a pedagogical regime without such exposure to ICTs.

After reflecting upon these readings I had very mixed emotions about Prensky’s “engage or enrage” argument. I believe that without scaffolded learning experiences that offer students a variety of different tools, learning outcomes may not be achieved. As learning managers, we aspire to create meaningful learning experiences that engage the learner and stimulate higher order thinking. Without embracing ICTs this may not be achieved for some students. However I do not believe that this would be correct for every child in our classrooms. We need to cater for each student and their learning style. We do not need to use technology as tools to fill in time, or to reduce our time spent planning. Rather we need to spend more time creating new and innovative ways we can use technology to engage our learners, whilst incorporating learning without the use of ICTs.

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