The Civic, Social and Multi Modal Lives of Digital Natives

Chapter 4

"Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to "serious" work." (Thomas; quoted form Prensky 2001a, p.2)

As I was reading this, I instantly connected it to my students from last year. I frequently had them use the site, WONDEROPOLIS, which is an informational site where students can read articles about thousands of wonders, or questions. I always gave the students a series of questions to answer after reading the article, and they almost always tried to answer them without reading. Each article includes a video, and this is what the students instantly flock to, but usually this video was more for fun than information. Having students do an assignment like this would cause the usual grumbles, but as soon as I would mention COOLMATH, their reward when their assignment was completed correctly, their tunes changed.

Chapter 5

"Digital media are becoming increasingly embedded in young people's everyday lives, producing new time-sapces for their self-expression, connectivity, and self-creation" (Thomas; quoted from Takahashi, 2003, 2009, 2010).

This quote by Takahashi could not be more correct. Digital Media is such a force in young people's lives, today. Whether they are texting, snap chatting, or "liking something" with their peers, posting their newest selfie, or posting their newest meme, digital media consumes their thoughts.

Chapter 6

"However, we need to be careful with terms such as "Digital Natives" that lead to an understanding of a whole generation as a homogeneous group."

This quote just affirms the idea that we cannot assume that all young people born in the digital age have the same set of digital skills. It is exactly the same concept we all apply in our teaching, not every student has the same set of skills or knowledge or even abilities. We must do what we can to let students create with the skills they do have.

I used this meme because it is a very popular one that I see shared around all over Facebook. Using a popular image like this, one that students would be familiar with, shows how we can implement the technologies our students know into our teaching.