Review of Marc Prensky Article

             Earlier this month, I read a series of articles by Marc Prensky.  Prensky has created over fifty software games for learning.  In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Prensky (2001) argues that students have changed.  They are no longer the people the education system was designed to teach.  He believes the answers to many of today’s education problems lie within technology.  He describes two types of people in relation to technology, digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives are those who have been born in the recent time period of technology.  They do not know a world without email, web 2.0, or lightning fast computer networks.  The digital immigrant is a person who was born without the technologies of today in his or her life.  Because of this, Prensky (2001) argues that digital immigrants possess a digital accent that is always there.  Some accents are thick and others are thin but they are always noticeable.

            Also, Prensky (2001) discusses a need to change methodology.  He states that a change in methodology does not mean we need to change what is important or stop teaching strong critical thinking skills. However, “it does mean going faster, less step-by step, more in parallel, with more random access, among other things” (p. 4). Prensky has many interesting ideas about how to accomplish these goals.

            This is an interesting concept to think about as a teacher.  After reading this, I wondered whether teachers with “digital accents” are at a disadvantage teaching young students.  A link to the article is posted below.

Citation: 

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), pp. 1-6

This paper is available on www.marcprensky.com and http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf

Response to History Tech Post

The post “Is digital writing different? My next book” on the “history tech” blog is an interesting one.  The author posts the book Because Digital Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Online and Multimedia Environments. He explains that the book talks about how teachers are utilizing digital tools to help students write and weather digital writing is different than “regular writing”.  The concept is interesting.

I know poor writing is a growing concern in schools and it would be interesting to see what the book has to say.  Due to MD400, I understand that teachers are integrating new technology that may be (as the post says) “redefining the way people write”.

Is PowerPoint Evil?

Read "PowerPoint is Evil" by Edward Tufte
Listen to a NPR story about PowerPoint in the classroom.
Read "The Power of PowerPoint" by Victoria Brown.

After reading the article “PowerPoint Is Evil” and listening to the NPR recording, I get the sense that those against PowerPoint are not so much opposed to its use, but opposed to the way in which many teachers are using it.  There is a consensus that it has some educational value, whether it be for teacher presentations or helping struggling students organize thoughts.

However, I do see Tufte’s point.  The elevation of format over content and turning a school lesson into a sales pitch is a problem.  This is so easy to do with PowerPoint, even if you are consciously trying to avoid it.  Also, the comments that students need to learn how to read, write with full sentences and hold complex conversations are all solid arguments. It seems that PowerPoint, as it is typically used, is not supportive of these skills.

In “The Power of PowerPoint”, Brown lists Tufte’s disapprovals: 1) the use of bulleted text or lists, 2) the overreliance on templates and ready-made graphics, 3) the linear format, and 4) limited space for textual information.  She then provides interesting evidence and examples of how PowerPoint, if used correctly, can overcome these obstacles and how it can be used to meet learners’ individual needs.  For example, Brown points out that despite the overreliance on templates and graphics “PowerPoint does not dictate the content on the slides” (p. 232).  Also, teachers can use “Speaker Notes” to increase audience participation or use the “hide” and “reveal” features to guide students’ individual learning or provide additional practice as needed.

The debate on how technology affects learning is an interesting one.  I do see the problem with the program but also think that experienced and knowledgeable teachers can avoid them.

My Web Site

I have  discovered recently how to create my own web site using Google sites.  The plan is to use the site to post artifacts, lessons, projects, reflections, and explanations that I have created during my graduate school and teaching experiences.   Visit and track my progress at

Inquiry-based Learning

          Inquiry-based learning is a teaching style in which students are involved through reflection, asking questions and forming their own theories.  In these ways, it differs from a typical classroom.  Instead of teachers transmitting information they believe the student needs to know, an inquiry-based learning classroom allows students to solve and reflect on the problem-solving process while focusing on the question, “how did we come to know that?”  This is accomplished by a hands-on approach where students learn by doing and are encouraged to ask questions.

          There are many benefits to inquiry-based learning including the development of creative thinking skills, collaboration skills and problem-solving skills which students are able to apply to future problems.  Each lesson focuses on the four important outcomes of inquiry-based learning:   1) information-processing skills, 2) habits of mind, or "ground rules," 3) content understanding, and 4) conceptual understanding.

          I have used inquiry-based teaching personally in my classroom.  In my United States History class, I have students discover the colony of Jamestown and create an informational packet through a Web quest.  All of the information is found online by the student.  Each time new evidence is discovered, the student must explain how and why we know this information. Also, in my Western Civilization class, I have students discover an assigned city through resources provided by the library.  Some of these resources are text based but others are physical things that students can see, feel and sometimes taste, such as learning why a particular food or method of constructing houses is common to a geographic area.  Next to every item is the question, “why?“.

          Both inquiry-based learning and historical thinking have a place in all of my social studies classes.  Students have positive reactions to these lessons and feel that the projects have meaning and are not just memorization of terms.  Inquiry-based learning can also be used to give students the skills needed to succeed in the real world and solve problems on their own.

Here is a link to a great web quest on the colony of Jamestown: http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/

Working with Diagram Software

                 A concept map and organized flowchart for Chapters Three and Four of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning by Rose and Meyer are below.  To accomplish these images, I used digital software provided by Gliffy at www.gliffy.com. The software is flexible, easy to use and free to try for thirty days.  It can create many types of diagrams.  This technology can help students organize their thoughts and is a perfect fit for visual learners.  The interface allows the student or teacher to choose from a number of templates including Venn Diagrams, Organizational Charts, Flowcharts and more.  The tool bar located at the top of the screen makes it easy to choose a shape of a text box and connect it to another with a click of the mouse. To enlarge the concept map or flowchart, click on the image and use the magnifying glass.



Mind map for Chapters Three and Four of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning

Flowchart for for Chapters Three and Four of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning



Photoshop: Point of View Project

In a social studies class, it is important to make sure students grasp the concept of viewpoint.  Each side may see an event from differing perspectives or tell the same story in a different way.   This can help the students more clearly understand historical concepts and the world around them. The photos above, which were taken at the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, have been doctored from the original using Photoshop.   These can be used in a number of ways in the classroom.  Each photo can be used as an example, which the student can comment on, to make sure he or she understands how each side saw or would have liked to have seen this event.  The student could connect symbolism, size and position to meaning and then relate that to the information in their textbooks.   In addition, students could create their own photos and use them to show their understanding of perspective in any number of historical events. 

Photoshop could also be used to show a historical timeline or collage.  Photos could be doctored to demonstrate an understanding of information given in class and each historical concept connect.  The use of this technology could be used in any number of ways.    

President Eisenhower is enlarged and placed infront of the Big Three.




Joseph Stalin is moved to the middle of the Big Three.

Here is a great site on digital tampering throughout history:

http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

      Connection to Standard: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.  The use of this project and technology accomplishes many of the parts of the standard I chose.  By allowing the student to create his or her own photo of a historical event, the teacher promotes, supports, and models creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.  The project can also be connected to real world photo doctoring and shown how it affects our daily lives. Also, with the use of blogging or small group discussion of the photos, students and teachers can promote student reflection and collaborative knowledge construction.