Fresh off the boat: notes from a recent digital immigrant
When I graduated from high school there was not a single computer in the entire school.
In college, a few students had them, but they were all computer science majors. The computer labs were mysterious places where the green glow of illuminated faces and the ticking of keys suggested some kind of robotic trance had taken over the students. The internet came into it's own long after I had graduated from college. I did not own a truly functional computer until 2009. In my work and life I simply did not need one. It has only been recently that I have experienced the multitude of ways computers can be used for myself. I have one toe in the water
that is today's technology, and am finding myself pulled into the pool. I am truly a recent digital immigrant.
In reality, digital technology is not foreign to me. I did master "pong", but that is the only video game I have mastered. I have used computers in recording studios and can negotiate basic computer functions and programs. What I have found is that my analog upbringing and education has created a very different thought process for me than that of younger digital natives. As Perry states, "Different kinds of experience lead to different brain structures". I am living proof. It takes me much longer to achieve the same digital task than many of my more savvy peers. The current digital culture has a language that I have mastered at about a second grade level: "People who grow up in different cultures....actually think differently". My analog mind must now change with the times. I have discovered that my wealth of knowledge, although crucial for becoming an educator, must be translated into the digital realm to reach students who have always existed in a digital world and speak that language fluently.
What does someone like myself who up until now has had practically no experience with computers in a classroom do to teach in a technology based world? One word. Adapt. I have skills, but they are described as legacy skills: "Legacy content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past". I am now convinced that I must filter my knowledge through modern technology to reach students. Today's kids want to use their technology, so I need to embed my knowledge in a medium that they are enthusiastic about. Computer games, blogs, websites and other interactive media can certainly carry my message, and indeed must be used to keep the attention of my students. It just requires creativity on my part, and a rapid immersion in the digital world.
I have a new found enthusiasm for technology. My steep learning curve has been frustrating (spending two hours trying to plug a chart into a document) but as I forge ahead it does become easier. I am a hands on learner, and the more I do something new the better I understand it. I am slowly learning the language, but it is getting easier. I am actually looking forward to the challenge of creating a curriculum utilizing what I am learning, after all, it is new
to me, and new equals exciting in this case. I will always be a digital immigrant, but the water in the pool is getting warmer, and I am learning how to swim.
When I graduated from high school there was not a single computer in the entire school.
In college, a few students had them, but they were all computer science majors. The computer labs were mysterious places where the green glow of illuminated faces and the ticking of keys suggested some kind of robotic trance had taken over the students. The internet came into it's own long after I had graduated from college. I did not own a truly functional computer until 2009. In my work and life I simply did not need one. It has only been recently that I have experienced the multitude of ways computers can be used for myself. I have one toe in the water
that is today's technology, and am finding myself pulled into the pool. I am truly a recent digital immigrant.
In reality, digital technology is not foreign to me. I did master "pong", but that is the only video game I have mastered. I have used computers in recording studios and can negotiate basic computer functions and programs. What I have found is that my analog upbringing and education has created a very different thought process for me than that of younger digital natives. As Perry states, "Different kinds of experience lead to different brain structures". I am living proof. It takes me much longer to achieve the same digital task than many of my more savvy peers. The current digital culture has a language that I have mastered at about a second grade level: "People who grow up in different cultures....actually think differently". My analog mind must now change with the times. I have discovered that my wealth of knowledge, although crucial for becoming an educator, must be translated into the digital realm to reach students who have always existed in a digital world and speak that language fluently.
What does someone like myself who up until now has had practically no experience with computers in a classroom do to teach in a technology based world? One word. Adapt. I have skills, but they are described as legacy skills: "Legacy content includes reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past". I am now convinced that I must filter my knowledge through modern technology to reach students. Today's kids want to use their technology, so I need to embed my knowledge in a medium that they are enthusiastic about. Computer games, blogs, websites and other interactive media can certainly carry my message, and indeed must be used to keep the attention of my students. It just requires creativity on my part, and a rapid immersion in the digital world.
I have a new found enthusiasm for technology. My steep learning curve has been frustrating (spending two hours trying to plug a chart into a document) but as I forge ahead it does become easier. I am a hands on learner, and the more I do something new the better I understand it. I am slowly learning the language, but it is getting easier. I am actually looking forward to the challenge of creating a curriculum utilizing what I am learning, after all, it is new
to me, and new equals exciting in this case. I will always be a digital immigrant, but the water in the pool is getting warmer, and I am learning how to swim.
It seems that your struggles with learning technology could help you understand when one of your students is struggling to learn a new concept in your classroom. You seem so willing to learn the new stuff, which is a great way to be!
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