"Listen to the Natives"

As a teacher of 14 second and third grade boys I would love to teach my kids math through a video game! In his article addressing technology in education, Marc Prensky suggests that math (and other subjects) in the form of a video game would help remedy the divide between students with 21st century skills and teachers who are still stuck in the 20th century. Video games are the topic of the vast majority of my students discussions and I know if such a math video game were developed, their attitude toward school would be vastly different. Now we just need someone to do it. What if the creators of famous video games contracted with an education organization and developed software?

I agree with Prensky's emphasis on the importance of choosing teachers for their empathy and guidance abilities. I’m all for that aspect of progressive education. It makes education meaningful to those who are being educated. I also agree with involving students in the planning of effective teaching methods. This fosters engagement, which again makes education meaningful. We educate for the benefit of our students and in turn for the benefit of our society. There are standards that should be met, but also, including students in the process of teaching and learning allows them to take ownership of their education.   

As far as “young people” being far ahead of 20th century teachers, I don’t agree completely with this generalization. As a lower elementary school teacher, I have the opportunity to teach while integrating technology. Because of the age of my students I also teach them how to use technology as well. This puts a great responsibility on my shoulders becuase I must go above and beyond to stay current and to teach the use of technology well.

In response to Prensky's description of herding, the system of established grades is herding at its best, but I know that many teachers work hard to utilize a variety of group settings. I am not sure what kind of alternative to this system Prensky is proposing, but maybe something along the lines of multiage classrooms? Offering cyber groups as part of the solution to this problem in a sense makes education limitless. Students are able to experience new cultures and such a wide variety of perspectives. This sounds like a great idea, but as with any great ideas there are some areas to be cautious in. Also In efforts to rid ourselves of this “herding” mentality it is important not to forget the value in peer interaction. Balance is key.

After recent class discussions I have been challenged to think about the use of cell phones in the classroom. Prensky suggests that students should be able to vote with their attention with a teacher in not presenting an interesting lesson. The difficulty in allowing cellphones and students “voting with their attention” is that kids have a very difficult time paying attention in the first place, and not all material is going to be attention grabbing, and teachers with many preps have a hard enouhg time coming up with something interesting and creative for every lesson. 

In summary, I understand and agree with Prensky's passion to teach our students 21st century skills and to keep education up to day. However, I do think, however, that Prensky takes on an "all or nothing" perspective. There are many, many teachers who are not currently teaching with or using technology effectively. This can be due to many reasons though. As one who is not personally very attracted to technology, I would shy away from it. Also, teachers can be resistent to change. The vocation of teaching is not easy, and trying to learn and incorporate constantly changing, new techniques can be difficult. However, this is where the whole "life long learner" comes in. We need to be willing to go above and beyond to deliver the best education possible for our students.