Happy Monday, people!

I don't know about you, but I am excited about what is ahead based off of the announcement from Dr. Dennen. I have an Insta, but hardly use it. Maybe I will learn to interact with it more. 

I'd like to reflect on one of this week's readings. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. WOW. I was saying "yes, yes, YES!" to myself while reading. The text resonated with me as I found myself thrown into the world of "Natives" when I was required to teach using a hybrid model last year. To say it was a challenge is an understatement. Let's be honest, about 70% of the time I was drowning and had no idea what I was doing. However, I knew I needed to engage my students like I had never engaged them before, especially those 5th graders at home. If only I was talented enough to create a game! 

"Today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach." (Prensky, 2001)

When I read that, I felt the sky open up and the universe shine down upon me. Like, an epiphany, ya know? It's what I am always thinking after the last couple of years, and there it was, stated perfectly. 

I hang out with a group of people of various age ranges. This one friend, we'll call him Sam, had NEVER read a book from cover to cover IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE. Like, ever. It blew my mind. Sam is in his thirties and is very tech savvy. He is who I thought of when I read about the average hours a college grad has spent reading. Sam is extremely intelligent, but he has never read a book. He received all of his knowledge through human interactions, online content and brief articles and readings. So the question I have is, how do I engage students like Sam? 

I'm no dud in the classroom, I certainly hold my own when it comes to engaging activities, movement and cooperative learning. However, I lack the technological knowledge to "create". Sure, I have a Canvas page for my students. It includes video links, articles and sometimes a link to a Blooket or Quizziz. but all of these things lose their intrigue and charm about mid-year. What other tools are out there for me to explore and engage my "natives"?

I really enjoyed this reading and connected to it almost immediately. I would just like to clarify - I do not identify as a "Digital Immigrant" I am far too sophisticated and flexible for such a term, even if I DO have to print out my online reading do I can make notes and highlight. 👀😎

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816