Digital+Learners


 * 
 * || Digital Age Learners    ||
 *  Education 530 Intergrating Educational Technology  ||
 * || ** Brenda Jesse  **  ||
 * || ** 3/10/2011  **  ||
 * || ** Brenda Jesse  **  ||
 * || ** 3/10/2011  **  ||
 *  ||

 I don’t believe that students rewired their brains to multitask. I do believe that students are given an opportunity in today’s digital world to try and expand their skills in technology. Through repetition and guidance from good teachers these students are able to excel in areas of academics that they couldn’t years ago. Technology games and learning tools offer students to achieve success through different managed tools that enhance learning. Technology works well <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">especially for special learners. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Their brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing,” said Michael <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Rich, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the Center on  <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Media and Child Health in Boston. And the effects could linger: “The worry is we’re raising a  <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">generation of kids in front of screens whose brains are going to be wired differently.” <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">But even as some parents and educators express unease about students’ digital diets, they are <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">intensifying efforts to use technology in the classroom, seeing it as a way to connect with <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">students and give them essential skills. Across the country, schools are equipping themselves <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">with computers, Internet access and mobile devices so they can teach on the students’ <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">technological territory(Wollan, M. 2010). <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The students can with some help read e-mails, send instant messages and text messages over <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">handheld devices, speak to one another in short sentences, and continue to watch movies and <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">participate in multiple conversations, all while finishing their homework. Difficulties with <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">homework completion can be seen in children who have poor organizational skills, difficulties in  <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">sustaining attention and effort to challenging tasks, and problems in getting started on tasks and <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">managing their time effectively. Homework difficulties are also seen in children with Learning <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Disabilities, slow processing speed (which results in homework taking an exceedingly long  <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">amount of time), and a lack of structure around homework completion. <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Common indications of difficulties with homework include: <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 186pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Forgetting to write down, complete, or turn in homework assignments <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 186pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Taking too long to complete homework <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 186pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Procrastination, sloppiness, rushed homework <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Digital technologies can be used to support, practice, and enhance homework completion skills <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">at home. Parents are encouraged to utilize children’s strengths, intelligences, and interests to  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">assist them with their homework completion difficulties. Digital technologies, used in  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">conjunction with parent, teacher, and peer mediation/involvement, may be helpful with the <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">preceding list. Digital technologies and games to address the symptoms of Attention Deficit <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Hyperactivity Disorder and other attention problems are quite varied. Many digital technologies, <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">such as cell phones, iPods, and personal digital assistants, can support and practice <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">organizational skills and time management. Parents frequently describe their children as being <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">able to sustain their attention and effort while playing video games in a manner that is not seen in  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">other areas of children’s lives. Games often require children to practice skills such as self- <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">control, planning, and metacognition. But to generalize the practice of executive functions to the <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">real world, game play must be accompanied by supplemental training activities,(learning works  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">for kids, 2007) <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> When we try to place these students in the traditional learning environment, we are not working <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">against their cognitive or digital learning style. Attention problems are characterized by deficits <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">in executive functions. Children with these problems often have difficulties in getting started on  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">tasks or sustaining their attention and effort. They have problems in following directions, <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">keeping things in mind, and managing their time effectively. They may also experience <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">problems in regulating their feelings, becoming easily frustrated, and giving up reading when a  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">task appears too difficult. A number of prominent researchers, including Russell Barkley (2006) <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">and Thomas Brown (2006), have begun to describe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as  <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">predominantly a disorder of executive functioning. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> These researchers have identified issues such <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">as shifting attention, short-term working memory, the ability to inhibit responses and difficulties <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">in guiding behaviors towards the future (planning), as core components of Attention Deficit <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Hyperactivity Disorder. For youngsters with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">difficulty is not due to a lack of skill, but to problems in their performance of these skills. The <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">symptoms, which may be commonly seen in other individuals, tend to be chronic and impairing <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">in youngsters with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. They may be able to perform their <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">executive skills “if they are interested,” which appears to be brain-based, rather than simply <span style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-line-height-alt: 11.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">motivational (Learning works for kids, 2007). My thoughts about this theory for this new generation of digital kids is that school based interventions should be provide concise instructions. Teaching reflective listening skills, assisting with organizational skills and increasing physical activity are indicated for children with “attention problems.” Strategies utilizing digital technologies to enhance these executive functioning skills are useful for both children diagnosed with ADHD and those who display moderate attention problems. Unfortunately, many are labeled as lazy, unmotivated, or “just not getting it.” At times they are seen as having a “fixed set” of abilities and as incapable of making significant change (learning works for kids,2007). <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">There are some differences in their learning. There are different ways to reach these students. <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Today’s technology, though, offers students all kinds of new, highly effective tools they can use <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">to learn on their own – from the Internet with almost all the information, to search and research <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">tools to sort out what is true and relevant, to analysis tools to help make sense of it, to creation <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">tools to present one’s findings in a variety of media, to social tools to network and collaborate <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">with people around the world. And while the teacher can and should be a guide, most of these <span style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">tools are best used by students, not teachers (Marcprensky, M. 2008) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Our children today are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours playing videogames, over 200,000 emails and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV (a high percentage fast speed MTV), over 500,000 commercials seen—all before the kids leave college; and, maybe, //at the very most,// 5,000 hours of book reading. These are today’s ―Digital Native‖ student (Perry,B. 2001) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As many schools rush to fill their classrooms with laptops and advanced technologies, there is   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">growing evidence that the presence of these tools may sometimes prove distracting and may <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">actually dilute the quality of learning. Recent studies have also documented the not surprising <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">finding that these technologies along with social networking may also prove distracting at home. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It turns out that **//A.D.D.//** (Technology Attention Deficit Disorder) is a challenge that all schools, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">teachers and speakers should consider when planning learning experiences (McKenzie,   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jamie.2010) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In //The New York Times// on November 21, Matt Richtel reports in  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> " <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">" that "Students have always faced distractions and    <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">time-wasters. But computers and cell phones, and the constant stream of stimuli they offer, pose    <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">a profound new challenge to focusing and learning (Wollan, M. 2010). = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Referenced Sites  = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">MD Perry,Bruce.(2001).Digital Native. Baylor College of Medicine (MCB University Press, Vol.9 N0.6  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mckenzie, Jamie,(2010) Addressing Tech A.D.D. Technology Attention Deficit disorder, from the Educational Technology Journal Vol 20/N0 2/November 2010. Web site: htpp://www.fno.org/nov2010/tadd.html   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Learning Works for Kids, 2007, teaching academic, problem solving and thinking skills with video games and digital technologies.   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[|http://www.learningworksforkids.com] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wollan, M. (2010). Growing up digital, wired for distraction. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[|http://www] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. nytimes.com/2010