EDU10711 ASSIGNMENT 3- ICT PORTFOLIO

Student: Josephine Gleeson

PART A

Do you believe in the concept of digital natives and digital immigrants? Why or why
not? Is there a valid argument about using a different approach when teaching
digital natives?

The concept of digital natives and digital immigrants does make some sense from a
sociological standpoint. There is no denying that the rapid progression of technology
must have some impact on the educational development of younger generations
(Prensky, 2001 p.1). Prensky offers persuasive arguments for the presence of two
disparate digital citizen groups and advocates a revolution in the manner ICT is taught
in schools to allow for a new generation of digital natives (2001, p.4). Prensky isnt
the only one who proposes that teachers continuously adapt their methods to a new
way of learning (for example Oblinger 2003, Long 2005, Barnes et all 2007,
Thompson 2007) however a number of scholars have concluded that this concept is
erroneous and even dangerous.





According to Krause (2007), the experience and understanding of technology amongst
first year university students in Australia varies significantly according to socio-
economic background, age and gender- the assumption of homogeneity is misleading
and dangerous (p.138). The rigid classification of digital natives and digital
immigrants seems flawed; where do we draw the line?
A study conducted by the UK Joint Information Systems Committee in 2007 found
that while social networking was more common amongst teenagers than any other
group, this trend did not translate into a desire for more technology-focused learning.
The study even found that fundamentally, this age group suspects that if all learning
is mediated through technology, this will diminish the value of the learning (p.30).

In exploring the discourse associate with digital natives and digital immigrants, it
can be said that negative connotations can arise from utilising these emotive terms
(Bayne & Ross, 2007). The immigrant is someone without control while the native
has a geographic home and a place (p. 4). In the classroom, this connotation can be
damaging. The teacher (or according to Prensky, the immigrant) is powerless when
faced with the dominant conqueror (native); this is not an environment where trust
and risk-taking are encouraged if the teacher is in a position of constant weakness.
Bayne and Ross put it nicely when they say that the reduction of our understanding
of these issues to a simplistic binary which contains within itself the structural de-
privileging of the teacher...and a series of metaphors which write out the possibility
of learner and teacher agency in the face of technological change is questionable
(2007, p.8).

There are a range of issues and approaches to ICT (and pedagogy) identified in
Chapter 10 of Churchill et al. (2011); discuss one issue or approach from the
chapter, making reference to Music curriculum.




REFERENCES

Barnes, K, Marateo, R, Pixy Ferris, S (2007) Teaching and Learning with the net
generation. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, vol 3, issue 4, April/May 2007.
Accessed 1 May, 2014 at
http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=382&action=article

Bayne, S & Ross, J. (2007) The Digital Native and Digital Immigrant: A
Dangerous Opposition. Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press.


JISC (2007) Student Expectations Study, July 2007. Accessed 1 May, 2014 at
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/studentexpectations.pdf


Krause, K. (2007) Who is the E-generation and how are they fairing in higher
education? In Lockard, J & Pegrum, M (eds) Brave New Classrooms: Democratic
Education and the Internet. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Pp. 125-139.


Long, Sarah Ann (2005) Digital Native: If you arent one, get to know one. New
Library world, Vol 106, no 1210/1211: 187-189


Oblinger, D (2003) Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials: Understanding the new
students. Educause Review. Accessed 1 May, 2014 at
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0342.pdf


Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, Vol. 9 No.
5, October. MCB University Press.


Thompson, J. (2007) Is Education 1.0 ready for web 2.0 students? Innovate: Journal
of Online Education, vol 3, issue 4, April/May 2007.


Bayne, S (2005) Deceit, desire and control: the identities of learners and teachers in
cyberspace in
Land, R and Bayne, S (eds)
Education in Cyberspace
. London: RoutledgeFalmer
Butler, J. (1993).
Bodies that matter
. London: Routledge.
Charteris-Black, J. (2006). Britain as a container: immigration metaphors in the 2005 election
campaign.
Discourse and Society
, vol. 17.
Clegg, Sue, Hudson, Alison, Steel, John (2003) The emperors new clothes: globalisation and e-
learning in higher education.
British Journal of Sociology of Education
24:1, 39-53.
De Saille, S. (2006). A Cyberian in the Multiverse: Towards A Feminist Subject
Position for
Cyberspace. Leeds:
Thinking Gender Conference
2006.
Derrida, Jacques (1981)
Positions
, trans by Alan Bass. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fairclough, Norman (1993) Critical discourse analysis and the marketization of public
discourse: the
universities.
Discourse and Society
, 4:2, 133-168.
Howe, N, and Strauss, W. (2000).
Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation
. New York: Vintage
Books.
JISC (2007) Student expectations study, July 2007.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/studentexpectations.pdf. Date of
access: 8
November 2007.
Krause, K (2007) Who is the e-generation and how are they faring in higher education? in Joe
Lockard and Mark Pegrum (eds)
Brave New Classrooms: democratic education and the internet
. New
York: Peter Lang. pp.125-139.
Littleton, F, Haywood, J and Macleod, H (2005) Influence of videogame play on a students approach
to learning? in Michael Burmester, Daniela Gerhard and Frank Thissen (eds)
Digital game based
learning: proceedings of the 4
th
international symposium for information design
, Stuttgart Media
University, June 2005
Long, Sarah Ann (2005) Digital natives: if you arent one, get to know one.
New Library World
, vol
106, no 1210/1211: 187-189.
McKenzie, J (2007) Digital nativism, digital delusions and digital deprivation,
From now on: the
educational technology journal
, vol 17, no 2, November 2007. http://fno.org/nov07/nativism.html. Date
of access: 15 November 2007.
McWilliam, Erica L (2002) Against professional development.
Educational Philosophy and Theory
34(3): 289-300.
Monereo, C. (2004). The virtual construction of the mind: the role of educational psychology.
Interactive Educational Multimedia
, vol. 9.
NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) (1999) Falling through the net:
defining the digital divide. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html.
Date of access: 8
November 2007.
Oblinger, D (2003) Boomers, gen-Xers and millennials: understanding the new students.
Educause
Review
, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0342.pdf. Date of access: 11
November 2007.
Olson, K. July/August 2003.
(2005). Cyberspace as Place and the Limits of Metaphor,
Convergence
Vol. 11, 1