Blog e) Describe the experience of a fictional technophile student in 2020.

So where are we going to be in 10 years time when it comes to technology? well hopefully this might provide a bit of an insight!

Rachel is a bright student who has been brought up around technology all her life. When she wakes up on a morning she wakes to the sound of her digital TV which has been set to switch on whenever she needs waking up. She leaves the TV on as she jumps into her state of the art shower with TV screens which plays the programme which is being shown on her TV in her bedroom. The digital shower also has a digital touthbrush so that Rachel can brsuh her teeth as she washes. The toothbruch and shower are set to the temperature and speed that Rachel likes.
She jumps out and gets ready and moves into the kitchen where her digital oven is set to go on at 8 30 am exactly so it is pre - heated for the bacon which Rachel loves to start the morning with. She then heads out on her motor scooter which get her to her only lecture of the day in 5 minutes flat. That may be the only face-to-face lecture she has all day as it is her monthly meet up with her tutor. Rachel will spen the rest of the day in the libary or she may even go home if she feels like it. You see for Rachel she can listen to all her lectures online and then if she has any queries there is a given time when her lecturer will be online, like an academic msn scenario, if she wishes to ask any questions.

After her work is done for the day she relaxes on her bed and shouts out the word "music" and the music set to Rachels exact taste, booms through the room. Her phone then rings to the sound of the latest number 1 track. Its her friend Caroline on the other end of the phone asking what she should where when they go out tonight. Not only that but the video call allows Rachel to see Caroline's exact outfit choices. Once she has helped Caroline decide she realises she needs to quickly ask her tutor something. Knowing that her tutor will only be online for another 5 minutes she decides to ask them over her phone, its much quicker these days!

As Rachel meets her friends at the bar they know and love she puts her thumb print into the pad on the door frame and the door opens letting her in straight away. No iding as they have her date of birth and photo already recorded. This also means that they know she has arrived and have her first drink ready for her when she gets to the bar. Her favourite drink will have also been stored in the database. She then has a fantastic night out entering tunes into the digital DJ and having drinks ready for her at the touch of a pad. After a tiring day she arrives home and all she needs to do is slip into bed. Her alarm is preset and her make up doesnt even need to be taken off as it evaporates after a certain amount of time, genious!

Blog d) Describe the daily frustrations of a fictional neo-luddite at university now in the UK.

This follows on from what I was saying about my friend from school although she didnt choose to go against technology, she just didnt know any different.

Brenda was from a small hamlet in the North Yorkshire Moors which consisted of only 10 homes although she lived in a farmhouse 2 miles away, therefore it was pretty disurted. She never needed a mobile phone but she had one for emergencies and only ever got the bus to school which took her 2 hours there and 2 hours back evryday. When Brenda applied for university she was excited at the prospect of getting out of the tiny hamlet she lived in and meeting more than the 20 people she'd seen evryday for the first 18 years of her life.

When Brenda began university it was more difficult than she ever would have imagined. She first walked into her new room to find a socket , she didnt know what it was. She asked the man who helped her move in and he told her it was and internet socket which this cable (which he held in front of her)connected from the socket to the laptop. The thing is, Brenda didnt have a laptop, when she ever had to do work she completed it at school as her family couldnt get internet where she lived. She then walked into the living room to find a girl sitting there, texting at a notorious speed on her mobile. The only time Brenda had ever text anyone was when she told her mum what time she was going to be in when she went out after her exam results.

This would be Brenda's average day:

She was awoken by her clock alarm, and old brass thing which her mum had given her for university. She got up had a shower, packed her bag and made herself some porridge on the hob in the kitchen. Then she left for lectures. Little did she know but she'd realsie later she'd left her mobile phone in her room, an easy mistake to make when it barely gets used. But it is frustrating when she meets some nice girls later and when they decide to swap numbers she has to write theres on a piece of paper and obviously she doesnt know hers. It then got more frustrating when they asked her instead whether she had "facebook". Brenda hadnt heard of this before but after several explanations later from her new found friends she began to understand and agreed to join up on her brand new laptop when she got back home. In her head she couldnt help but say to herself "where the hell am I going to start with that?!". They then invited her out that night to try the delights of the student union. When she arrived she couldnt believe her eyes, crowds of people queing up to get into one place. The only time Brenda had really been out was after she got her exam results and then she was back home at 11. As she walked in she found herself huddled round the bar being asked what she wanted to drink, should she really drink?why not, she says to herself. By the end of the night Brenda has found herself dancing to the type of music she has never even heard of, R'n'B she heard her friend call it.

Well after and eventful day of learning about all the latest technology she had been missing out on, she flicks the switch on her alarm clock ready for the next day. She then hear a funny buzzing sound coming from her side draw. She looks, its her mobile phone which she had totally forgotton about even after the girls had mentioned it. She opens up her first ever text message, its from one of her new friends saying "I know ul probs nt get this 4 a wk bt hope u gt home safe hun, cya soon xxx".

Blog c) A person known to you (could be you, but you don't need to admit it!) who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture.

Yes I have to admit that I do personally threaten the notion of native/immigrant in this digital culture. I am classed initially as a digital native as I go about my day with my internet constantly on. I check facebook several times a day and also browse celebrity gossip sites daily. I upload pictures and send emails more often than not. I text continuously, especially at university. For example, i get 500 free texts a month and can easily go over that. I watch a good couple of hours of TV a night and I always set my phone to wake me up on a morning. These are all common features of any person my age and at university and it is us who is generally seen as the digital native that digital immigrants constantly talk about. But I think I buck the trend as I can also be completely technologically illiterate.

It took me until last year to get my first ipod and evn then i got one of the smallest ones you could get and i think iv only got about 1000 songs on there, which i know for a fact compared to may other friends is nothing. Even when I first got my ipod I had to ask my little sister (3 years younger than me) to help set it up for me and teach me how to download songs. She had previously had an ipod for 2 years. Not only this, but even just the other day I needed to do something on Mircosoft Excel. I did IT GCSE but since then I dont think I have ever had to use Microsoft Excel. Therefore when I needed to the other day I had no clue where to even start. I had to ask my friend to do it for me, even when she showed me I was still unsure. So in this day and age is it weird for me to be like this yet still be the age I am? of do the factors in the first paragraph mean I couldnt possibly be a digital immigrant?

Blog b) The youngest digital immigrant you know

Although, according to Prensky the general age of an immigrant is over 25 (although he states that there isnt really an age limit) I know someone, although not so much anymore, who is my age and could be classed as a digital immigrant. When I was still at school I was quite friendly with this girl who lived basically in the countryside. Her parents owned a very traditional farm and were very much brought up traditionally and without any technology which would be invented etc. She only ever got a mobile phone in her last year of school as her parents decided she needed one as she was beginning to go out drinking. Her mum didnt have a mobile but her dad did for business reasons. They had no computer as her dad did all the farm stuff over the one landline telephone they had in the house.

When she came to my school (she moved from a school nearer her for a better education in lower sixth) she was none the wiser to why we all had mobile phones, watched TV every night and constantly sat on MSN talking about anything and everything. She didnt really get it. But to be honest I didnt really blame her because she wasnt brought up around it. She was brought up the same way as her parents, therefore ignorant of any technological advances. This sounds like a child in the 60's but in fact this was after the millenium. So she definately classes as the youngest digital immigrant I know. She has now gone to university and has facebook so she probably has now caught up with what she lacked before, but until last year this was completely different. I couldnt think of anyone I knew now but I thought that she was a very good example even if it is a year or two out of date!

Blog a) The oldest digital native you know

Obviously I think it is very hard to pin point where a native ends and an immigrant begins or the age someone has to be in order to be either of these. But I have to admit that my dad is probably the oldest digital native I know. Hes now in his 50's yet he still knows most stuff when it comes to technology. His job involves alot of technology in itself which i think may be accountable of why he maybe bucks the digital native trend. With his job he constantly uses mobile phones (although not for texting!) and computers to send emails or produce technical drawings. Now this amazes me as I know for a fact that if you sat me in front of a computer and told me to draw a 3-D landscape I wouldnt even know where to begin! Having said that my dad learnt on the and left school with just some o-levels, therefore he has had to learn all of this. He wasnt brought up around it therefore could he technically be seen as a digital native?

We recently moved house and my dad actually installed the TV's in all the rooms that needed them and set up the computer system, etc. I know I couldnt do this and im classed as a digital native. Although this could just be seen as a "man's" thing to do, but I actually believe it takes alot of knowledge in these particular areas in order to install or set up technology successfully. I have to agree though that he may not be as digitally native as some peoples dad's. Although he has mentioned setting up facebook he has never yet got round to it (but many of my friends parents do have it, though I would find it slightly strange my dad seeing all my university goings on!). I dont know whether this is because he hasnt had time or whether he just thinks it is "not for his generation". Yet, if I do have any queries about anything technology I do go to him although my sister can also be very helpful, shes a digital native to the core!

6) How does it differ from web 3.0?

Web 3.0 is a term used to describe the future of the World Wide Web. This is therefore a general term for the total evolution of the web in the future. Whereas the semantic web is something that will add to this evolution i.e and evolutionary tool. There may be other factors aswell as the semantice web which will be able to work together to advance the internet as we currently use it and bring it into a new "Web 3.0" age. These can sometimes be mistaken for meaning the same thing but it is the semantic web that makes up, eventually part of Web 3.0 as this is a completely new style of web. Whereas the semantice web is just something that makes a certain part of the web better.

5) What is the 'semantic web'?

I have to admit then while researching this it did take me a while to get my head around it but I think I got there in the end! The Semantic Web was a term thought up by Tim Berners- Lee (who also thought up the WWW fact fans!!!)and is basically a huge engineering tool. In technical jargon it is about "common formats for integration and combination of data drawn from diverse sources" (http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/). It is also about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects. It allows anyone on the Internet to add what they know and find answers to their questions in a relatively easy language to understand.Therefore, it is generally an extension of the World Wide Web (which isnt surprising considering who came up with the idea!) and a way of making global data easily accessible and readable on a global scale.

4) Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?

In answer to this i think that, yes, there is very much a problem tailoring education but I do think that it is a good move. By tailoring education we are talking about making education different for different people. Therefore if people learn better sat at a computer then teaching may be done online. Or if certain people learn better in small groups then classes would be tailored to account for this. This way everyone will be educted to their liking. Therefore if they are comfortable in the environment which they are learning in and are able to understand what is being taught alot more efficiently then more children will go on to succeed. Children will learn more and, in turn, become more successful in exams and therefore there may be alot more children wanting to leave at 16. This is obviously a good thing for the future economy as it means future workforces are able to prosper. But the fact is that it is very unlikely everyone will be able to attain tailored education.

Firstly, the cost implications would be massive. It would most probably mean opening new schools and tailoring each school to a particular need i.e those which work well with computers will have a school dedicated to teaching through computers. Therefore is shcools like this were to be set up across the country, the government wouldnt be able to cope financially and would most certainly have to increase taxes considerably. However much of a good idea it is ,it just isnt possible. Secondly is the problem of manpower. At the moment teachers learn to a specific curricular and therefore aamny qualified teachers can therefore technically teach anywhere in the country. But if teachers had to be "tailormade" for each school then there may be the problem of not having enough teachers for each particular school. Many may only be interested in one particular way of teaching and therefore would only be qualified for that particular type of teaching. Thirdly, there is always this talk of trying to help different cultures to relate to each other. The only way I see this ever happening in the future is if different cultures are brought up together from a young age and the perfect way of doing so is havin culturally mixed schools. I do see that this could cause smaller problems such at lunchtimes (different cultures eat different foods) and holidays (different cultures have different religious holidays) but overall i think that the only way of conquering this cultural divide is to do anythings but have tailor made schools for specific cultures. It may just make the whole situation alot worse.

3) Should education 'stretch' a person do you think?

To stretch a person i think this refers to pulling someone to their limits. In other words, they shouldn't know everything which they are being taught. They need to be able to strive for something and attain it. If people knew everything then there wouldn't be much point in education. What would you go to school for? to sit hearing things that you already know or are very simple to understand. Whereas if people are learning new things which they didnt know before then they are more likely to be excited by the subject, take more interest in it and therefore achieve much more from the education system.

The fact is that the world isnt plain and simple and most successful jobs require commitment and the ability to know many different things. If children are not taught more than just the basics then they wont have the knowledge to succeed in the future. Obviously children have a right to decide what they do in the future, whether they want to succeed or not. Is it not beeter to provide them with all the information they need, then them make the decision about what information is relevent to their future?or should we just teach children the basics then once they decide what they want to do, then they get stretched and taught the relevent information? The latter would be just stpid. What if the children changed their mind half way through school? Obviously every child is going to differ in which subject they excel at. Someone who is good at maths may not necessarily be good at english, therefore I think that "stretching" applies separately to the subjects and not to the individual. We all need stretching not just some of us, we just all need stretching in different areas. Stretching allows our mind to remain active otherwise we wouldnt be able to succeed and flourish as a society.

2) What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?

The digital divide does play a major part with everyday subjects whether it be in the workplace or on a global scale but i dont see that it needs to necessarily cause much of a problem.

a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?

Obviously people who are more computer literate are going to look the best on paper when it comes to applying for jobs. But this doesnt necessarily mean they will be any good at the job as a whole as it is not completely about that. I know that when my dad started work at 18 all he had were his O-levels and at that time computers werent even an issue therefore he had no hands on experience. Whereas no he is able to complete spreadsheets, emails and do graphic desgins online everyday with his job. He obviously learnt on the job so why cant people do the same now? Many companies argue that it costs to much time and money to train people these days which people say they dont have much of. But if we are to try and close this digital divide, how will it be possible without the backing of such companies which play the most important roles in the whole thing.

b) To global access issues across countries and regions?

This is where I believe the digital divide fully comes into play. Britain is one of the wealthiest countries along with America and Japan and therefore these countries can affrod technology such as up to date TV's and mobile phones. In fact, many technological advances come from Japan and i wouldnt be surprised if they are quite a bit ahead of us when it comes to being up to date with technology. But overall it makes relations between these countries better as it is easier to communicate with the technology we posess. But then there are countries like Africa and Iran where many parts (of the third world) dont even have enough money to feed and clothe themselves nevermind buy the latest mobile phone. Also with the lanuage barrier I think this is possibly where the greatedt digital divide comes into play. Hopefully in the future with funding places like this can get the technology they need to increase communication and put them on the map. I dont mean this in terms of geography bu the fact that they could then get involved in world projects which would be the best thing for their economy.

1) How might Wenger's notions on practice communities relate to Prensky's on education?

I think both Wenger's and Prensky's ideas can relate to each other to a certain degree. Both their ideas talk about learning. Wenger's ideas provide discussion on how people with the same interests can come together and learn from each other in a COP (Community of Practice) whereas Prensky's, although he talks about two separate groups, also are able to learn from each other. Digital natives who are seen to be more knowledgable in the digital field are able to teach things to digital immigrants who were not brought up around the more recent type of technology. This is then where authority comes into play (although no one side necessrily has more power!). With a Communities of Practice everyone is there to learn from each other and therefore there is unlikely to be a hierachal divide. Whereas with Prensky's notion of natives and immigrants, it cant be helped that natives will have slightly more power although overall they are seen as equal, as in a COP. They know more about the digital world and therefore if the digital immigrants want to know more they will have to learn from the natives or just take more time to learn on their own. . But digital natives are also continuously learning at the same time as immigrants but they just absorb the information much more quickly, therefore they are basically at the same hierarchal level as each other.

Although also, with a COP there has to be someone of slight authority to keep and eye on proceedings, they are not there to enforce power but share their views and the things which they have learnt just like evryone else. Therefore I think both theorists are very relatable.

Articles - URL's

Article 1- Bhuiyan, S (2006) "Impact of new media technology on society", AsiaMedia, http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=52164 [Accessed 10/04/08]


Article 2 - McCarty, S (2005) "Spoken Internet to Go - Populisation through Podcasting", http://jaltcall.org/journal/articles/1_2_McCarty.pdf [Accessed 10/04/08]


Article 3 - Tapscott, D "Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation", NCSU, http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/jan98/feat_6/digital.html [Accessed 10/04/08]


Article 4 - Van Eck, R ( 2006) "Digital Game Based Learning - Its not just the Digital Natives who are Restless!", Educause, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0620.pdf [Accessed 10/04/08]


Article 5 - Salmon, G (2005) "Natives and immigrants in the digital world", Training Journal, http://www.trainingjournal.com/tj/157.html [Accessed 10/04/08]

Article 5 - Disagreement

As i was reading this article I intially disagreed with the fact that they were saying how successful it was without showing any of the flaws. This made me think that if such a way of learning was completely flawless then why isnt it being used everywhere as a new form of teaching. Obviously not everyone can find such a new way of learning easy to follow. From experience throught his unit, I know that it isnt plain sailing and it takes along time to get used to. But the student on the Creative Waves course seemed to pick it up a little to easy. Then I realised that these students were in fact graphic design, photo-media and visual communication students. Therefore they have been used to using such technology for a while and would pick up this type of learning like a fish to water. But this doesnt mean all students off all cultures would, but the author thought differently.

Eventually the author goes onto say how there is a slight problem with the type of learning at the minute in the fact that the mentors/teachers dont exactly know what they are meant to be doing. This is where I agree with him. The teachers are still the most knowledagble ones in the field and therefore their knowledge can do nothing but educate the participant. If they are not being made proper use of then what is the point, it is just a waste of information and talent. Therefore I agree that a better structure should be introduced on order to make sure the most is made out of the mentors. This can only help not hinder the participants so I cant see why anyone would argue with it.

Article 4 - Disagreement

I do disagree mostly with this article. I do understand that many children are able to learn alot more effectively visually. I know that when I was in primary school we always used to participate in little games at the end of each lesson. At the time I just thought the teacher was allowing us some down times but now I know they were purely completed for educational purposes. But the thing is I dont know whether they necessarily worked for me, although they might have for many others. One thing that did work was the computer games you used to get where you put them on the computer and they asked you questions, sort of revision guide type things. I used these regularly uring my GCSE's and believe they did help although obviously I also needed the teching materials and books provided by my teachers. I can't see though how games can be used as a teaching tool instead of other means. The example I used of not even realising I was learning when I played the games in primary school is an effective example. When a child hears that they are going to play a game their concentration on school work dwindles and they get into the "play frame of mind". So even though they might be answering questions on things they have been learning they may be inclined to easily forget about this.

The article also mentions how games such as "Grand Theft Auto" have even been used as education tools in morals and public understanding. This is what I totally disagree with. This sort of game was produced purely for entertainment reasons and had no educational intent what so ever. If a pupil has played this game in their spare time then they walk into the classroom adn they are suddenyl using it as an educational tool then they are not goin to particpate fully. Their brain has already been programmed to know this game as entertainment not educational, therefore it is a waste of time. So I fully disagree with the author's point here although I can see how certain games may help in certain parts of the educational system.

Article 3 - Disagreement

Some of the points in this artice are valid but then some I dont necessarily agree with. Firstly I like the term that the author uses "Net Generation" as in the next generation who have grown up with the internet. This proves valid from his point of the mixture of the grandchildren of the baby boom (so to speak!) happen to have been born into the digital revolution which has then led to a social transformation. I do agree that this does seem to be what has caused this immediate interest in technology although I wouldnt have necessarily thought so until the author of this article had put the idea into my head. If the digital revolution had not occured then these children would have been born and brought up with the same technological devices and ideas as their parents. Also if this surge of children had not been born at this particular time, the man power needed to advance technology the way that it has would not have occured. Therefore I do agree that these two factors play a huge part in the digital world today.

One main point i cant really agree with is the idea that the broadcast culture has some what dwindled in recent years. I know personally I love watching the TV and im an avid soap watcher. I also talk to family and friends regularly about what we view on TV and very few say that they dont watch much TV at all. If anything I think that the broadcast culture has expanded with shows such as Big Brother (Reality TV), Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (Entertainment) and Desperate Housewives (Drama). These daya there is lot more choice for the viewer, therefore many more are more likely to be satisfied and therefore watch TV. Although i can see that the use of the internet has expanded which may lead the author to make such comments about the broadcast culture. But I know personally that i can multi-task can use the internet and watch TV at the same time. Therefore there is room for disagreement within this article.

Article 2 - Disagreement

I have to admit that I am sitting on the fence when it comes to this article. I do agree with it for the main reason that it is an easy way to educate the masses and can help educate those with special needs. Once a podcast is put online virtually anyone can listen to via just the click of a button. This makes it (similarly to online teaching as with China University in a previous blog) very easy, therefore, to educate the masses. All the educator needs to do is record the lesson or questions then post it online. The fact that many can listen to it over and over again is obviously positive thing. I know that I wold be very grateful of that now as sometimes it does take me a bit of time to understand things thoroughly and therefore the introduction of something which could reliterate the important points over again, until they are fully understood, would be a definate plus. Also I know friends of mine who are dyslexic and therefore find the normal way of learning (teacher standing in front of the desk and dictating) very difficult. One of my friends finds that just reading off paper that isnt white (cream for example), the words stand off the page and therefore are much easier to read. Another friend also finds difficulty writing and therefore is able to dictate to a computer, which then reads it back to her. This technology is making learning much easier for people who need that extra bit of help. Therefore I can see how podcasting can help with people who have special things and are not able to reatain information as efficiently. They can therefore listen to the podcasts whenever they need to.

Although these points are valid I have to admit that I do see a problem with this podcasting learning technique. Podcasts are pretty simple to construct these days. For example, i regularly listen to them on the Radio One website where, aswell as playing music, they chat about their views on different subjects. This is where I then have a problem with the learning podcasts. Yes the podcasts set by the teachers are going to be reliable but as with any internet site, many people may produce podcasts with completely unreliable data. Therefore if students listen to these they are then confused as to what information is correct. I have to admit that this would be very difficult to keep under control with anythin i.e there are so many internet websites which contradict each other so which one is right. Although, if the students are told which particular podcasts to listen to then this problem may be overiden. Therefore I probably do mostly agree with this article.

Article 1 - Disagreement

Well I actually agree with this article and believe that young people can bring alot more to this technological age and that people should maybe stop categorising them as having "no knowledge of the past". People believe power shoudl belong to people with more experience and more knowledge but why should this be the case. The fact that the terms digital native and digital immigrant have been coined in the first place is because young people have come to have more power in a certain part of our society and now others, digital immigrants, dont like this. It needs to be said that if digital natives were not allowed to flourish then where would we be now? Would I be even writing this critique?would the internet even be as popular as it is?would we still be slugging over books for all our research needs? The fact is that no I probably would'nt be writing now. This is why I dont understand why some people in society dont like it if the younger generation have more power, as at the end of the day, everybody is benefiting. Fast communication such as email and fax may not have been around (or not as popular)if younger people had not continued to use it. Therefore how would current businesses be run, not as effectively or efficiently im guessing.

Having said that I have to admit that i am still not completely "with it" when it comes to technology. I have asked my sister many a time how to do different things with my ipod but once she told me I did pick it up relatively easy. Now I know that if that had been my mum it would have been a completely different story. To conclude though i therefore dont disargee with his argument but in fact do strongly agree with it.

Article 5 - Abstract

This article talks about Creative Waves, the first in a series of free fully online projects for students located anywhere in the world, studying graphic design, photo-media and visual communication. Over a seven-week period in March and April, Creative Waves formed the largest multi-cultural community of student designers ever to work together in a totally online context. Typically the students had grown up within the digital world and were used to surfing and working online i.e digital natives.

The article goes on to say that this online community is completely successful even wth the absence of face-to-face mentoring. Although, it was the participants who concluded the process to be successful. Mentors and researchers found that there needed to be a much more structured way of involving the mentors and setting divisions for which areas which different mentors should focus on within online discussions. But with these changes researchers believe that the Creative Wave scheme will be back in the future and could even expand into all forms of teaching.

Key words : Creative Wave, digital natives, online community, mentoring.

Article 4 - Abstract

This article goes onto discuss how the contribution of three main factors has resulted in wide spread interest as using games as a learning tool (Digital Game Based Learning-DGBL). The author believes that games are so effective in learning, not because of what they are, but what they embody and what learners are doing while they are playing the game. The article also goes onto discuss how games do alot more than just lower level learning, they embody well-established principles and models for learning. The author uses a good example of how lions do not learn how to hunt from direct instruction but from continued modelling and play.

Saying this the author doesnt believe all games can be accountable as learning tools. He believes that games that are too easily solved will not be engaging, so good games constantly require input from the learner and provide feedback. There are apprantly 3 main ways that gaming can be intergrated into learning:-

a) The students build up the game from scratch
b) Educators build the games from scratch to include educational tools
c) Or introduce commercial, off-the-shelf games into the educational process

All 3 of these have seen to be successful in different way but it has to be realised that not all games work for all levels of learning. Another downside that the author briefly mentions is that they have to understand whether the amount of actual learning is justified by the amount of time taken to construct such games, and some may say no. But overall the author feels that this is a learning revolution that can only get better.

Key words : DGBL, model learning, learner, educator.

Article 3 - Abstract

This article goes into detail about the baby boom of the 40's - 60's which has led to many young people being around at the time of the digital revolution (the baby boom children then had children in their 30's leading to young digital natives now). It goes onto say how the "Net Generation" has arrived, that which is caught up in this digital era and glued to the internet and the likes, on a daily basis. Therefore, put together, this young generation and digital revolution have caused a wave of social transformation.

Apprantly the broadcast culture (television) is coming under attack from the younger generation with audience ratings falling in more recent years. The article argues that with television the viewer has no real power, they are given a minimal choice of what to watch. Whereas with the internet they have a much more diverse choice and therefore feel more empowered.

The article then goes onto discuss online learning and how it has become something that should definately be encouraged. The author believes that the fact that you can re-read over vital information or skip things you already know plays an important part with individual learning. This is compared to a classroom where you here something once and could miss the information which you need. He then discusses the process of "MUD's" (mentioned at the beginning of the blogs) where children can now further learn by joining these virtual realities where they can swap information and research on certain subjects.

Key words : MUD's, Net Generation, broadcast culture, social transformation.

Article 2- Abstract

This article basically sums up the background to why podcasting has become so popular especially amongst young people. Sites such as Itunes and equalivent are mentioned in contributing to this increased popularity. The author believes that increased internet audio usage can open up new education potential where students can listen to information or classes over and over again online.

The World Association for Online Education (WAOE) has worked with other organisations to produce "spoken libaries" to help with educational purposes. The author believes that these such podcasts will become evermore popular to help with special needs children or children with learning difficulties e.g. dyslexia.

He states that in 2004 a ladies college was the first to start using ipod's for educational purposes. For one unit per year they are asked to learn through podcasting by syncing their ipod with the campus computer. He then goes on to talk in detail about the opening of the "Japancasting" website which helps teach Japanese or English as a foreign language.

Key words : Japancasting, podcasting, education, spoken libaries.

Article 1 - Abstract

In a digitally converged media world, we are given the oppertunity, more and more to call the shots. We are able to make our own playlists, choose what things we record and what text messages we send. In this day and age convergence can be best described in 4 main ways:-

A convergence of services: news may be distributed both via ordinary newspapers or radio slots and streamed via the internet

A convergence of networks: e.g. telephone cables are used both for internet and telecommunication

A convergence of terminals: terminals e.g. we prefer to send mail or sms via our mobile phone rather than via our TV

A convergence of markets: e.g. the large-scale merger in 2000 between Time Warner and the internet provider AOL (America Online).

The fact is young adults no longer just view technology as passing phase but now continually participate in it i.e adding clips onto You Tube, etc. This new participation has led to new language being produced including words like wiki, weblog and podcast. This participation of young people can only be a good thing as the young are the next generation and therefore bring fresh, flowering, new ideas which keep the technological band wagon ticking. The only reason people disagree with young people having a voice is due to democracy and power in such an age.

Key words : Convergence, networks, democracy, participation

5 different Digital Immigration Websites

http://www.wisc.edu/depd/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm


http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf



http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=170701917




http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/12/reconsidering_digital_immigran.html




http://blogs.computerworld.com/digital_natives_digital_immigrants_what_about_digital_pilgrims

Website 5

This is a very small piece on the website but it does provide alot of debate about "digital pilgrim" and how there cant just possible be digital natives and digital immigrants with one not understanding the other. The author believes that there is more than just "the 12-year old who can understand social networking sites" and "the 40 -year old who doesn't know how to even get onto the internet". This is where she has coined the term "digital pilgrims" for those who are able to use technology (able to use the internet, mobile phones, ope attachments on emails, etc), just not as thoroughly as school children, students, etc.

Although this piece is very small it does bring the digital immigration argument up to date as it provide the basis of an expansion on the whole debate. Although it has been mentioned before (even in some of these websites which I have analysed!) that it is not just black and white, digital native and digital immigrant, no one has gone as far to re-name a totally different category that people can relate to. I am surprised by this as it is very obvious that there are not just digital natives and digital immigrants around today but there are others which provide alot more deoth. This is why I feel this website has a lot of argument which people can relate to today due to its up to dateness and the fact that it is very true!

Website 4

The author of this website seems to be very knowledgable in the field of "digital immigration" and aswell as using, yet again, many of Prensky's point, the author does provide alot of his own argument which provides great discussion and debate. He mentions a good point that even thought we generally class the young as digital natives and the old as digital immigrants, we have to realise that technology (and the internet in particular) are new to all of us. Just because digital natives may be able to pick things up quickly doesnt mean that they are not in the same position when it comes to the introduction of new technology. This is where the authors main argument lies, that not all young can be said to be digital natives only that they were "born" digital. This therefore shows this website to be very useful as it looks outside the box and not just necessarily around the immediate digital immigration boundary.

The author also goes onto to more diverse subjects of how this digital divide can empower the young as they are seen as more knowledgable when it comes to technology. The authorn doesnt agree with this stereotypical view and believes that if people continue to think like this then the digital divide will remain and communication between adults and the youth will totally break down.

Although he agrees with many of Prensky's points he does believe that some are fairly out of date. He doesnt believe Prensky when he considers immigrants to be lacking in culture and not able to fully assimlate into the modern age. He believes that digital immigrants still have alot of knowledge from the past which will still go along way in the present digital culture. This is where I feel this website is maybe one of the best I found, as it goes against Prensky's ideas and produces arguments which fit more with today's society.

In all he concludes to say that the gap between digital natives and immigrants shouldn't just be left but should be helped by introducing new ways of learning in order to help both parties understand one another. Here he then believes will pave the way for natives to let go of the past and immigrants able to embrace he future, providing a very open, up to date and relevent view on the subject!

Website 3

The author of this website uses alot of examples when tryin to describe a digital native. He uses the example of a school child who multi-tasks at the computer while doing her homeowrk she also has 4 websites on the go including msn and a social networking site. He completed a survey of 2000 school children and found a 3rd multi tasked while completing homework e.g. talking on the phone, browsing the web, etc. In the article many sides of the "multi-tasking" theory are thought out, with the older generation (who could be seen as digital immigrants) providing argument that no one can multi-task and complete all tasks efficiently and effectively. He also mentions, surprisingly that many in the technological world think it is surprising that instant messaging isnt used in schools as it is used so much in the avergae workplace. Many believe it can introduce and stablilise new relationships and produce comfortable atmospheres which to work in.

He is also yet another author who goes on to quote Prensky to some degree. He believes his ideas and focuses greatly on the term "digital native". The author believes there is nothing wrong with children using technology to increase their learning ability especially as technology starts to become ever more prominant in today's society.

Website 2

This website is one of the best I found as it is produced by Marc Prensky himself, who is a leading theorit in the Digital Immigration debate. The website goes on to show Prensky's views on digital immigrants and digital natives and how students are no longer the same as they used to be as they concentrate mainly on information on websites and search engines compared to books and journals. He proves this by providing numerical evidence that today's students spend only 5000 hours reading but over 10,000 hours on the internet and playing video games. As you can tell Prensky's ideas are very one sided and this website doesnt really go into much detail about the similarities between digital native and digital immigrants!

Therefore this website goes into much detail about what constitutes a digital immigrant and a digital native. He defines a digital immigrant as someone who would rather print out a hard copy of a document to edit it rather than edit it on the screen. He also defines a digital native as someone who is native to the speak of video game, internet, etc.

He then goes onto argue that with the introduction of digital natives the current way of learning cannot be valid. He believes digital natives are no longer interested in (or ever have been!) learning gradually, step-by-step, indiviually and slowly. They need something to keep them interested, which in these days, as Prensky believes, should relate to this "downloadable, MTV era".

He believes it is impossible for digital natives to go back to the old way of learning as their brains have already been adjusted to this new advanced technology. He therefore feels teachers should educate in ways that the pupils are likely to enjoy even if the teachers dont necessarily agree with that type of learning. This idea of "edutainment" that he mentions currently, in his opinion, doesnt work, but he feels that with determination it can become successful in the future. A good example he uses is that if a child can remember over 100 names of pokemon, for example, then why shouldnt they be able to remember the 180 or so names, populations, capital and relationships of the nations of the world. Therefore its not about what they are learning that stops them from absorbing information but it is how they are being taught. This is a great example and one that I believe will be able to make this "edutainment" type of learning very successful in the future.

Website 1

This website uses a lot of Marc Prensky's work, and the author uses his work to relate his life growing up in a technological advanced world. The author doesnt necessarily class himself as a digital native or a digital immigrant as he states that he has grown up with advanced technology such as video games and the internet (digital native). But as he is now in his 30's he stresses that he doesnt see himself as a digital native nor a digital immigrant. This therefore leads to his discussion of whether there should be more degrees of separation than just being a native or immigrant. The author thinks so and believes that Prensky only concentrates on the differences of both groups of people and not the similarities as just becasue you are a digital native, for example, doesnt necessarily need to mean that you never turn to a book for information.

The author also goes onto mention the idea digital natives may find it hard to go back to the ways of learning that digtial immigrants were a part of. Using Prensky's ideas ( "no matter how much the Immigrants may wish it, it is highly unlikely the Digital Natives will go backwards. In the first place, it may be impossible—their brains may already be different") he sees this as a reason why many students now turn to the internet as their first port of call and not textbooks necessarily. The author agrees that with the vast amount of information available today, students really should use other methods apart from the internet.

His main belief is that althought times are changing and more digital advances are being made, digital immigrants shouldnt have to alter their way of learning to fit with the new ways. He believes it is advantagous to have several ways of learning and totally agree with him. By having many different ways of learning, more people will be educated in a way that they find interesting and worthwhile meaning more people will become educated to a higher standard especially if they enjoy their way of learning. Everyone is indiviual and therfore are entitled to learn in which ever way they seem fit, as the author of this website points out vividly.

What is Digital Immigration?

When searching this topic in various areas, I found that the main person that kept coming up with valid ideas was Marc Prensky. His ideas split Digital Immigration and also concentrate on Digital Natives. His ideas about Digital Natives reveals that they "are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked" (http://www.wisc.edu/depd/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm). In otherwords, people who were born in this digital age (i.e me and other students) are classed as digital natives. We have been brought up around this technology and the internet is our first port of call and can become something that we greatly rely upon.

Therefore this description of Digital Natives can help us describe what can be classed as a Digital Immigrant. In terms of Marc Prensky he believes that digital immigrants have had to learn and adapt to this new age of technology. They wer'nt born into a society where the internet was already advanced. Therefore many have had to change their ways which can be very difficult for some. A good example to show this is one that Marc Prensky has used himself. He bleieves that even if digital immigrants learn how to keep up with this digital advance with the interent, they may still have a "digital immigrant accent" where digital immigrants turn to the internet as a second source of information and they would rather edit a hard copy of a document than editing it while it is still on the comupter.

Once I had read Prensky's ideas it put this idea of Digital Immigration/native into context and I understood totally what it was all about. I know from experience that I regularly have to describe how the internet works to my mum which can get very annoying when I think it is something really simple but to her it obviously isnt. This has made me understand why she doesnt necessarily know as much as me when it comes to ICT!

Some people believe that because these Digital Natives concentrate solely, in part, on the internet they are not getting full use out of other sources such as books, journals and actually asking for peoples opinions face-to-face. Therefore as not all of the internet can be trustworthy then this causes a problem of digital learning within our society today which many academic peers have become wary of.