Live blogging morning session at CONTACT2008 conference.  Please excuse typos and grammar.

“From Hopscotch to Hypermedia: A Vision of K-12 Students Today: Growing up Digital” – Brenda MacIsaac, NSTU

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This is not a workshop on technology, this is a workshop on students and learning.

Technology transformed my practice, I couldn’t teach like I did before.

Have our students changed?  How are they different?

Starting with the new version of Karl Fisch’s original “Did You Know” …icebreaker first…teachers fill in the blanks of some of the facts in the presentation.

Is there a disconnect between schools and clients they serve?  What our kids do outside of school is embraced by the millenials.  Digital Natives have changed radically.  Computers are the oxygen for todays’ kids.  There is a huge digital discinnect between schools and students.

Are these digital natives different because of digital media?   Research shows characteristics of today’s students…assertive, determined, curious, close bonds, independent…emotional and intellectual openness, hopeful/optimistic, accepting, extremely social

Breaktime…

Do they learn or approach things differently? Do they think differently? Reserach shows student are innovative, achievement oriented, immediate, like structure, discovery, self-reliant, prefer intercatives, hugely collaborative, can multi-task and multi-preocess and they want relevancy!! They are primarily visual-kinesthetic learners. Need to use graphic organizers, pictures to reinforce learning.

Kids want to learn things.  Ref: “A Private Universe” (search Youtube video)…once kids get ideas in their minds it is hard to unlearn things…difficult.

Brain Plasticity: What is It?  Brain responds and develops according to stimulus.  Physical changes will result when different ideas are introduced.

Group discussion of Marc Prensky article “Turning on the Light”.  Interesting discussions…some get it!

It’s their after-school education that is preparing them for their future more than their in-school education.

Classrooms must be interactive and experiential, creative learning, higher order, collaborative spaces.  Students should not be doing the same assignments and activities as everyone else.  Break down classroom walls…

It’s not about whether we are DN’s…but can we adapt for our students.  We need to erase our own “memories” about learning.

Change is inevitable.  Growth is optional.

tags: technology, education, whipple, learning, contact2008