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by Marc Prensky 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‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.

by Marc Prensky 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‖ students. 1 In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Part I, I discussed how the differences between our Digital Native students and their Digital Immigrant teachers lie at the root of a great many of today's educational problems. I suggested that Digital Natives' brains are likely physically different as a result of the digital input they received growing up. And I submitted that learning via digital games is one good way to reach Digital Natives in their ―native language.‖ Here I present evidence for why I think this is so. It comes from neurobiology, social psychology, and from studies done on children using games for learning.

Hi. I wrote a paper about digital natives as part of an anthropology assignment for a doctoral course. Researchers from around the world have empirically proven that Prensky's theories are false. Additionally, while neuroscience has shown that brains do change as a result of neuroplasticity, to argue that it is generational is also a false claim. Though cognitive theory shows that learners bring their prior experiences to the interpretation of new educational opportunities - impacting attention and interpretation - all generations have had this occur. There is merit to the point that we should take learner's prior experience into consideration when designing instruction; however, Prensky's digital native claims may have done more to create tension between students and teachers than to provide instructional support. If you would like any of the scholarly studies, I have a published reference list at http://brholland.com/reference-list. Beth

interactive science site

This is a fun Android and Apple app from University College London were players complete a range of games to exercise the brain cells and provide researchers with real, but anonymous data to use in their study. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Science

Nice article on reaching the less advantages and using technology to meet their needs. Teachers can engage students before they enter the classroom.

Example PBL Units for science; mostly cell biology

Globe and Mail visual graph: Is technology a boon or burden in the classroom? As the world becomes increasingly digital, school boards are trying to negotiate technology's role in the classroom. Some have embraced digital tools, enhancing their classrooms with Smartboards, cell phones and social media. Others have favoured tradition, claiming technology is a distraction and a nuisance. Where do Globe readers stand? Each dot on this graph represents one person's response colour-coded by age group.

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009 Creating a Wordsearch using Google Spreadsheets I'm a fan of alternative learning and testing techniques. Back when I was the teaching assistant for the "History of Video Games" class (yes, that's a real class), I gave the final exam as an illustrated crossword puzzle. It was surprisingly hard to find software for creating that crossword, so I hoped to make a Spreadsheets gadget to make it easier. Unfortunately, crossword-solving algorithms that run entirely in JavaScript are hard to find, and I gave up and went for second best: a wordsearch gadget. (A big thanks to Robert Klein for the wordsearch JavaScript library.) Here are steps for using the gadget: Create a new spreadsheet, and put a list of words in the first column. (Or, alternatively, use an existing spreadsheet that has a column of words you're interested in). My sample spreadsheet has a simple animals wordlist: Click on the "Insert" menu and then select "Gadget..." This presents you with various categories of gadgets to choose from (similar to the iGoogle directory). My gadget isn't yet in the gallery, so you'll need to select "Custom" and then type in the URL to the gadget: The gadget will appear embedded in the current worksheet, and it will prompt you to select a range of data to send to the gadget. Select all the cells that contain the desired words, and you should see the Range text field update with the range. If it doesn't work, you can always manually type it in. You can now customize the number of rows and columns. The default is 10 by 10, but if you have more words, you likely want a larger wordsearch. Click "Apply", and see the generated output. You have a few options for how you use the wordsearch. You can play with it immediately, inside that gadget, or you can use the option on the gadget menu to move the gadget to its own sheet and use it there. Note that each time you reload the spreadsheet, the wordsearch will be randomly generated with a new layout - so

"The ubermix is an all-free, specially built, Linux-based operating system designed from the ground up with the needs of education in mind. Built by educators with an eye towards student and teacher empowerment, ubermix takes all the complexity out of student devices by making them as reliable and easy-to-use as a cell phone, without sacrificing the power and capabilities of a full operating system. With a turn-key, 5 minute installation, 20 second quick recovery mechanism, and more than 60 free applications pre-installed, ubermix turns whatever hardware you have into a powerful device for learning."

What should be common sense is now being officially prescribed by the American Academy of Pediatrics: Limit screen time to two hours a day, and keep cell phones and Internet connections out of bedrooms.

I especially am interested in the sending group texts to parents. Our school doesn't have an auto-dialer yet for emergencies or group events, and this would be one way to get the information out quickly. For teachers, what a great way to notify parents of urgent matters or upcoming events or needs.

Pair that with Google Voice, where you can copy/paste text messages.

Districts are creating free wifi networks for student cellphone/smartphone access to add to their education program

"Vous l'avez certainement remarqué, en ce moment beaucoup de professionnels de l'information migrent de Delicious à Diigo. Effet de mode ou véritable révolution? Pour tenter de le savoir, je vous propose un comparatif qui, je l'espère, vous aidera à choisir entre l'une ou l'autre des plateformes. Delicious et Diigo fonctionnent sur le même principe: ils vous permettent d'enregistrer vos favoris en ligne. Jusque-là tout va bien : la manipulation se fait en quelques clics que ce soit avec l'un ou avec l'autre. Mais une fois que l'on a créé et les favoris importés, on se retrouve dans deux univers très différents. diigo Diigo: réseau social ou l'outil de travail ? Dès la page d'accueil on trouve une ressemblance très forte avec les sites de réseaux sociaux: un profil avec vos informations personnelles, vos activités récentes ainsi que celles de vos amis. Car dans Diigo, vous avez des amis, avec qui vous pouvez converser et travailler en groupe. Le plus ? Le travail en commun permet en autre de créer une liste fermée de mots-clés pour indexer vos favoris., ce qui évite les listes de tags interminables et peu pertinentes. L'organisation des mots-clés par liste thématique peut s'avérer utile notamment lorsque l'on souhaite créer une liste de signets pour le public de la bibliothèque. Le moins ? Il faut bien dire qu'on a du mal à distinguer le véritable enjeu du site, tant le coté social est présent. Par exemple il est possible d'échanger ses idées, ses favoris ou ses annotations avec des inconnus de la communauté via les forums thématiques. WindowsLiveWriter_Delintrtdegardersessignetsenligne_B21E_delicious_logo_3 Delicious: simplicité et austérité. Soyons clairs, Delicious n'est vraiment pas joli à regarder, et sur ce point Diigo le bat à plate couture. La page d'accueil est constituée de la liste des sites les plus populaires. Le message est clair: ici on sauvegarde ses favoris, on l

Go Rice! How will this impact schools? More powerful netbooks? More functions on cell phones?

SimpleAssessment Free assessment to test the technology proficiency of students. SimpleTechLearning Tools to help teachers develop skills to lead students in 21st century classrooms. SimpleSchoolSafety Free school safety resources to protect against H1N1, bloodborne pathogens, and MRSA. SimpleTechIntegration Teacher-to-teacher community for sharing classroom resources and free tech tools. Protecting Students Curriculum to educate and keep students, staff, and teachers safe on the Internet and with cell phones.

Information on the use of mobiles according to PEW studies.

Brain Myth---We use only 10% of our brain.