metaAcademia

Since then, the idea of the 'digital native' has gained a lot of traction and, like many memes, has evolved into a set of assumptions about what makes one person a digital native and another person a digital immigrant. I have heard the term used in all sorts of contexts, from business to media, and often it's used in a discussions about how "We must hire more digital natives", (where "we" is the company or organisation that the speaker represents), "Digital natives will change everything", or "Digital natives will expect us to use social software".\n\nBut what is a digital native? How can we tell one when we see one? For many, the assumptions about what makes a person a digital native revolve around age: The "net generation" are all digital natives because they have grown up with technology embedded so firmly in their lives that they barely recognise it as tech.\n\nThis assumption, that a given generation is automatically imbued with a natural understanding of technology in general and the web in particular, is wrong. I have spoken to many an undergraduate class, as has Kevin, made up primarily of people who did not have an interest in the web at all, who distrust it, feel it has no place in their work (and sometimes personal) lives. There is a tendency amongst each generation to believe that the generations that come afterwards are in some way fundamentally different, and it seems to be a natural part of being human to dissociate oneself from younger generations. Maybe that is why we name each generation, from Baby Boomers to Gen X to the Net Generation, so that we can talk about them as if they are 'other' to us. Is not 'digital natives' just another way to achieve that?

Something has been happening lately in education, and the implications are a bit unsettling. People are beginning to ask a cogent question, but I fear it's being framed for the wrong reason. I'm hearing more and more important decision makers asking, "Why are we using technology?"\n\nThe question itself isn't inherently problematic. In fact, it's quite an excellent question that should be asked every time we create a student learning experience, but it should be asked as a pedagogical inquisition rather than the way it's being framed in too many districts as of late.\n

This presentation highlights academia's reluctance to embrace new technology.

This presentation highlights academia's reluctance to embrace new technology. It is presented in a funny but straightforward presentation.

How to Teach a Child to Argue\n \nWhy would any sane parent teach his kids to talk back? Because, this father found, it actually increased family harmony.\n

Do you shoot video with your cell phone, digital camera, or other handheld device? Then the chances are good that you have shaky, dark, noisy, pixilated, or blurry videos. Less-than-ideal videos that obscure your life's best, captured moments. But those moments don't have to be lost to common video problems any more. vReveal has the advanced enhancement technology and "one click" touch-up tools that make it easy to dramatically improve the quality of flawed videos

This new form of learning begins with the knowledge and practices acquired in school but is equally suited for continuous, lifelong learning that extends beyond formal schooling. Indeed, such an environment might encourage students to readily and happily pick up new knowledge and skills as the world shifts beneath them.

An article about the use of social software in higher education.

A community collecting and organizing the best information on the web about eLearning