E-learning 2: Part A

Digital natives are good at things which are more interactive. They are better at reading 3D representations, discovering things inductively, monitoring multiple locations simultaneously and responding to expected and unexpected stimuli as compared to non-digital natives.

Since, they crave for interactivity, tasks which are non-interactive will put them off. They appeared to be poor at focusing their attention in class. However, after knowing their interests, we should understand that they do can have long attention span, but not for the "boring" old ways of learning environment.

As for the portrait, I chose Olivia almost instantly.
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-olivia-video
It has always been a mind-bogging issue on whether to assign E-learning tasks to the students as some of them do not have computers at home.

During my one year of contract teaching, my form class, a 1NT class has many students under the FAS programmes. It always worried me about those who do not have computers at home. Are they able to finish my online assignments on time? Are they having difficulties in getting computer and Internet access? The school did book a computer lab for those students to use and complete their assignments. However, this issue never seems to get off my mind.

After viewing the video on Olivia, I do have a different perception on those students without computer access at home. I started to reflect on how IT savvy they were. Many of them still have HP (often confiscated by teachers if they were caught using in class) and tried to take photos with me on my last day in school. They wanted to add my on Facebook and also asked me for my email address and contact particulars. Well, I should not have undermined their IT knowledge and how much IT meant in their daily life.

Teachers today should take a step back and really look at the kind of students who they are teaching. Students today are no longer the same as before. Teachers need to adjust their teaching strategies to cater to the digital natives (students).

GBL should be incorporated into the lessons as the digital natives require a more interactive learning environment. Even without GBL, it is crucial for teachers to bear in mind that they need to include activities such that students are able to voice their opinions and interact with one another (more meaningful learning experience).

Teachers may employ Facebook, blogs most students are familiar with for classwork. Students may be asked to blog weekly under a group blog or their class blog. Teachers need to keep track of what the students are doing and interested in. These will help in planning and delivering the lessons better.