It had been 12 years since I stepped foot in a classroom, that was until last year when I accompanied my child to the kindergarten orientation day. It was quite confronting for me observing the teacher teach from the projector which was connected to her laptop. It was evident this had replaced the old fashioned chalk boards. The use of ipads was actually an activity for the children to participate in. During my school years, none of the above were present.
Nowadays we live in a digital world that enables us to access a wide range of information using the latest technologies including ipads, laptops and smart phones. Living in the 21st century means using these devices to connect with others in real time (Prensky, 2008). We can chat online to family overseas, pay our bills online and search for information on the internet from anywhere in the world. This is how we socialise, communicate and now learn, in today’s world. For teachers, there are expectations for students to be digitally native and this comes from the students themselves, parents and employers. (Howell, 2012, p. 8).
When learning about the digital world I wasn’t surprised that the use of digital devices was engaging and motivating in the classroom (Howell, 2012, p. 12). At the end of my sons orientation day he was begging for an ipad. After seeing the children thrive from learning on the ipads and how easily they worked the ipads, I understood clearly why a digital pedagogy is required by teachers and how, we as teachers need to be digitally prepared in the classroom by understanding the affects of using technologies and being able to use these ourselves (Howell, 2012, p. 15). When we finally bought our ipad we had to start by searching on ‘google’ and found a useful video to view (Goodwin, 2012) where we learnt how to navigate the ipad and download apps. After viewing The Voice of an Active Learner video (eNetLearning, 2014) it was clear to see how fast technology in education has evolved over the years.
References
eNetLearning. (2014, November 21). The voice of the active learner – Education from a digital native’s perspective . Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/112501451
Godwin, W. (2012, March 1). How to Use the iPad – Learn the iPad With Easy Video Tutorials in This App . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watchv=anxmyuMgbp8
Howell, J. (2012). Teaching with ICT: Digital Pedagogies for Collaboration and Creativity. Victoria AU: Oxford University Press
Pixelery (2015). Information technology – Stock Image. (Image). Retrieved from http://depositphotos.com/6581532/stock-photo-information-technology.html
Prensky, M. (2008, May 22). The 21st Century Digital Learner . Retrieved February 29, 2016, from edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner-technology-2008
