The Natives are Restless: Using Technology to Engage FirstYear Students

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The Natives are Restless Using Technology to
Engage First-Year Students

• Debra Sprague
• George Mason University
• dspragu1_at_gmu.edu

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Who are the Digital Natives?

• A Vision of Students Today - http//youtube.com/wa
  tch?vdGCJ46vyR9o
• Twitch vs. Conventional Speed
• Parallel vs. Linear Processing
• Random Access vs. Linear Thinking
• Graphics First vs. Text First
• Connected vs. Stand Alone

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• Active vs. Passive
• Payoff vs. Patience
• Fantasy vs. Reality
• Technology as friend not foe
• Prensky, M. (2001a, September/October). Digital
  natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon,
  9(5), 1-6.
• Prensky, M. (2001b, November/December). Digital
  natives, digital immigrants, part 2 Do they
  really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6),
  1-6.

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What Do They Lack?

• They have different expectations about the world
  around them. Theres always a right answer,
  everything is possible, and trial-and-error is
  almost always the best plan (Beck and Wade,
  2004).
• They are not media literate and are unable to
  evaluate content, accept facts at face value.
• Notions of property and privacy are shaped by
  their ability to create content.

5

• People and Product rankers given rise to
  cyber-bullying
• Live in a state of partial attention. Not as
  productive as those who stay on task. Work and
  leisure merge. Have difficulty
  compartmentalizing.
• Rainie, L. (2006, September 28). Digital
  'Natives' Invade the Workplace. Pew Research
  Center. http//pewresearch.org/pubs/70/digital-nat
  ives-invade-the-workplace

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Meeting Their Learning Needs

• Use their tools for interaction and for learning
• Take time to become familiar with these tools, to
  understand the potential and limitations
• Do not be afraid to try even if you do not always
  succeed.

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Blogging

• Blogging or Weblogs allow students to share their
  thoughts and ideas, to interact with each other
  through writing.
• Provide an authentic audience.
• Allows students to help each other with
  coursework, builds a community.
• Can use blogging sites or use Angel if you want
  the audience to be limited to your students.

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Blogging Dos

• Familiarize yourself with blogs.
• Top 100 Education Blogs - http//oedb.org/library/
  features/top-100-education-blogs
• Edublogs - http//edublogs.org/
• Class Blogmeister - http//classblogmeister.com/
• Recognize what blogging can do for your students.
• Transitioning from paragraphs to essays
• Exploration, discovery, and creation

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Blogging Donts

• Dont just jump in and have students start
  blogging.
• Dont confuse blogging with social networking.
• Dont leap at the freebies, such as
  http//www.blogger.com
• Dont force a sequential style. Structure
  entries by topic instead of by time.
• Dont leave the blogging to the students.
• Sturgeon, J. (2008, February). Five donts of
  classroom blogging. T.H.E. Journal, 35(2).
  26-30.

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Wikis

• Another tool for writing, especially
  collaborative writing.
• Allows users to freely create and edit Web page
  content using any Web browser.
• Wikipedia - http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
  
• Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge -
  http//tpck.org/tpck/index.php?titleMain_Page
• Are being used as a tool for reflection and
  e-portfolios

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Podcasts

• Audio files that can be played on the computer or
  downloaded to MP3 players.
• Three ways to use podcasts
• have students subscribe to and access podcasts
  created by others
• create your own podcasts for use by your students
  
• have students create their own podcasts

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Advantages of Podcasts

• Allow students to easily review material for a
  test or to learn material they missed due to
  absence
• Useful for language development
• Allow students to publish their ideas to a
  broader audience
• Allows students to be actively involved in their
  own learning

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Issues with Podcasts

• Have a steep learning curve if creating your own.
• Creating a podcast takes time.

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Accessing Podcasts

• If you wish to access podcasts created by others
  or learn more about podcasting check out the
  following sites
• Education Podcast Network - http//www.epnweb.org/
  
• iTunes Store - http//www.apple.com/itunes/store/p
  odcasts.html
• Podcast Alley - http//www.podcastalley.com/
• Podscope - http//podscope.com/

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Digital Stories

• Turns a personal narrative into a multimedia
  experience
• Can be used to introduce or reinforce the power
  of writing
• Easy to use and incorporate into the classroom
• Photostory - http//www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/us
  ing/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
• iMovie - http//www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/

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Digital Stories Resources

• Digital Stories - http//www.digitalstories.org/
• Center for Digital Storytelling -
  http//www.storycenter.org/
• Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling -
  http//www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/

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Collaboration Tools

• Course Management tools Angel, Blackboard,
  WebCT
• Pubcasts on SciVee - http//www.scivee.tv/
• GenePattern - http//www.broad.mit.edu/cancer/soft
  ware/genepattern/
• Engineering Village - http//www.engineeringvillag
  e2.org/controller/servlet/Controller

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Collaborative Writing Tools

• Online Writing Collaboration Project -
  http//www.owcp.net/ (For English teachers)
• Guide to Collaborative Writing Tools -
  http//www.kolabora.com/news/2007/03/01/collaborat
  ive_writing_tools_and_technology.htm

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Virtual Environments

• Second Life - http//secondlife.com/
• Active Worlds - http//activeworlds.com/
• There - http//www.there.com/
• Dimension M - http//www.dimensionm.com/
• River City - http//muve.gse.harvard.edu/muvees200
  3/
• Virtual Environments.info - http//www.virtualenvi
  ronments.info/

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Augmented Reality

• Interaction between the real world and the
  virtual world
• Requires handhelds and GPS systems
• A variety of simulations where participants
  collaborate to solve a problem
• Interact with virtual characters and data

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Augmented Reality Resources

• Handheld Augmented Reality Project (HARP) -
  http//www.isites.harvard.edu/harp
• Local games lab - http//www.lgl.gameslearningsoci
  ety.org/
• Augmented Reality Games - http//www.educationarca
  de.org/aurg

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Additional Information on Digital Natives

• Digital Natives - http//www.digitalnative.org/Mai
  n_Page
• Digital Natives in the Classroom -
  http//coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/digitalnatives/in
  dex.htm
• Digital Native or Digital Immigrant, Which
  Language Do You Speak? -http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/
  clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Digital-Natives.htm