Profiling Students of Today

Students knowing more about technology than their teachers is a growing trend in many classrooms because of the gap between "digital natives" (the students) and "digital immigrants" (the teachers) (Prensky 2001).  The exposure many students have to technology, and have had their entire lives, could be a driving force in the growing gap between teachers and students in technology skills.  In order to properly educate students for the 21st century workforce in which they will be competing for a job, teachers need to understand students' exposures to technology and learn to incorporate digital skills into lessons (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org).

To investigate the amount of technology in the life of a typical student of the digital world, I interviewed my sister, Alyssa.  She is a nineteen-year-old sophomore in college studying to be a high school English teacher.  I chose Alyssa as my interviewee because she has grown up in the digital age, always having the television, computer, or cell phone available.  I also thought it would be interesting to get some of her opinions about the current training for educators and the level of technology that is involved.  Listen to the interview by visiting http://ash62907.podbean.com/mf/web/auj76/MenearPodcastInterview.mp3.

References:

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2004). Tucson, Arizona. http://www.21stcenturyskills.org.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).