Traditional Activity to----> Activity for 21st Century Brains!

*Marc Prensky said in the article Digital Natives, Digital Immagrants that "They [digital immagrants] prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite."


*James Gee said in his article Learning Theory, Video Games, and Popular Culture that "...humans think and understand best when they can imagine (simulate) an experience in such a way that the simulation prepairs them for actions they need and want to take in order to accomplish their goals. (Clark 1997;Barsalou, 1999b; Glenburg and Robertson, 1999)"


The traditional activity that seems to come up is this typical scenario: Science teacher lectures about topic, then passes out lab and goes over steps of the lab, students follow steps to finish the lab.

Since digital natives are more used to graphical representations, it would seem fitting to give them the instructions to the lab using pictures and video. I would like to see the students coming up with the steps to the lab themselves by only looking at the picture prompts. By looking at the pictures and thinking about the lab steps beforehand, the students are actually simulating the lab before they even start. This would increase their performance during the lab setting and even add to the overall depth and elaboration. Just mindlessly following the steps doesn't lead to much elaboration or depth of processing.

First Reflection Prompt-Response

After the readings and our first class, what is something in your practice that needs to change.  Is there something that we did or read that sparked something in you..  and made you think - I could be doing something different that would make me more effective in my job, my life, or my role as a student? 
Share a little insight about what sparked your interest and share any brainstorming or insights you might be grappling with about how technology is used in learning or for productivity and admistrative tasks.


Our classes last Friday and Saturday really opened my eyes to a few things that I could do to help my overall instruction in technology. The most interesting thing that I saw was how by seperating each student's experience (our own twitter, our own wiki, our own blog) allows the students more ways to express themselves and increases authentic engagement. I felt that the space in which I answered the questions was personal. A lot of the times I try to fit all my trainings into a "one size fits all" form. By having these little personal spaces of expression, the student can feel more open to reflect on their thinking in a more meaningful way. I would really like to incorperate Hoot Course into some of my professional developments. I do have teachers that want to learn Twitter and would do great with guided questions that ask about the technology that they are learning.  


Any collaboration software would be a huge help to my professional developments. It is hard to find one that has everything I need. I would want a collaboration space that has a real word processor like Google Docs but has the look and ease of use similar to Lino-it. Perhaps if I keep looking I could find some collaborative Web 2.0 tool that mixes these traits well. 

Chase's Five Ways

1. Teachers must seek out technology that is both easy to learn (for themselves) and easy to intigrate into the clasroom that they have.
2. Ask the students what technology they use in their daily lives and learn to use it. (both personal and in class uses)
3. Seek help from experienced teachers
4. Join an online community for assistance (#edtech, facebook...etc.)
5. Don't try to do too much...one little step at a time when incorperating tech.

Introduction--This is me!

Hi! My name is Chase Alexander and I am a graduate student persuing my masters degree in Instructional Psychology and Technology. I love to play pool and volleyball.

I currently work at the K20 Center under the GearUp for Success grant. I travel to schools across Oklahoma and teach teachers how to authentically incorporate technology in the classroom.

I have a professional development website that I created and maintain. It can be found by clicking here.
I also love twitter and you can follow view my feed here.


Thanks for reading!!

The Digital Divide--The Brain, The Senses--Section 1

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants-Marc Prensky

Quotes: "Our students have changed radically. Today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed for."

"today's students think and process information fundamentally differently"

"Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age) are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language."

"They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). The function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. The prefer games to serious work."

Do They Really Think Differently? - Marc Prensky

Quotes: " The brain constantly reorganizes itself all our child and adult lives, a phenomenon technically known as neuroplasticity"


"the brain maintains its plasticity for life" 


"The environment and culture in which people are raised affects and even determines many of their thought processes."


"...Digital Natives crave interactivity--an immediate response to their each and every action."


"challenges and opportunities in teaching Digital Natives is to figure out and invent ways to include reflection and critical thinking in the learning. (rather than instructor lead de-briefing)"

The Internet-Steven Johnson

Quotes: "The rise of the internet has challenged our minds in three fundamental and related ways: by virtue of being participatory, by forcing users to learn new interfaces, and by creating new channels for social interaction."

"the difference between television and the web as the difference between lean-back and sit-forward media"


"The next generation is carrying that logic to a new extreme" the screen is not just something you manipulate, but something you project your identity onto, a place to work through the story of your life as it unfolds."

Learning to Think in a Digital World- Maryanne Wolf

Quotes: "At the core of Socrates' arguments lay his concerns for the young. He believed that the seeming permanence of the printed word would delude them into thinking they had accessed the heart of knowledge, rather than simply decoded it."

"that which is the end of their [the author's] wisdom is but the beginning of ours. The act of going beyond the text to think new thoughts is a developmental, learn able approach toward knowledge."

Learning Theory, Video Games, and Popular Culture- James Gee

Quotes: "Writing, digital computers, and networks each allow us to externalize some functions of the mind."

"humans think and understand best when they can imagine (simulate) an experience in such a way that the simulation prepares them for actions they need and want to tak in order to accomplish their goals (Clark 1997; Barsalu, 1999b: Glenburg and Robertson, 1999). "

Usability of  Websites for Teenagers- Jakob Nielsen

Quotes:"factors that make websites easy or websites easy or difficult for teens to use were the same in both countries, as were the design characteristics that appealed to teens."

"Teens poor performance is caused by three factors: insufficient reading skills, less sophisticated research strategies, and a dramatically lower patience level."

"[teens] pay more attention to a website's visual appearance that adult users do...rated the highest for subjective satisfaction were sites with a relatively modest, clean design."

User Skills Improving, But Only Slightly- Jakob Nielsen

Quotes: "People are very bad at coping with information architectures that deviate from their view of the problem space. They also fail to readjust their content interpretation to compensate for changing contexts."

"Still, today's users rarely change their search strategy when the initial query fails."

 "When it comes to search, users face three problems: inability to re-target queries to a different search strategy, inability to understand the search results and properly evaluate each destination site's likely usefulness, and inability to sort through the SERP's polluted mass of poor results.."
  

Is Google Making Us Stupid? -Nicholas Carr

Quotes: "It is clear thgat users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of "reading" are emerging as users "power browse" horizontally through titles, contents pages,and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense."

"...reading plays an important part in shaping the neural circuits inside our brains."

 Your Brain Is Evolving Right Now- Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan 

Quotes: "As the brain evolves and shifts its focus toward ne technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills.."

"With the weakening of the brain's neural circuitry controlling human contact, our social interactions may become awkward, and we tend to misinterpret, and even miss, subtle, non-verbal messages."

"Although exposure to new technology may appear to have a mush more subtle impact, its structural and functional effects are profound, particularly on a young, extremely plastic brain."

"..our brains learn to swiftly focus attention, analyze information, and almost instantaneously decide on a go or no-go action. rather than  simply catching "digital A.D.D., many of us are developing neural circuitry that is customized for rapid and incisive spurts of directed concentration." 

First Post...Testing things out

Here is my first post of my blog for EIPT 5513. I'm going to try some of the features to get myself acclimated to this blog. Here is a link to my professional development website.

Here is a picture that I inserted with a caption at the bottom:

The new look of OKC! 

Here is a video that I pulled from YouTube...I made this last year for some of my teachers.

There is also the ability to view the html at the top left. I like this because I can embed this post onto my website. This is a very cool and easy blog creator. I look forward to using it.