Week 12 Reading Reflection

The Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants article was actually rather eye opening. The way that the two groups were described, as almost entirely separate cultures being forced to combine, made a lot of sense to me. In high school, there was little access to a computer lab, and there was a ban on phone and a lot of other technology in school. It just doesn't occur to some teachers that some students might find it more beneficial to be able to take notes on a laptop. Most students type faster than they write, so what would be bad about letting students take notes on a laptop? The possibility of the students roaming the internet? Well thats to be expected, but if you're going into a school setting where you want to use computers you either have to disable the internet or deal with it. Sure there are going to be some students that will use it in a negative manor, but others may use it to their advantage looking for more background on the topic of discussion. What about all that annoying clicking? Honestly, it's the wave of the future, and it's something teachers are going to have to get used to. I think the gaps in tech based knowledge between teacher and student are a serious issue, because then a student can get it into their head that a teacher knows less than them, and then the student will shut down. What's the point of learning from someone that doesn't know as much as you do? I think there has to be some sort of compromise between the digital age, and those who are immigrants into it. The problem is getting people to actually try to work towards it.
The article on Webquests ties in nicely as a potential compromise. Perhaps there is a way that teachers can use the internet to their advantage, through something like a webquest. That way students are guided to specific activities that will help then learn the subject that a teacher is trying to get across. This is where the TI:ME strategies become very important to music educators because it is a set of standards that can help us meet with the Digital Natives and provide teaching the complements their learning style. The multimedia pictures also were a compromise. By learning about how to incorporate pictures into presentations and things like that we are bridging the digital gap.