The Digital Natives Meme Why context is more important than technology
The Digital Natives Meme. Why context is more important than technology
Jan 17, 2015
Paper given at 8th International JTEFS/BBCC Conference "Sustainable Development. Culture. Education", UNESCO, Paris 17/05/2010
Rising student numbers, greater funding pressure and an increasing consumerisation of education pose dilemmas for educators. Additionally, we are told that technology is going to transform education; that a new breed of young people, who have not known a world without pervasive electronic technology, are entering education; that this will lead to a paradigm shift and those unable or unwilling to make the change will be swept away. However, recent research shows this may not be the case. Using examples from an ongoing study of university students' experiences of using technology, this paper argues that a debate that is framed by thoughts of an army of homogeneous digital natives will produce technology 'solutions' that are unsustainable. It will go on to argue that a more context based approach towards the use of technology is needed in order to provide sustainable solutions to the issues facing educators in the 21st century
Rising student numbers, greater funding pressure and an increasing consumerisation of education pose dilemmas for educators. Additionally, we are told that technology is going to transform education; that a new breed of young people, who have not known a world without pervasive electronic technology, are entering education; that this will lead to a paradigm shift and those unable or unwilling to make the change will be swept away. However, recent research shows this may not be the case. Using examples from an ongoing study of university students' experiences of using technology, this paper argues that a debate that is framed by thoughts of an army of homogeneous digital natives will produce technology 'solutions' that are unsustainable. It will go on to argue that a more context based approach towards the use of technology is needed in order to provide sustainable solutions to the issues facing educators in the 21st century
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The Digital Natives MemeWhy context is more important than technology
Chris Hall – Swansea University, UK
meme
a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means
Rising student numbers
Increasing funding pressure
“I hope…….that they become pickier, choosier and more demanding consumers of the higher education experience.”
Digital Natives Prensky (2001)
brains
physically changed
Prensky
change
everything
".....just knowing how to use particular technologies makes one no wiser than just knowing how to read words. “
White 2009
“[Learners] have little sense of how Web 2.0 technology might be used to support their learning – as opposed to their social lives. This, we note, holds true across the age spectrum.”
Luckin et al 2009
“The key consideration is managing expectation so that students understand and are prepared for what they encounter. The onus for doing this is on the institution.”
(Higher EduAcation in a Web 2.0 World 2009)
Not true….
..meme is still there
£62 million 900 students
All e-learning is successful….…….. once
Prof. Peter Chatterton
Politicians, policy maker senior managers……
appreciative inquiry
Think about a time when using technology has been really useful in your learning or teaching.
What was happening?What were you feeling?What made it useful?What were others doing that contributed? What did you contribute?
So, what have we found?
context
studentexperience
staffexperience
learningoutcomes
supportstructure
communication
content
context is king
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