Technology For Teaching And Learning In The Elementary PDF

DEVELOPING BASIC DIGITAL SKILLS Information age Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Generation Gap In the field of education, it is important that critical differences in perceptions between old and young which create a generation gap need to be discussed.  New generation is ex...

DEVELOPING BASIC DIGITAL SKILLS Information age Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Generation Gap In the field of education, it is important that critical differences in perceptions between old and young which create a generation gap need to be discussed.  New generation is exposed to thick flicking video games, mobile phone texting, socializing through the social web sites and downloading text/ music/photos/video with adeptness and task-switching speed.  Our parents read book texts, enriched by illustrations and photos. In order to research, they go to the school library and borrow books for home reading. The technology or digital generation has greater affinity to visuals (photos and videos) compared with texts.  The past 30 year old generation has obtained information in a liner, logical and sequential manner. Positively, it made them a logical, focused, and reflective thinker The new generation, however, follows a personal random access to hyperlinked digital information, less superior to elders in focus and reflection.  The traditional education system gives priority to independent learning, prior to participative work. New learners take the opportunity for dozens of instantaneous ways to communicate with others.  Old teachers teach students in order to help them pass tests and complete the course requirement.  On the other hand, the new digital learners simply wish to acquire skills, knowledge and habits as windows of opportunity afford them to learn.  Digital learners experience more immediate gratification through immediate scores from games, enjoyable conversation from web-cam calls, excitement from email chats, and inviting comments from their Facebook account.  Digital learners prefer fun learning which is relevant and instantaneously useful to them.  Learning is play to new learners and not surprisingly there is much fun in the digital world outside the school. 1. Solution fluency 2. Information fluency 3. Collaboration fluency 4. Media fluency 5. Creativity fluency 6. Digital Ethics  Schools today must develop higher thinking skills to foster digital fluencies and overcome the superficial learning often associated with digital technology.  The structured problem solving-process known as 4Ds also exemplifies the instructional shift in digital learning:  Define the problem  Design the solution  Do the work  Debrief on the outcome