Why+is+it+important+for+teachers?



Technology is spreading and growing rapidly. Example of such a case is buying a the top of the line home computer system one day and finding out the next day it is already outdated and not the top of the line anymore. This only one of the many things teachers have to adapt with for new technology for education is growing and needs to be implemented in order to help teach and adhere to the students (Digital natives).

This is important for teachers:
 * By educators being more adaptable and flexible to forms of experimentation and social exploration, these youth could benefit from it.
 * New technology can be helpful, i.e. Smart boards, projectors, etc.
 * Students need someone to help them build a base of skills in order to think critically and use the internet for research.
 * Students need to learn mostly from their peers how to use new media but can be influenced and also learn from adults by them becoming role models and more experienced peers.
 * These students need to learn how to cope with the abundant amount of information they have at hand and how they shouldn't always just click on stuff and skim through sites.

The above is the main points for why it is important for teachers to learn about digital natives and the issue of the limitations of research on the web. Teachers need to know why high quality information/research needs to be accessed and distributed to the students. Here's a quote from Born Digital that states the why, "More generally, information quality matters, whether online or off, because we base our decisions on it. Recent history is full of examples where low-quality information has led to bad decision-making… in both the private and public sectors." For these students (Digital Natives), it is ideal and very beneficial if teachers can instill a set of skills that'll help them be skeptical of the information they read and research, think critically and read quality information that will lead to good decision-making.

Teachers should also be aware of the term of 'digital immigrants' which Prensky has composed. This can be helpful for digital immigrants knows life from both sides of the spectrum and have already been taught under the old educational system and have learned how to use the new forms of media all by themselves. They have an advantage over digital natives in regard to the fact they know how to research for quality information and have instilled in themselves the skills in order to do that.



There is a down side to the digital immigrants where most teachers are digital immigrants and their level of fluency in their digital media literacy is based on the individual. Also, the students (DNs) speak the so called current digital language and the majority of digital immigrants are speaking an outdated form of it which makes it harder for both the teacher to teach and the students to learn. Teachers as digital immigrants need to focus on two main points: their methodology and content. Methodology correlates to their pedagogy, and how their method of instruction should change in order to teach the students. There are two kinds of content in which Prensky explains, there is legacy (reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.) and the future content (software, hardware, robotics, and ethics, policies, etc. that go along with them). By utilizing these two points, teachers can take the giant leap into the new wave of teaching these so called digital natives.

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