Marc Prensky on Students “Powering Down” at School
After a close friend kept referring to Eduational Leadership, I realized that I was missing out by not subscribing. Each issue focuses on a particular thematic focus, and the last two months (Feb - student thinking; March - engaging the reclutant learner) have been paticularly outstanding.
The issues always have something worthwhile to share with my classroom colleagues and sometimes inspire new directions for our inquiry lessons together.
If your budget won’t absorb costs to belong to ASCD and receive the magazine (go here and click on “membership”), or attend an ASCD conference, you can read the ASCD blog, “In Service,” for free.
The blog gives you a snapshot of the kinds of articles your administrators are reading, including free online editions of articles from the print EL or Web exclusives. One of this month’s free online articles is Marc Prensky’s “Turning on the Lights,” urging schools to stop telling kids to “power down” and leave their technology and communications devices at the door.
Prensky is probably best known for inventing the “digital native/digital immigrant” phrases to show the difference between today’s students and those who remember a time without computers or the Web, so he’s definitely worth reading.
The blog asks us, “Do you agree with Prensky’s notion that requiring students to “power down” in school actually impedes their learning?”
I’ll leave it to you to answer that. It’s a tougher question than it seems.
In the meantime, get connected with ASCD. It will be a constant source of ideas and ways to speak about, connect to, and engage teachers in conversations about student learning.
Image: ASCD Home Page