"The [Digital] Natives Are Coming!"

No, they're here already!  They speak a different language.  They think differently, not step by step, but globally.  The article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, makes some excellent observations concerning a [presumed] communication gap between old school teachers (Digital Immigrants) and students that have grown up alongside all types of technology (Digital Natives).  The article also purports that this communication gap adds to the decline of the United State's educational system when compared to other industrialized nations.  This adds weight to the notion that todays students are not the learners that the educational system  was originally designed for. 

I was intrigued while reading the article.  Could this really be?  Are teachers really doing the disservice of refusing to learn the new language of technology to their students?  As I have mentioned in previous posts, everyone can learn something from anyone as long as he/she has an open mind.  This goes both ways.  Students can learn from teachers and vice versa.  As a future teacher, I will need to learn this new language by participating in professional development and being receptive to the new knowledge that students can offer me.  Any and all souces new knowledge need to be embraced if one wishes to continue to be an effective educator.

But alas there is reason for hope I believe.  After all, this article was written in 2001 as a wake-up call.  It worked.  Proof of this is evident through the advent of a taxonomy of technology integration in classrooms with the creation of National Education Technology Standards and LoTi.  Progress is slow.  It doesn't happen overnight.  Unfortunately, resistance to change is a human quality in many teachers.  These teachers, I suspect, are approaching retirement.  Newer and younger teachers will bring with them new experiences with technology and be better prepared to adapt their intruction for the Digital Natives.