Digital Nation

I actually watched all three videos because the curiosity of the others was killing me!  

I thought 21st Century Schools was interesting because the students were more engaged by the use of technology in the classroom.  Even though at different points, students were not on task, the teachers were able to monitor them and get them back on task by letting them know they were being watched.  Fascinating!


The Attention and Multitasking video kind of infuriated me.  There was an arrogance that the interviewed students had about their ability to multitask.  It seemed as though these students felt that their need to work on other things in class was more important than having to completely pay attention in class.  Granted these are college students and they are paying for their time in class.  I just felt it was disrespectful to the professors that the students thought they 'were wasting an hour in lecture class.'


The irony came in while I was watching the Virtual Worlds video.  I myself was multitasking while that video was playing.  I began to think about how the editing style (or lack there of) was quite boring compared to the other two.  This video was literally just a talking head, whereas the others were edited with B-roll cut into it (insert this is what I studied in my first degree - video production).  I found it harder to pay attention to this video because there was no 'flare' to it.  However, I did pick up that the social groups in online gaming could be beneficial to students' futures as it requires them to work in groups with a specialty area.


I think in this day and again, technology is required in the classroom.  We have become a technological world and if we don't embrace using technology in the classroom, we as a nation, will get left behind.  Building upon students prior technological knowledge and teaching them how to use technology for more than just chatting, gaming, and social networking is vital.