Blog #2- Learner 2.0

I call them digi-nats, but the experts have also named them Learner 2.0. As I've said before, they are the natives in this geography and they move around this landscape as effortlessly as a feather on a breeze. They communicate and collaborate, share information and solve problems, all without realizing that they are learning in the process. So, again I ask, "How do we harness this powerful tool to get our students to learn what we want to teach them?"

I wandered around the Web to see what our digi-nats are doing. Beginning in Facebook, I mosied on into an application called Farmville. It's a simple little game where you are given some cash, some coins and a few plots of land to plant crops. What I found was that it was not that simple.

If you go to the bottom of the page, you'll see a link labelled Forums. It's where the participants in the game communicate with each other, giving tips and tricks they discovered as they've played the game. The amazing thing about this forum was the math! Players are trying to maximize their profits in planting crops while earning as many experience points as possible. The participants have created spreadsheets that detail how much each crop can earn per plot size, which crops to plant based on your available time, comparisions based on time vs. plot size- you name it, they have calculated it! The players believe they are trying to perform in the game, but without realizing it they've used math skills to achieve their goal. Why? Because they have a goal and applying their mathematical knowledge is the way to achieve it. Talk about application and problem solving! I can see myself using this to teach multiplication, arrays, profit/loss, elapsed time and probably a few other things - all with a simple little game!

Learner 2.0 wants to share and the world of Web 2.0 provides them with a platform to do just that. They share their feelings and experiences through blogs(online journals) and video and still photography sites such as Youtube and Flikr. How can we use this need to share to our advantage? The simple answer is to let them create and share! Unfortunately, most schools have these sites blocked, so, what do we do then? Some districts have begun using a secure tool called EChalk to give students, parents and school personnel a forum for communication and discussion. It is not quite as flashy or fun as sites like Facebook and MySpace, but it does provide a controlled environment where students can share with each other.

What I've learned as I've perused the Web is that we are losing our digi-nats because we are not asking them to apply the skills we are trying to teach in a context that is meaningful to them. Why are we asking them to regurgitate facts and scratch out math problems on paper when they are actively doing those things in their blogs and games on a daily basis? We need to design tasks that ask Learner 2.0 to integrate the skills that the educational system thinks are important with the things that these students want to do! What about blogging about current events, literature or a scientific question? Learner 2.0 can already create a photo journal for a science project or as a reflection on an assigned question or topic- we just have to give them the opportunity!

Here are some examples of teachers using Web 2.0 to engage students. Hopefully, this will inspire you to engage our digi-nats in some amazing learning.

http://mrshawnspot.edublogs.org/ History

http://english4all.edublogs.org/ English/Language Arts

http://risingminds.edublogs.org/

http://eblen.edublogs.org/ Mathematics