Tuesday, November 24, 2009

PD bites - Term 4 Week 7

This 2005 article "Engage Me or Enrage Me" by Marc Prensky (of the controversial "digital native" fame) challenges the education system to ensure student engagement not tuning out. A few years old but still extremely relevant.

There is also a podcast which covers this same topic in more detail from a key note speech by Marc Prensky at a conference in Shropshire. You can also watch his powerpoint presentation at the same time.

Blurb:
All educators are struggling to find ways to get today's kids more involved in their schoolwork. The key, says Prensky, is not curriculum, certification or testing, but rather ENGAGEMENT. He argues forcefully that this generation is NOT in need of better content, but of more engaging approaches, more understanding, and 21st century skills. In this talk, through numerous examples, Prensky shows specifically how games engage kids, and how educators can employ and benefit from not only existing games but also the powerful educational principles behind them.

I liked one of his closing statements. When we are planning our lessons we shouldn't think "What am I going to teach today?" BUT "How am I going to teach today?" ...