21st Century Learners

• What is your belief and understanding of the nature of today's learners? Is there substance to the "engage or enrage" argument?

After reading Prensky’s (2005) article on engage or enrage I agree with firstly with his break down of students. In my schooling year I would have been a student who went through the motions. I was there because I knew i needed to be otherwise i wasn’t going to get anywhere in life without my senior certificate. I remember witnessing the engage and enrage plainly that if the teacher does not have the attention of the student or the class, and the student didn’t feel as though they were there for a reason or learning anything then they would get enraged and act out.

I believe using ICT’s in classroom is extremely important in 21^st Century Learning not only because of its ability to engage students but also because it can provide so many different learning avenues and experiences that will engage students a great deal more than listening to a teacher lecturing them.  

However I can also understand why Margaryan and Littlejohn (2008) criticises Prensky’s (2005) approach purely because most students would have some knowledge regarding ICT’s however would only be restricted to the basics such as Word, Google and social networking sites.

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf