I can see after reading Prensky’s articles that I'm a Digital Immigrant instructor. I realized some years ago that to keep my students interested I needed to be an entertainer. Nice to see the concept has a name: edutainment. I guess this is why I'm looking for digital flashcards, crossword puzzles, and the like. So if today’s children can very easily memorize 100 Pokemon characters, there should be no problem in memorizing 100 anatomy and physiology terms – it’s all in the presentation!
Today’s eLearners are characterized as liking to “retrieve” information fast, get instant gratification that involves continual rewards, and who feel if they aren’t paying attention it is the instructor’s responsibility. I have to say I see that last one every quarter when I read the student evaluations on my instructors. There is currently an outspoken minority who feel it is the instructor’s fault for their not passing the class. And here I’ve always interpreted that as an English-as-a-second language issue!
I have to assume then that one of the barriers are Digital Immigrant instructors who don’t have the knowledge or time to set up eLearning as a video game. And if they do, is the data they are teaching static enough that all the work isn’t outdated in a year necessitating that it be redone (as opposed to updated)? Also, is there one piece of software that will do the job that doesn’t have an incredibly steep learning curve, or does an educator suddenly have to dawn the hat of software application specialist? And if the brains of someone raised on books as opposed to someone raised on technology really function differently, are both sides willing to compromise by moving half way?
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