Listen to the Natives

We must like those digital natives abandon our predigital lives and accept this new world, in which is filled with technology – the need to be constantly contacted and connected. Us as educators need to embrace this new era with open arms. Teachers must practice engagement before content. Now when I first read this I thought that the notion was absurd however after many hours of pondering I came to realise the importance of engaging these students (even if it’s at the expense of my technological illiteracy!). If students are engaged – be it through interactive experiences in the classroom or chat lines about the syllabus content, then they’re likely to learn and take something away from the lesson and achieve the deeper understanding and higher order thinking – all of which us educators are trying to achieve! It’s just a new and dare I say exciting way of creating this outcome.