Library and 21st Century Learners

The discussion I am writing about is the changing role of Bloom's taxonomy and Marc Prensky's ideas regarding technology in education.

With the world always experiencing change, the rate of change in technology just continues to speed up. Prensky is right about the fundamental difference between students and teachers when it comes to technology. As teachers, we need to be models and show how these emerging technologies can improve and enhance education in ways that take us further than before in learning. Students don’t even think about using technology; it is second nature to them. They are more actively engaged in projects when technology tools are a seamless part of the learning process.

I believe it is necessary to break technology down in a way that learning opportunities through technology can be used in education. By breaking it down into levels like Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy, this is a great way to introduce new Web 2.0 tools to teachers, and then to get those teachers to thinking about how to use them to get students thinking too and promote higher order thinking skills in the classroom.

Technology has changed the traditional classroom and we need to continue to update in this ever-changing world. The rate of change means that approximately every two years, our technological computing capabilities doubles. With this rapid change in performance capabilities come both technological and societal changes. By updating Bloom’s Taxonomy to Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy, it helps explain technology in the classroom by teaching us to meet the needs of a diverse learner population, better prepare our students for lifelong learning, and prepare our students for the classrooms and workplaces of the future. Prensky is correct when he says cell phones have an enormous capability. I too get very upset with schools and holding kids back when it comes to cell phones. About four years ago, students would get in trouble for having a cell phone at school and would get it taken up and fined for even having the cell phone at school. Today, they can have cell phones, but can’t use them in the classroom. In the next four years, I believe they will be used in the classroom. In the meantime, all we have done is held them back and lost about ten years of teaching with them. I don’t know why we as Americans have a problem with new ways of learning of learning with the tools we have available and continue to let our kids get further behind.

If I were to promote an app in the library, I would promote an iBook app for the library. I would request it terms of Bloom’s in the applying level of the pyramid and use Prensky’s philosophy in simple terms to make connectivity, where technology will have its greatest impact on education. This app would be necessary so students can download best-sellers and classics from the iBookstore, read a free sample of any book, highlight your favorite passages and add notes, share quotes or thoughts about a favorite book with friends, organize books into a personal collections that appear on all devices, and find a word, phrase, or character anywhere in a book with the built-in search features. This app would also promote more reading for students with easy access.

I believe that Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy and Prensky’s Digital Natives go hand in hand. Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy is a key organizational and guiding tool used to design standards-based instruction. There are many emerging technological advances, processes, and actions associated with them that help to motivate the Digital Native student and inspire them to meaningfully contribute in several web-based learning opportunities. By using the available Web 2.0 Tools, we can push students’ cognitive domains and improve the quality of student learning, individuality, and creativity in finished products.

I feel technology is a tool for learning. For technology to be integrated in the classroom, the students are not only using technology daily, but have access to a variety of tools to build a deeper understanding of content. The blending of technology into the classroom not only creates new learning environments, but it also provides an opportunity for educators to reassess both the learning theories and instructional design models being used in the classrooms. As these new technologies are integrated in the classroom, previous theories are being applied in new ways and even new theories are being born.

As a librarian, it is important to be aware of the importance of these emerging technologies and the impact they have on student learning. These tools will have a tremendous impact on shaping how students think about learning and even help engage learners that have become disengaged from traditional learning and offer them a new depth and quality of learning. Technology is ever changing, from home life to the classroom. Technology will continue to change everywhere, so too will our classrooms and libraries.



Sources:

Churches, A. (2009, January 04). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/

Schrock, K. (2011, July 10). Bloomin' Apps. Retrieved June 04, 2016, from http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

Prensky, M. (2005/2006, December/January). Listen to the Natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8-13.