Date: 15.02.19 Friday 

Reflection on the paradigm shift

In today’s session, we discussed the topic ‘ICTs and Teacher Education: Global Context and Framework’ and ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’ by Marc Prensky. The first article basically talks about a ‘Paradigm Shift’ in education. It compares the traditional view of the learning process and the changes that have taken place in recent times. As we are living in a technology-based society, there are enormous shifts in different aspects such as economy, politics, society, and culture. ICTs have changed the nature of work and types of skills needed. It is a powerful tool that may help in transforming the present isolated, teacher-centered classrooms into rich, student-focused, interactive knowledge environments. A shift from teacher-centered instruction to learner-centered instruction is needed to enable students to acquire the new 21st-century knowledge and skills. It is going to create a more interactive and engaging learning environment for teachers and learners. It is going to change the role of both teachers and students. Students will have greater responsibility for their own learning. So, ICTs will be a powerful tool to support the shift to student-centered learning.

Every education systems around the world can embrace new technologies as a tool for learning. It is important that we make an effort to move from the traditional paradigm of learning in order to keep students engaged, take greater responsibilities for their own learning and help them construct their own knowledge. Thus, shifting the approach from the traditional mode of learning to more modern mode learning with the integration of ICT is a paradigm shift.

Another article that we discussed is about the digital native and digital immigrants. Here, Mark Prensky tries to define what these two terms mean. He said that different technological devices have become part of their lives and they are called ‘digital natives.’ He also states that our students today are all native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet. Those people who are not born into the digital world but have, at some point in their lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are called ‘digital immigrants.’ We also discuss that digital natives will have fewer appreciations to the new skills that the natives have acquired and also they think that ICTs may not help students learn the concepts and skills in the manner as they use to learn. It also presents the role of educators to adapt materials to the language of digital natives. It also talks about using different software, games and other online materials to ease the teaching and learning process in the schools. If done efficiently, it will not only engage students well but also help them learn more effectively. Therefore, it is important that we as educators be equipped with all the necessary ICT skills and knowledge to make the teaching and learning more effective and productive.