The Pioneers of the Digital Landscape

One way that I disagree with some educational technology theorists (and some colleagues) is that I don't believe that only our students are digital natives, and we are 'digital immigrants'. I am older than some, but younger than many and I have been immersed in the wonders of a digital life since when I can remember. Does the basis for this label have to be the Internet itself? If so, read on. If not... well keep reading anyway.. Do you have anything better to do right now?

I was 5 when I received an Atari VCS (not the 2600... I mean the original 3 button on each side VCS). Oh, how I loved hat wonderful box even down to the woodgrain trim. I spent many a day defending the Earth from space invaders, asteroids, slaying dragons and blowing up tanks. I remember when my buddy John got Colecovision.. Wow! Donkey Kong at its finest! I remember Intellivision at my buddy Rick's house. Wow.. Video games FTW. I still have that in the basement in a box.

I remember the green and black screen of the Commodore Vic-20 in my school's library. My fourth grade face lit up both from the reflection and the possibilities. Wow! I remember using my Commodore 64 computer with its HUGE 1541 disk drive and 5 1/4 floppies (and my TV). I remember learning BASIC programming at 10 to create my own Dungeons and Dragons type 'choose your own adventure' with all conditional statements. Granted, these were all text-based games, but they were something! I remember using a similar programming language and a computer voice synthesizer to have my computer sing "Happy Birthday" to my Poppy. Ah.. Pop I still miss you. I remember the machine gun like sound of the dot matrix printer printing away.

Yes.. I still have my C64 too.

I remember using my Timex Sinclair (remember those cheap things?) and watching the black and white screen to see if that was any better than my C64. Sadly, it really wasn't, but it was much smaller.

I remember the many handheld video games that I spent more countless hours saving my girlfriend from an evil monkey, trying to score touchdowns and block the pass, and shoot space aliens. This was a great way to relax from just dropping much of my inheritance at the local arcarde.

I remember being in high school learning to type on a computer (C64 again - Bank Street Writer) instead of a typewriter. I remember using Apple IIs, IIcs, and IIes, in computer lab. In college I remember first using the Internet and searching for stupid, immature stuff with my buddy Joe just to get a laugh. We had no idea how it would change everything.

Of course through my graduate studies, technology has been a big part of learning, creating, and communicating. I remember using my 14.8 and then 28.8 modem to download the latest version of Netscape. I would start the download before going to bed and then waking up to see that it had finally completed. Ahh.. the good old 486 days. Things got faster and faster, more and more capable, but the underlying principles (at least to me) have remained the same.

All of these experiences have helped me to never, ever fear technology in whatever form it manifests itself. I don't believe that I am an immigrant. I feel like I was born into a world of technology, and I do not know any different. I don't feel like I was 'digitally naturalized', nor do I feel that students of today are any more apt to embrace technology than I was at the same age. I sometimes hear from adults that 'kids are just so naturally good at it', and that quite frankly is a load of crap. Humans are naturally good at many things, but using an artificial tool is not one of them. They are definitely more exposed than many adults were in their childhood, but that it not an inherent attribute.

What brought about this whole post, one might wonder? I found my old Nintendo Donkey Kong handheld. It was mine when I was in 5th grade. It was part of their "Watch and Game" series made in 1982. It didn't have the battery door, but I have masking tape for that. A quick trip to the store for batteries was in order. I held my breath as I fired it up. It works! I played about 4 games laughing like a 10 year old, and I didn't even have to have my passport stamped.

I can't wait to show it to my students. Happy New Year.

Let's Hear It For Learning!

For the past four years, I have made music videos with my class. They are all rooted in some part of our curriculum. They are fun, but they are a good amount of work. After 4 of them, I can honestly say that they are worth it.
When students now come to me, they know that I like to do them. They are excited about what lies ahead, but I am sure to tell them that they must 'earn' it and that it won't be easy, but it will be worth it. This year, I asked my students what they would like to 'sing and dance' about. Before I tell what what they chose, let's take a look at what previous classes have done...

1) Class of 2007-2008
June 2008
It is based off of the song "Crank Dat" by Soulja Boy, but we used what we were exploring in multiplication.



2) Class of 2008-2009
January 2009
It is based off of the song "YMCA" by the Village People, but we used what we were exploring in long division. This time we added the lyrics to the video.



3) Class of 2009-2010
January 2010
It is based off of the song "Empire State Of Mind" by jay-Z and Alicia Keys, but we used what we were learning through our Social Studies exploration of New York State. Once again we added the lyrics to the video.



That brings us to good old number 4. As I said before, I asked the class what they wanted to do a music video about, and they chose almost unanimously "crayfish". The study of crayfish is our fourth grade life science unit. So there I was... faced with the incredibly daunting task of figuring out how to sing and dance to a crustacean them.

First, we brainstormed vocabulary that we could use for the song. We had a digital word wall on the Smartboard, and we would update it whenever we found something. We chose the song "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. At 5 am one morning, the chorus came to me. (I know we shouldn't think about work but teachers know this can't be done!) I told my class those lyrics, and they loved it. Later that night, it all just came together. The song was done.

I gave the lyrics to the class, and they loved it. They practiced during snack and recess. They practiced so much at home that I embedded the instrumental version of the song on our class blog to make it easier for them.

Next were the scenes. I experimented with some stop motion photography using a model crayfish I had made our of paper towel rolls and construction paper. They liked that. We shot the singing a few times along with some scenes they came up with. Ultimately, a few hours with Windows Movie Maker and Audacity and it was all together. I am very proud of this song and our class.

4) Class of 2010-2011
December 2010
It is based off of the song "Tok Tok" by Ke$ha, but it is based off of our knowledge of crayfish. The lyics are again there for the viewer.



Will I do one again next year? Only time will tell.. but I am pretty sure that I will. Why? I had fun, and the class had fun. On a side note, the grades on this year's crayfish unit test were MUCH better that past years. Does singing a concept work? Does memorizing lyrics really help? I don't know.. but I can tell you that I remember every word of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution because of SchoolHouse Rock.

I wonder if I can sing the Common Core Standards...