"Digital Nation"

I think the biggest lesson I took away from PBS FrontLine's "Digital Nation" was the fact that students multitask more now than they ever have before.

One student in the video made the comment that he'll be eating dinner with a friend and when his Blackberry goes off, it's not a big deal that he answers it. I think as a person (not even inside the classroom) this is something that bothers me. When I'm trying to have a conversation with a friend but their not fully listening because their busy text messaging someone else, it's very annoying.

One teacher from MIT did make this comment, however: "(students) need to be stimulated in ways they didn't need to be stimulated before." I do believe that statement to be true in terms of the need to integrate technology into the classroom. When I was in elementary school we didn't have computers and were fine learning with a book, a piece of paper and a pencil. Today's students, however, use a computers daily, along with other forms of technology. They need to be stimulated in ways they understand: via technology.

Although I don't enjoy people text messaging while I'm trying to have a conversation with them, I would have to agree that students are better at multitasking in today's world than ever before. For example, if a student is in a class and thinks of a question they need to ask a coworker at work, they can send an instant e-mail. Although I understand multitasking in a college setting, I'm not sure how this would work in a middle school classroom (which is where I would want to teach).