They Are Gamers, Not Coders

In a recent post EdWeek was pointing out a truth that educators have been talking about for the past few years. The new survey data is based on older findings and it comes to reaffirm the same truth: that it is about the TEACH not about the TEaCH. The question about digital natives has been long clarified in the education world, and now there is historical data to back it up. They are children at play.

What is important now is to help ALL teachers understand that their relevance has not changed, that they are the gate keepers, and that their roles are maybe even more crucial now than ever, because they have to accept and overpass their own learning curve, while still guiding their students through their own learning paths. The question then becomes how can we help ALL educators find their "digital path" in a way that keeps their teaching relevant? Do they ALL understand how to apply digital teaching and not be caught in the digital frenzy? Do they administrators and districts communicate clearly their expectations for digital teaching and learning, and does the message come consistently to support teachers in their digital learning paths? Do they ALL give teachers enough professional development and real examples to support their understanding of the change? Do they reassure the teachers that they are still as valuable leaders in the class as ever and that it is their amazing change that will help their digital native students build the academic and thinking skills they need to become successful? Do ALL the districts enable networking and collaboration across schools? Digital natives live in digital isolation. They receive immediate gratification, information and solutions. They can hail a cab without lifting a hand andlearn anything they want off youtube. These are amazing traits of the new learning space. They should not hinder teaching, but aid it, if understood at their true value. They do not however teach students how to find answers, because they provide an answer before the need is voiced. The phrase "there's and app for that" might have been the most terrible answer to the digital quest. While it started from the old saying that "Curiosity/need is the mother of all learning", it became over-popular in its success to provide answer for everything that it completely atrophied the discovery skills. Without a need there is no quest to solve life scenarios. Providing students with answers instead of questions doesn't help them "have the answers" but only to seek the "over the counter" solutions.

So how do we help our students take back thinking? It's simple! Let them ask the questions. Provide them with the digital tools they know and love, a safe digital space of your choosing, and academic quests.

Use STEM and STEAM and CODING and PBL, and help them discover their own needs. Teach them how to make connection by modeling thinking (if you brush up on your media and social media techniques you will be able to "speak their language" and together, you can learn many interesting things together).

Let them fail. They come to school to learn, not because they already know everything. Failing in a safe environment encourages them to strive to find other ways to figure out the answers. Teach them that it is ok to fail, and that the quest is better than the prize - "it's the journey, not the destination". And guide them to have fun with their discovery process. Enjoying what they do will make them try it again.

And always remember: just because they are gamers, doesn't mean they are coders! They are still clean slates in terms of thinking skills and academic knowledge when walking through your door; you truly hold their future in your hands.

Teach them how to avoid the digital distraction, ride the media discovery train, and never settle for the obvious!

#coding #gaming #discoverylearning #teachers #problemsolving #criticalthinking