Prensky

=Marc Prensky= [|http://www.marcprensky.com]

**//Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, consultant, and designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of//** **//Digital Game-Based Learning//****// (McGraw-Hill, 2001),and Don't Bother Me Mom -- I'm Learning (Paragon House 2005), the founder and CEO of //**[|**//Games2train//**]**// (whose clients include IBM, Nokia, Pfizer, the US Department of Defense and the LA and Florida Virtual Schools) and creator of the sites //**[|**//www.dodgamecommunity.com//**] **//and//** [|**//www.socialimpactgames.com//**]**//. //** **// Marc has created over 50 software games for learning, including the world's first fast-action videogame-based training tools and world-wide, multi-player, multi-team on-line competitions. He has also taught at all levels. Marc has been featured in articles in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and the BBC, and was named as one of training's top 10 "visionaries" by Training magazine. He holds graduate degrees from Yale (Teaching) and Harvard (MBA). //** (Above introduction taken from Marc Prensky's home page.)

Be sure to check out his website. The site includes videos of him speaking, his writings, his bio and resume, and several other interesting pages about him. He is the founder of the terms "digital natives" and "digital immigrants." His professional focus has been on reinventing the learning process, combining the motivation of video games and other highly engaging activities with education and business. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on the connection between games and learning.

Previewed by Rhonda Moran

I liked [|Marc Prensky’s Essential 21st Century Skills]. He also add we need to constantly do it better. Also, check out his [|Open Letter to the Obama Administration]. "This is where your administration can have the greatest effect on education. If you define a new curriculum oriented to the twenty-first century, and it encourage all teachers to move quickly to the “new” pedagogical paradigm, our kids will be better than the rest of world—not just at answering test questions, but at creating, and at solving real problems on their own and with their peers. If all we get are better ways to do the same old stuff, even if test scores rise in the short term, in the long term we all lose." JD

In one of his articles, "Engage Me or Enrage Me", Prensky made an important point that eductators need to remember -- "Every single student we teach has something in his or her life that's really engaging" -- but school and the lessons it offers are anything but. Prensky says the key to 21st century educational success is to engage students in the lessons, keeping them actively learning instead of passively absorbing (if we're lucky). So many of Prensky's ideas in this vein are right on, except for his insisting that creating a digital curriculum based on video games is the answer. We must learning to engage our students but I disagree with Prensky that the way for "digital immigrants" to engage "digital natives" is gameplay. EH

Mark Prensky has an opinion that students must be involved technologically in their lessons and that this is the wave of the 21st century learner. i think he is correct in some ways but not entirely. I do believe that his effect on education does encourage students to think creatively and does engage them more than just reading texts. BG

Mark Prensky has some very good points about students learning in the 21st century. I think we need a balance between the old and the new because we are still so tired to test scores. I think he wants to go all the way to the other side of what we currently have in schools and we need to add new and keep some of what works from the old. KG

I spent time look at the educational games that are available for teachers to use in the classroom. The games cover a wide area of interests and subjects like: Algebra, chemistry, history, and the revolution. These games can be used from about 6 grade on up. st

I particularly liked the article, Role of Technology and Teaching in the Classroom,[]. It talks about moving from old to new pedagogy where the kids teach themselves with teacher guidance. I think this sounds like a good direction to steer ourselves in. DM

I checked out the social impact games on Prensky's web site. The games really connect students to real worl events going on around the world. Some games dealt with world hunger issues, peace issues, public health, and media literacy. MP

I really liked the humor Marc Presky puts into his writing. I looked at the article "Should a 4 year-old have an iPhone ?" My immediate thought was, no that's a terrible idea, but after reading about how Marc's son makes use of his old iPhone, I think my mind has changed a bit. Why should we deny children the use of technology because of their age. Sure, there are some cases where restraint or caution should be exercised (Marc removed the capability to receive calls and bought a hard rubber case for the phone), but isn't it more important to teach our children how to use technology at a young age. If we deprive them of these skills we are in sense choosing to make them illiterate. Marc's son plays games, reads books and even writes on the iPhone. I say, teach your children about technology, the sooner the better. Maybe don't go out and buy them a new iPhone right off the bat though :) CNR

When I first looked at Prensky's website I thought, "oh boy--a gaming guy". And yet--what a great medium to use to reach the generation of learners we have today. He's a creative dynamo when it comes to software games for learning. How appealing to the 21st century digital learner! CW