Marc Prensky’s research while affiliated with Harlem United New York and other places

Actualmente se habla con frecuencia de una nueva necesidad de aprendizaje permanente, distinguiéndolo del modelo precedente basado en primero aprender y luego trabajar. Argumentamos que, si bien el aprendizaje permanente puede desarrollarse, no es un objetivo útil. Una meta mucho mejor es el logro de por vida, ya que, fuera de la academia, los humanos aprenden para lograr. Demasiados asumen que si las personas aprenden cosas, el logro seguirá automáticamente, y esto argumentamos que es falso. Aunque aprender cosas nuevas es ciertamente una parte de lo que se necesita en un mundo cambiante, es mucho mejor enfocar a las personas en por qué, por ejemplo, ¿qué quieren lograr? Enfocarse en la continuación del aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida, y no en los logros a los que conduce es, en muchos casos, egoísta para aquellos que se ven a sí mismos en el negocio del aprendizaje. El aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida deja sin plantear y sin respuesta la pregunta de con qué fin. El mundo no necesita aprendices de por vida, sino que el mundo necesita personas que puedan hacer las cosas y aprender todo lo que necesitan mientras lo hacen. Centrar a las personas solo (o incluso principalmente) en el objetivo de aprender da una idea falsa de lo que realmente se necesita en el siglo XXI, por lo que esta idea solo merece un crédito parcial como solución útil. Many currently promote a new need for Life-Long Learning in the future distinguishing it from the older model of learn once and then work. We argue that while life-long learning may indeed happen for many, it is not a useful goal. A far better goal is Life-Long Accomplishment, since, outside of academia, humans learn in order to accomplish. Too many assume that if people learn things, accomplishment will automatically follow, but this is false. Although learning new things is certainly a piece of what is needed in a changing world, it is far better to focus people on why, for instance, what do they want to accomplish? Focusing on the continuation of learning throughout life, and not on the accomplishments it leads to is, in many cases, self-serving for those who see themselves in the learning business. Life-Long Learning leaves unasked and unanswered the question of to what end. The world does not need life-long learners, however the world needs people who can get things done and learn whatever they need as they do. Focusing people only (or even primarily) on the goal of learning gives a false idea of what is truly needed for in the 21st century, and therefore deserves only partial credit as a useful solution.

Entrevista a Marc Prensky Marc Prensky Interview

Dans cet entretien, Marc Prensky revient sur la métaphore des digital natives et aborde de façon plus générale les rapports entre technologie et société. Les notions de génération, de sagesse numérique mais aussi de stupidité numérique qu’il développe dans des ouvrages récents sont discutées. En définitive, le concept de culture apparaît comme principal fil conducteur.

An expert perspective on 21st century educationWhat can you learn on a cell phone? Almost anything! How does that concept fit with our traditional system of education? It doesn't. Best-selling author and futurist Marc Prensky's book of essays challenges educators to “reboot” and make the changes necessary to prepare students for 21st century careers. His “bottom-up” vision is based on interviews with young people and includes their ideas about what they need from teachers, schools, and education. Also featured are easy-to-do, high-impact classroom strategies that help what he calls “digital natives” acquire “digital wisdom.” This thought-provoking text is organized into two sections that address: Rethinking education; 21st century learning and technology in the classroom (including games, YouTube, and more)In addition to valuable knowledge, this compelling collection offers inspiration, new perspectives, and ideas that work. Our educational context has changed, and a new context demands new thinking. This book will broaden your mind, spark new insights regarding how and what you teach, and reshape your vision of 21st century education.

One and a half billion people, all over the world, are walking around with powerful computers in their pockets and purses. The fact is they often do not realize it, because they call them something else. But today's high-end cell phones have the computing power of a mid-1990s personal computer (PC)—while consuming only one one-hundredth of the energy. Even the simplest, voice-only phones have more complex and powerful chips than the 1969 on-board computer that landed a spaceship on the moon. In the United States, it is almost universally acknowledged that computers are essential for 21st-century students. To most educators "computer " means a PC, a laptop, or, in some instances, a personal digital assistant (PDA); cell phones, on the other hand, are more often regarded as bothersome distractions to the learning process. However, it is time to begin thinking of our cell phones as computers—even more powerful in some ways than their bigger cousins. Both have microchips and perform logical functions. The main difference is that the phones began with, and still have, small size, radio transmission, and communication as their core features, expanding out toward calculation and other functions. This has happened at precisely the same time as the calculation machines we call computers have expanded into communication and other areas. Clearly the two are headed toward meeting in the middle; when all the miniaturization problems have been solved, the result will be tiny, fully featured devices that we carry around (or perhaps have implanted in

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight current changes in the way people communicate, and the role of You Tube in leading these changes Design/methodology/approach The approach takes the form of the author's observations and reflections. Findings With close to 100 million examples online, and growing exponentially, You Tube, and short video in general, are dramatically affecting the way in which today's Americans – especially young people – communicate and learn. In only five years, short video has moved from a medium for isolated, perhaps geeky young people to express themselves, to a two‐way medium used by mainstream people all over the world – including many experts and intellectuals – to share information and ideas. Today so much information is shared through video that, for perhaps 80 percent of Americans, reading and writing are rarely used skills, and becoming even more so. Practical implications While it is admitted that there remains a (relatively small) group for whom reading and writing will continue to be important, the question is “Should we continue to struggle to teach reading and writing to the great percentage of students, or should we focus on teaching clear communication of ideas through media that are easier to use?” Originality/value The paper provides a new perspective on the meaning of communication and the role of textual literacy in life and education in the near future.