Restless Natives

I'm in a bit of an ICT dilemma. As I read Blackmore, Hardcastle, Bamblett & Owens, I find that I am very much in a disadvantaged classroom - one that would be hard pressed to be classified as even a Level 1 class. (Blackmore et al, 2003, p iv)

There are many barriers that are currently in place:

• the classroom was only connected to the school system in May
• the age of the two computers in the classroom and their speed
• current teacher knowledge and experience of computers in the classroom
• lack of wireless connectivity

The natives were getting restless earlier in the year - they could see the clunkers and knew that they were not working. "When will the 'puters be working?" was the main question from the Head Native. The Head Native is enraged - his prized possession is the DS, his punishment at home is to have computer access denied to him, he is hard to engage with any manual or creative task. All he wants is his 'puter. Now, sadly, the Head Native no longer asks.

For the Head Native and his tribe to become the motivated students that all teachers dream about (Prensky, 2005), my current Prep classroom will need to have ICT's integrated into their learning experiences. I am currently learning about and using ICT's and my own knowledge is being enhanced (Blackmore et al, 2003, p v) - how I can now translate that into the Prep classroom will be my challenge.

I will need to develop a sense of confidence (in self, ICT knowledge and in equipment) . I know that I can learn from my students (most of what I know about Powerpoint, I learned from Year 2 students). I know that I will need to engage the Head Native in peer tutoring - his knowledge and skills can be incorporated into the classroom, to enlist and engage other tribe members. By tapping into the cultural capital of the natives, together we can learn about and use ICT's to enhance our learning experiences.

Native knowledge + immigrant knowledge = collaborative ICT learning.


References:
Blackmore, J., Hardcastle, L., Bamblett, E., Owens, J (2003) Effective Use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance learning for disadvantaged school students.
Downloaded 9 July 2009 from http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/profiles/effective_use_technology_enhance_learning.htm

Prensky, M (2005) "Engage me or enrage me" What today's learners demand. Downloaded July 2009 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf