Digital Dilema

In Mark Prensky's article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, he makes many good points about teaching today's youth. I believe that he is right that students are radically changing. The gap between teacher and student has always been there. Our culture and society are constantly changing. However, the gap has never been wider than it is today. The technology that our children are growing up with doesn’t even come close to what we had as adolescents. Children have access to the internet; teenagers are plugged into ipods or cellular phones all day. This is the era of personal immediate gratification. The gap is growing. Teachers must attempt to bridge that gap. Technology must be learned.
This may not be a simple task though. Just as every student has individual learning styles, so do teachers. And learning in a mode that is completely foreign may be difficult. So, teachers must be diligent in learning technology, especially if it is foreign to them or difficult to master. It is necessary for teachers to utilize technology in their classrooms. Technology fits in to every aspect of education across curriculum. Teachers must learn how this technological information is processed and adapt lessons and concepts. Technology should be used for all disciplines.
One point Prensky makes is that learning should be fun. With technology the world is at a student's fingertips, teachers should be able to lead the way and teach technology so it doesn’t get abused in the future. Education expands technology. It's time teachers start to use technology to expand education.