Digital Natives, Digital Leaders

While Marc Prensky’s “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” is a decade old, his words still ring true today.  Those “digital natives” Prensky discusses in his article are now “digital ancestors” who have passed the torch to today’s natives.  And it is today’s natives that are driving change in politics, society, and education.  So what must school leaders do to evolve and manage the pressure to change for the future?

·         Be Transparent! – With social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, digital natives use these tools to stay connected but also to share information at lightning speed.  And with so much available at their fingertips, natives demand to know all the information.  As school leaders, we need to be able to use these resources and understand that the natives that are shaping our organizational structures demand to be in-the-know. 

·         Be a Practitioner! – While there are thousands of new apps that emerge each day, school leaders need to be aware of popular educational technology tools and know how to use them properly.  If teachers in a school district are utilizing Moodle, for example, it is the leader’s job to also understand Moodle.  If students in a school district are blogging, school leaders need to know how to blog.  Leaders can’t afford not to know.

·         Forget Top Down! – The digital immigrants are now at the top.  And while they handle important aspects of teaching and learning, school leaders like principals, curriculum directors, and department chairman need to be the driving force for change.  Leaders need to listen to teachers who use technology every day and make changes in their schools that reflect the needs of the natives. 

·         Be Available! – Leaders today need to join the natives and develop a professional learning community via Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc.  As the natives become parents and contribute to society, they demand to know how and what our school leaders think.  Provide students, teachers, and parents with your own thoughts via a Principal’s Blog or Weekly Newsletter via Facebook.  This will open the doors for parents, teachers and other educational leaders to share ideas for the improvement of our schools. 

·         Create Opportunity! – In the end, it is impossible for anyone to know everything about technology; when technology changes so quickly it seems outdated after a week anyway.  However, it is extremely important that educational leaders create opportunities for their staff to learn how to use new and exciting technology in their classrooms.  Without these opportunities, we may all remain immigrants. 

To read Marc Prensky’s work “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” and other new and classic works, visit www.marcprensky.com.