Bloom, Schrock, Prensky

For this assignment, I read information about Bloom's Digital Taxonomy and viewed Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. I also viewed a presentation on Digital Natives by Marc Prensky.
We live in a digital age and technology is used a lot in the classroom now. We have to be mindful that our 21st century students needs are very different.

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy addresses the stages of how digital tools can be used to perform specific thinking skills. I noticed that one difference with this taxonomy and the original is that there is no particular order that you have to start with. There is a shift in how students are learning. In past years Bloom's taxonomy was a helpful way to show the cognitive domains to help an educator teach higher order thinking and I remember as a teacher utilizing those same skills. Kathy Schrock's website shares the cognitive process arranged in different views. I like the various views because it shows that there is no specific way, it all depends on the learner. It also shows specific apps that can be used to help learn about different tools to help support a specific process. For example, I think having a Storytelling app would be useful in the library because it engages a student on the "Creating" level of Bloom's Digital A storytelling app would help a child learn and explore the different elements of storytelling. It gives them a chance to create their own story.

Marc Prensky describes a digital native as someone who grew up knowing nothing but technology. Educators can no longer teach the same way they did in the past. I think Bloom and Prensky have the same idea that the students have changed and how we deliver instruction needs to change as well. Our mindsets have to shift and adapt to what works best for the students. We have to learn ways to understand our students and keep them engaged. Our students are more engaged in games, blogging, and other online activities. We have to translate that into the classroom. I definitely agree with the gamification of learning. I think Beloit College's Mindset List was very interesting and an eye opener for me because sometimes you don't think about others and their perceptions of things. I've caught myself saying, "Well I learned it this way, it should be fine for others and I turned out okay." But we live in a different world now. For example, I have learned a lot from digital natives about the uses of social media.

All of this information is important to a librarian because we have a responsibility to help teach 21st century skills to our 21st century learners so they can be successful. It is also important to help guide and share information with educators who may still have a 20th century mindset. But in order for that to happen we have to have a growth mindset and be open to learn as well so that we are sharing relevant information.