Wk.+5+-+Application+Task

=Welcome to **Week 5 "Today's Students"...** (as cited by Laureate Education, 2010):=

**Introduction**
Who are today’s students? What characteristics define their generation? Given that today’s students were born into a technologically ubiquitous society, do you think that they are fundamentally different than the generations before them? How closely do they resemble the kind of student that you were trained to teach? Some believe that technology has so infused the daily lives of contemporary students that not only may they think differently, but their brains may even develop differently. This week, you will become acquainted with the defining characteristics of the contemporary generation of students and the question that professional educators struggle with: How different are the students, really? For your Discussion this week, you will take part in the debate between Hall Davidson and David Thornburg on the validity of the term //digital natives// and consider how to educate students who grow up in a media-rich society. For your Application Assignment, you will develop a demographic profile of your students’ digital abilities and learning styles, and create a podcast to report your findings.

**Learning Objectives**
Candidates will:
 * Determine the characteristics of digital natives and how to meet the learning needs of this student population
 * Research the differences in technology exposure, utilization, and skill among the students in your classroom and present the results in a podcast

**Podcast Assignment: Profiling the Students of Today**
Not all schools are the same. Not all classrooms are the same. And the students who fill our classrooms are certainly not the same. While it is important to know and understand how student populations nationwide are changing, it is most important that you understand the students in your own classroom. In this week’s assignment, you will explore the digital abilities and digital learning styles of the students in your classroom. 1. Create a questionnaire (age appropriate) to conduct your interviews. Your questions should gauge your students’: 2. Record the responses of at least three students on a digital recording device. //***Note:** Your best option is to use a computer with a microphone and record on an application such as **Audacity** or the **sound recorder** that is included in all Windows-based PCs. Refer to the **Tech Resources** for applications that you can use to complete your podcast under **Course Home**.// //**Reminder:** If you are not able to obtain permission to record students’ voices, record their responses in writing and record your own voice (or that of a willing assistant) reading the students’ responses aloud for the podcast.// 3. After compiling data and recorded responses about your students’ digital abilities and learning styles, develop a demographic profile of your classroom population. 4. Create a podcast in which you report the demographic profile of your classroom population. Include in your podcast the sound bites from your student interviews to support your findings. (Total podcast time should be 2–5 minutes in length.) 5. Upload your podcast to a hosting site. Please refer to the **Tech Resources** page under **Course Home**. 6. Once you have uploaded your podcast, copy and paste the URL or embed code for your podcast on your personal blog. 7. When complete, copy the URL address of your podcast and paste it into a Word document. Submit the Word document to the Dropbox by **Sunday.** Save your Application as a “.doc” or “.docx” file with the filename “APP5+last name+first initial”. For example, Sally Ride’s assignment filename would be “APP5RideS”. Choose the **Week 5: Application** basket, and then add your Application as an attachment.
 * Exposure to technology on a daily basis (For example, how much time do they spend watching TV, talking on a cell phone, using a computer to complete homework, surfing the web, chatting with friends via text or IM, playing video games, etc.?)
 * Access to different kinds of technology in both their home and school environment
 * Interest in using different technologies for social and academic purposes
 * Experience in using different technologies for social and academic purposes
 * //You have completed Week 5. Please proceed to Week 6.// ||