Engage them or enrage them

Engage them or Enrage them

The issue that I wish to explore is that the use of ICTs in both in our society and schools has changed the way that students engage in learning. If we don't engage todays students by making sure school is relevant to their world we risk them feeling enraged and disaffected by school.

Education now more than ever is at a rapidly changing time. The students have access to ICT technologies both inside and outside of school and this has changed the way they learn in our classrooms.

Mark Prensky’s article on Digital natives v digital immigrants has implications for educators , contending that traditional approaches to education are no longer relevant for today’s students. (2001).

The May 2008 Educational Leadership journal quotes Bill Gates contends that “the traditional curriculum neglects to challenge young minds . He a makes a good case that the traditional curriculum neglects to engage a generation immersed in digital culture, making learning irrelevant to those who must become the workers and citizens of a global society”. (2008: 7)

Mark Treadwell (2008) indicates that “There is an urgency for schools to make the transition to the new paradigm as learners have already made the transition and are becoming increasingly disengaged while they wait for the educational system to catch up to how they are learning outside of school.”

The Ministry of Education, e-learning action plan, (2006) describes a wave of change where students and teachers participate in a new education paradigm, becoming life long learners in a knowledge economy where the key competencies are practiced and applied in ICT rich contexts.

This video clip captures these sentiments very well>




The introduction of the new New Zealand Curriculum at the end of 2007 specifically identifies the requirement for schools to be teaching thinking skills as a key competency as well as fostering the values of innovation, inquiry and curiosity as well as community and participation. “Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek, use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions.” The need for students to be competent in ICT is also highlighted as a key competency; “They confidently use ICT … to access and provide information and to communicate with others”

The challenge for us as educators is to ensure that we are making the very most of the latest technology available to us to meet the aspirations of the New Zealand Curriculum and the learning needs and learning dispositions of our students.

Mark Treadwell (2008) explains that Inquiry learning in our schools is another significant shift of how students are learning in our schools today. “Historically there have been two types of answers: right and wrong. In the inquiry process it is not about getting the right and wrong answer, but rather about carrying out a process that builds understanding. This is a paradigm shift of enormous consequence and significance for both educators and learners and the scale of this should not be underestimated.”


Burns, (2006) contends that students in the 21st century are required to have the “thinking skills” to engage in the “digital age”. Students have access to an incredible amount of information. Todays students are required to locate and synthesis information and present it through a multimedia format to a much wider audience. The sophisticated skills required to do this process effectively need to be taught in schools.

Recent research of The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) entitled Technology and Student Achievement—The Indelible Link. (2008), advocates the importance of ensuring that students are provided with the technology and information skills and tools necessary for success in the 21st century. This research indicates that for successful implementation of ICTs with curriculum, the following factors need to be addressed:

“1. Effective professional development for teachers in the integration of technology into instruction is necessary to support student learning.
2. Teachers’ direct application of technology must be aligned to local and/or state curriculum standards.
3. Technology must be incorporated into the daily learning schedule
4. Programs and applications must provide individualized feedback to students and teachers and must have the ability to tailor lessons to individual student needs.
5. Student collaboration in the use of technology is more effective in influencing student achievement than strictly individual use.
6. Project-based learning and real-world simulations are more effective in changing student motivation and achievement than drill-and-practice applications.
7. Effective technology integration requires leadership, support, and modeling from teachers, administrators,”

Alton-Lee (2003) emphasizes the importance of having a school wide understanding of how ICT is used in the school. The Ministry of Education publication Digital Horizons: Learning Through ICT: A Strategy for Schools, provides ways that schools can give traction to developing ICT integration through by developing a school vision and action plans. This publication advocates providing “systematic opportunities to develop digital and information literacy, and enjoy using ICT creatively and critically in extending their horizons and growing as lifelong learners.”


The change in the way students engage in learning and the way teachers are required to teach is a significant shift. Engage students with the learning through the use of ICTs of their world and give them the skills to use these tools effectively or risk disengaging and enraging them!



Alton-Lee. (2003). Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best
evidence synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education

Burns. M. (2006) Tools for the Mind. Educational Leadership. 63 (4) , 48-53

International Society for Technology in Education , (2008) Technology and
Student Achievement—The Indelible Link. (2008), Accessed online at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=21077

Ministry of Education. (2002) Digital horizons: Learning through ICT: A strategy
for schools. Wellington: Learning Media Limited

Ministry of Education. (2006) Enabling the 21st century learner. An e-learning
action plan for schools 2006-2010. Wellington: Learning Media Limited

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media Limited

Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved 9 August 2008
from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20- %20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Sherer, M. (2008, May). The High School Scene. Educational Leadership , 65 (8), p. 7.

Treadwell, Mark. (2008) The conceptual age and the revolution school v. 2.0
Heatherton, Australia: Hawker Brownlow