marc prensky [email protected] tie april 25, 2006 sioux falls sd © 2006 marc prensky

Marc Prensky

[email protected]

TIEApril 25, 2006Sioux Falls SD

© 2006 Marc Prensky© 2006 Marc Prensky


Education Credentials

• Master of Arts in Teaching (Yale)

• MBA (Harvard)

• Taught High School Math (5 yrs)

• Ran a Street Academy

• Taught Elementary School French

• Taught College Music

• Still Tutor Math


Sky Takemura-Sora Prenskyb. April 26, 2005

in a game environmentSerious training



Business

Recent Projects

• Chemistry Game (MeCHeM)• FL, LA Virtual Schools Courses• Algebra Game (The Algebots)• Physics Game (Space Junk)• Cell Phone Game (Elemental)• Reading Teacher Game

Higher Ed

• Insurance Game• Pharmaceutical Game• Cell Phone Game

Military

• Stability Operations: Winning the Peace• The Battle of the Brains

K-12

• Financial Literacy• Dinner Party with History


Recent Projects

• Chemistry Game (MeCHeM)• FL, LA Virtual Schools Courses• Physics Game (Space Junk)• Periodic Table Cell Phone Game (EleMental)• Algebra Game (The Algebots)• Reading Teacher Game

K-12

My New Book:


Helping Our Students

Learn and Succeed


in a

21st century

world…


…BEFORE the end

of the

21st century!



What if we don’t?

Five Keys to

Helping Kids Learn



Understanding


Generating


Dealing with


our

^


Achieving Mutual

I’ll be going at

(slides will be available)


1.The world is changing

Why educatorsare having problems:


What percent of theworld’s population is

under 25?


Question 1


A 20 percent

B 30 percent

C 40 percent

D 50 percent

Percentage Under Age 25?

% Under 25?

50%© 2005 Marc Prensky

What percentage of our teachersare under 25?


Question 2

What percentage of people in this room

are under 25?


Question 3


UnderstandingTheme #1


2. Students are changing



Today’s younger learners are NOT the ones our

systems (and teachers)were designed and trained

to teach!



Today’s Students are

different

• 5-10,000 hours Video Games• 250,000 emails and IMs• 10,000 hours on cell phones• 20,000 hours TV (incl. MTV)• 500,000 commercials

• < 5,000 hours book reading


Why?

• 2 billion ring tones per year

• 2 billion songs per month

• 6 billion text messages per day


“Brains like ours alter profoundly to fit the

technologies and practices that surround them.”

-Andy Clark

Director, Cognitive Sciences Program. Indiana University


Conventional Speed

Step-by-Step

Linear Processing

Text First

Work-Oriented

Stand-Alone


“Students are not just using technology differently today, but are approaching their life

and their daily activities differently because of the

technology.”

--Net Day “Speak-up Day” Summary


The e-Life

Communicating IM, chat

Sharing Blogs, MySpace

Buying & Selling ebay, papers

Exchanging P2P

Creating sites, avatars, mods

Meeting 3D chat rooms, dating

Collectingmp3, video, sensor data

Searching Info, connections, people

Analyzing SETI, drug molecules

Reporting Moblogs, photos

Programming Open systems, mods search

SocializingLearning social behavior, influence

Growing UpExploring, transgressing

Coordinating Projects, workgroups, MMORPGs

Evaluating Reputation systems–Epinions, Amazon, Slashdot

Gaming Solo, 1-on-1, small & large groups

LearningAbout stuff that interests them

EvolvingPeripheral, emergent behaviors

© 2005 Marc PrenskyREFERENCE

The e-Life

Communicating IM, chat

Sharing Blogs, MySpace


Exchanging P2P
















“ [ Technologies are] re-writing the

rules of adolescence.”

-- a mother


• Printing out our e-mails• Needing a printed copy for editing• Not Going to the Internet First for info• Using Email rather than IM• Thinking “Real Life” happens only off-line • Thinking learning means WORK

We have a

“Digital Immigrant Accent”



GeneratingTheme #2

Engagement(= motivation, passion)


“Without motivation there is no learning”

– James Paul Gee


“If a learner is motivated, there’s no stopping him”

– Will Wright


“Learningcomes from

passion,not discipline”

– Nicholas Negroponte


2. Students are changing

3. Engagement is changing



“Learning Takes Work”


Agree?Disagree?

Yes, Learning takesEffort, but


Effort for learning can

FEEL LIKE WORK

Effort for learning can

FEEL LIKE PLAY

OR


Learning feels like play when you have

ENGAGEMENT =

Motivation, passion


Today’s kids

UNDERSTANDENGAGEMENT


When I was a kid

IT WAS BORING


Where did you go?Where did you go?

““OUT”OUT”

What did you do?What did you do?

““NOTHING”NOTHING”

Where did you go?Where did you go?

““OUT”OUT”

What did you do?What did you do?

““NOTHING”NOTHING”

In my youth, this book was famous:


Today’s kids

GO ONLINE


“I could have nothing to do and I can always find

something on the Internet.”

– A High School Student


“On the Internet you can play games, you can check your mail, you can talk to your

friends, you can buy things, and you can look up things

that you really like.” – A High School Student


Yahoo Born to be

Wired Conference

The e-Life

Communicating email, IM, chat

Sharing Blogs, webcams


Exchanging music, movies, humor















© 2005 Marc PrenskyREFERENCE

Today’s kids

KNOW WHAT ENGAGEMENT FEELS LIKE


They want to Feel engaged all the time


Especially

When they arelearning!



But much of our educationis

SO BORING…


…that it feels like we’re putting depressants

in their food!


even

WITHtechnology!

“Whenever I go to school I have to ‘power down’”

– a high school student


“You do have to slow down when you’re talking to

teachers.”

– a Liverpool student


For today’s students to learn,

ENGAGEMENTIs

MORE IMPORTANT than Content



Why?

Will Change!


Content

ENGAGEMENTWILL!


Content won’t helpstudents continue to learn

throughout their lives, but


Outside of formal learning…



Empowered

“They want to put their own mark on

the site.”

– Deborah Schwartz, MOMA


“What people put into the Internet is much more

important to them than what they take out of it.”

– Tim Berners-Lee



Today’s Students have

Tools

What’s different about the new technology is that it is

programmable.

– Alan Kay



Today’s Students Embrace Complexity

“[They are] living in dataspace, begging to

handle more simultaneous data streams than their parents ever imagined.”

-- Beck and Wade: Got Game




Hands-On

“Players are producing as much as they are

consuming – perhaps more.”

– JC Herz



Today’s Students want things to be

Fun

“Fun is the act of mastering a

problemmentally.”

-- Rafe Kotter: A Theory of Fun


Today’s students are NOT

“ADD”but rather

“EOE”


“ENGAGE MEor

ENRAGE ME”



Theme #3

Understandingand Dealing With

“Email is forold people”

– A student



Email IM

iPod vPod

mp3 wma

GameBoy DS, PSP

Tool switching is already close to instantaneous

CH

AN

GE

TIME

Our Lives

We are here


Discontinuity:Digital Technology

CH

AN

GE

TIME

Our Students’ Lives



The change that is THREATENING

to teachers…

…isEMPOWERING

to students!

My New Book:



IT power is doubling every year


Sky Takemura-Sora Prenskyb. April 26, 2005


In 2036,

How much more powerful will IT be

than it is today?

Question 4


A one million times

B ten million times

C one hundred million times

D one billion times

How many times more powerful will IT be?


Sky will be working with technology that is

1 billion times

more powerful than today!


230

= 1,073,741,824


What Does That Mean

?????????

“Nothing ever wears out”

– A teacher



Solving problemswith the tools we have

Pre - 21st Century

Inventing new toolsto solve problems

21st Century+


Whenwill all this

changeEND!??


IT WON’T !!!


There’s no Destination!

(Only the fast train)


No One In education

gets this yet


Except, of course…


…their technology changes monthly!

e.g. PHONES: text, cameras, videos, motion sensors, diodes


From now on,Tools Will COME FAST…

• Blogs• Wikis• Wikipedia• Podcasting• Polling Devices• Speed Enhancers• Cell Phones• Games

…and GO FAST• Clickers


In fact, too fast to master!


Today’s teachersneed to know


How to Teach Tools We Can’t Fully Master!


It’s important that teachers

DON’T WASTE TIMELearning to Use New Tools,


Because…


The kids can do that! (and they want to)

“Don’t try to keep up with the technology

-- you can’t”

– A 14 year old girl



Teachers Need to:


LearnABOUT

New Technologies


SO THEY CANHELP KIDS EVALUATE

THEM


AND SO THEY CANTEACH

ABOUT THEM

• Email• Search• IM• Blogs• Wikis• Wikipedia• Podcasting• Polling Devices


Recent New Tools

• P2P• Games• Networking• Augmented Reality• Texting• Cameras• GPS• Speed Enhancers

• Search vs. Research• Fair Use vs. Plagiarism

Evaluate Teach

Phone-basedcameras

• Pictures vs. Words• Appropriate vs. In- appropriate• Truth vs. Manipulation

• Oral vs. Written Communication

Designa WikipediaEntry for…

Take and PhotoshopTo bestIllustrate…

Make aPodcastAbout…Podcasts

Wikipedia


IM • Informal vs. Formal Language

Design aClass usingonly IM

Assign

• Communication• Journalism• Use of MM• Creativity


• Usefulness• Breadth• Depth• Originality

• Communication• Originality• Artistry• Technique

How Teachers Should Use New Tools


Theme #4

our

^


Many Teachers are doing

Great Things!


and yet…


from being used by onlyOne Teacher,

In One Classroom

So MuchGOES TO WASTE


If we could justcapture, access and re-use

work already done,

we would beHALFWAY THERE

How?


Use the most powerful technology tool

in the world


GGooooglglee!!



Put it on the Web !!!

Do all teachers havean easy way to put on the Web

an HTML page, a Video, a Wiki and a Blog?

If not,make it happen now!



Theme #5

Create Mutual

“Your sales pitch reminds us

of silicon snake oil. Sorting data

without context fuels ignorance.”

– an “educator”



DISRESPECTS•Me•New Ideas•Students

“Disrespectingeach other

is the root of our problem”

– Marc Prensky



EducatorsDISRESPECT

kids

“Your games are a waste of your time money and brain

cells.”

– A parent



ParentsDISRESPECTEducators

“The cookies on my daughter’s computer know more about her interests than her teachers do.”

– Henry Kelly, President, FAS



And in turn…


KidsDISRESPECTEducators


If technologyis the new literacy


Most teachers are

ILLITERATE

They Have To KnowTeachers Respect Them!


To Get students to Listen…


So…


How Do We GetRESPECT

For each other?


We Are All LearnersWe Are All Teachers

1. Foster this Message:.


2. Act Respectfully


(especially about games)

If you only listenedto the Press…


…you might thinkComputer and Video games…


… were the worstthings in the world

for kids.


But the TRUTHIs that


Games produce LEARNINGWITH

ENGAGEMENT


“I love getting level-ups – knowing I’m getting better. I started at level one and now

I’m on 40. Now I can do more things. I can keep going and

it’s really fun.”– Tyler, Age 10


Kids play gamesNOT because they are games,

but because they’re themost engaging intellectual

thing they have


Learningis the real reason

they play!(Shhh!)


is a big part of the learning process


and theGame System

Officialsites

IM/chat

Mags

games

Fan sites

Blogs

Reviews


“Complex”8-100 hoursNOT TRIVIAL

Today’s Games:Complexity Matters

“Mini”5 min-2hours

TRIVIAL

Or, at best,One-Noted

Complex Games take the same amount of time as a course (30-

100 hours)

Dark Age of Camelot

To cooperate, collaborate & work in teams,i.e. to work effectively with others

To make effective decisions under stress

To take prudent risks in pursuit of objectives

To make ethical and moral decisions

To employ scientific deduction

To quickly master & apply new skills and information

To think laterally and strategically

To persist and solve difficult problems

To understand and deal with foreignenvironments and cultures

To manage business and people


What Kids Learn from Gamescomplex

“Gamers have amassed thousands of hours of rapidly

analyzing new situations, interacting with characters they don’t really know, and solving

problems quickly and independently.”-- Beck and Wade, Got Game



• Don’t be Afraid to Fail – Take risks to get rewards

• Winning Matters

• Work in Teams

• Take Responsibility

• Add Value•

Gamer AttitudesBeck and Wade: Got Game

• Be a Hero

• Immerse Yourself in Data

• Make the Tough Calls

• Take different perspectives

• Make Things Better

• Who plays a game that relates to what we are discussing?

• Can you think of an exampleof this in your games?

• How would we design a game about this?


Respecting Games:


Evaluate Teach

Phone-basedcameras






Wikipedia




Assign





Respecting Tools


Use Complex Games’

Design Principlesto create

engaging instruction

Respecting Games:

Seven Key Things To Take From Complex Game Design:

1. Focus on keeping players engaged every second

2. Limit Frills & Eye Candy, Go For Gameplay, i.e

3. Create goals important to the player (Be a Hero)

4. Add continuous, important decisions w/feedback

5. Employ “Leveling up” (to encourage practice)

6. Adapt continually to each individual on-the-fly

7. Forget theory -- try and iterate!


• Engagement

CurriculumDesign

GameDesign

Decisions • Frequent and important

• Gameplay

• Content

• Relatively Rare

• PresentationMode

Focus


ENGAGEMENT

“Whenever you add an

instructional designer, they

suck the fun out” – A Game Designer


Respecting Kids

“DON’T suck the fun out”

– The Kids


Respecting Kids

Final Example


… in their pocket!

Almost EVERY student already has a powerful computer…


We should beUSING them!


Mobile Phones Are

Powerful ComputersInexpensive Always in their pocketOptimized for CommunicationFull of Useful Add-ons e.g. Cameras, GPS, internet

Easy to download toAttachable to External input/output


Missing? Imagination!

Skills.Languages.

Poetry. Literature.

Public Speaking. Writing.

Storytelling. History.

We Can Use Mobile Phones for Learning:


Surveys. Polls.

Match-ups. Testing.

Communication. Memory aids.

Blogging.

…and evenassessment

Bottom Line:What Can I Do?


(Just Kidding)


Make aREAL effort to



Understand

The e-Life

Communicating email, IM, chat

Sharing Blogs, webcams


Exchanging music, movies, humor

















Generate

ENGAGEMENTIs

MORE IMPORTANT than Content



Deal with

• Email• Search• IM• Blogs• Wikis• Wikipedia• Podcasting• Polling Devices

Use The New Tools…

• P2P• Games• Networking• Augmented Reality• Texting• Cameras• GPS• Speed Enhancers


Evaluate Teach

Phone-basedcameras






Wikipedia




Assign





…In the RIGHT way


Put it on the Web!


Achieving Mutual


We Are All LearnersWe Are All Teachers

Foster the Message:


How do I do all that in this era

of


Standards and Assessments?

YOU DON’T!!


You let the kidsdo it!


The Prensky Challenge

• We will give students a fabulous future curriculum (nanotech, genetics, protomics, robotics, bioethics, etc.) in the second half of the year

• IFF The kids complete the entire year’s standard curriculum in the first half, AND

• Everybody passes the standard tests (i.e. the faster students bring the slower ones along.)


And finally…


Make sure thatevery day

“Hard Question”


You ask yourself the

“Would my studentsbe here

If they didn’t haveto be?”


I.e. Are My Students

Engaged?...


Or are they

Enraged?


WE CAN ENGAGE

OUR STUDENTS…


andHELP THEM

LEARN!


No one says it’sEASY,


But that’s why they’llThank Us

When we succeed


andWe’ll Be Happier

too!


They’re our students


We owe them the best!


so…


Thank You!

email:

[email protected]

web sites:

www.marcprensky.com

www.socialimpactgames.com

www.gamesparentsteachers.com

www.games2train.com


··

marc prensky [email protected] tie april 25, 2006 sioux falls sd © 2006 marc prensky

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