Marc Prensky, coiner of the terms “Digital Natives and “Digital Immigrants, is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, consultant, innovator and visionary on education and learning. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between learning and technology, Marc’s professional focus is on understanding students and their future needs and designing better pedagogy and curriculum for the digital generation. Prensky’s original ideas on how to adapt both our teaching methods and content to prepare young people in better ways for their future are being adopted around the world.
Marc has published scores of essays and articles, and is the author of five books: Digital Game-Based Learning (McGraw-Hill, 2001), Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning (Paragon House, 2006), Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning (Corwin, 2010), From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom (Corwin 2012) and BRAIN GAIN: Technology and the Quest for Digital Wisdom (Palgrave-Macmillan 2012). He holds Master’s degrees from Yale University, Middlebury College and The Harvard Business School, ran a charter school in East Harlem, NY, and has taught at all levels, from elementary to college.
Don’t miss Marc Prensky’s presentation:
FUTURE-CATION: New Basics and New Balance for a New World
The context we and our students live in is rapidly changing, and it is our job, as leaders, to help education adapt. Offering our students an education from the past, mostly about the past, and using mainly the methods of the past --- no matter how much better we make it, or how good our students get at it --- is little help to them as they face their world. The changes we need to make go way beyond adopting the Common Core and adding a few “21st century skills.” What we need, says Prensky, is "Future-cation.” This involves, he says, an immediate resetting of priorities and taking a range of important practical steps. It also means redefining our mission and what we think of as our “basics.” In this talk, Prensky discusses the practical steps we need to take today to assure that our kids are effectively prepared for their future, including what an administrator’s role should be.