I have not yet seen the film "The Social Network", which traces the development of Facebook, but both my current and former students have noted how much the film "speaks" to them. In the same vein, several years ago I had the privilege of hearing Sir Ken Robinson, a media theorist, address the issue of emerging technologies in our culture. His conclusion: if you are under the age of 38, you are a "digital native" and if you are over the age of 38, you are a "digital immigrant."
To understand this distinction as it relates to digital technology, one that I believe will bring about the kinds of social, economic, and political change equivalent to the invention of the printing press, the industrial revolution, and the advent of telecommuncations, I wanted to share a provocative article by author Mark Prensky and a recent YouTube video entitled "Socialnomics" (it's focused on businesses, but some of the statistics and images strike me as extremely relevant to schools, especially independent schools):
Prensky's article: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Socialnomics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng
As the years progress, various schools will respond to these phenomena in a variety of ways. In the short term, Gunston will be communicating with our families in the next few weeks about how we will be addressing the issue of social networking as it relates to the values of our community. Stay tuned.
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