A Foundational Structure for Learning

David Warlick spoke about the “Native Information Experience” for digital learners at the NCTIES conference last week in Raleigh, NC. He spoke about how school leaders and teachers are finding ways to implement learning 2.0 with their students.

David spoke about the eight characteristics of networked and digital information experiences that teachers need to bring to their classrooms from observing the outside-the-classroom informational experiences that defines the unique networked, digital, information culture of today’s students.

These eight “Native Information Experiences:

1. Are responsive – authentic, personal experiences of sending out and receiving responses from others. Receiving responses from others being the payback for the students.
2. Measures Accomplishments – by the audience and comments from their friends.
3. Values Safely Make Mistakes – students learn by failing; they will keep doing something until its right.
4. Demands Personal Investment – students invest a lot of cumulative time in their informational experiences.
5. Values Personal Experience and Identity – students need to be part of a social group, sharing and learning from others.
6. Rewards with Audience and Attention – audiences have to be earned. Rewards for the students come from having other see what they are doing. One site was mentioned concerning rewards and audiences – Fan Fiction where students write and add chapters to an online story. http://www.fanfiction.net/
7. Provokes Communication – through technology students carry their friends with them all the time always communicating.
8. Are Fueled by Questions – many students are not afraid to ask questions
   

Understanding the informational experiences of our students will help schools and teachers achieve learning 2.0 in their classrooms – having students create, communicate, collaborate, problem-solve, and be engaged learners will cultivate new learning experiences. Teachers need to use the many web 2.0 tools that are available – wikis, blogs, Flickr, ePals, RSS feeds, social bookmarks, social networks, VoiceThread, Audacity, PhotoStory 3, Movie Maker, Animoto and others to enrich the learning experiences of all students.