Guest Commentary: The Digital Natives are Coming

In a post on the Silicon Valley Education Foundation blog, Kathryn Baron shared her experiences during a conference featuring edtech guru Bernie Trilling. Trilling, according to Baron, "has been advocating for better integration of technology in schools for a few decades."
"When my son was about four years old, we got him a children’s science program for the computer. I put in the disc and ran to the laundry room saying I’d be right back to boot it up. Minutes later I returned to find him sitting at the desk, legs dangling a foot off the ground, as he happily clicked the mouse and sorted animals into piles of mammals, reptiles, birds, and slimy things. Unfortunately, when he started school, technology pretty much stayed behind at home, Baron wrote.
"I was reminded of that incongruity," Baron continued, "when ... Trilling posed a challenge question to a room full of teachers, principals, and superintendents. 'How can you leverage technology to create more meaningful, effective learning experiences to prepare your students for the 21st century?' "
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