I was intrigued by the concept that Prensky states in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2001) that modern adolescents brains may have changed to that of older generations from the simple fact that their experiences of the world are fundamentally different. That game play and fun experiences are the norm.
Now I'm not sure if that is true but it makes me think about the different forms of education I was exposed too. I remember some methods of teaching more vividly than others not because they were better or that learned anything but because I was almost in pain by the the boredom and stress I was feeling. In fact I think i may have been so stubborn that I learnt things in spite of the pedagogy I was exposed to. In contrast the things that I know I have learnt very well I know have come from engaging situations. I might not be able to remember the form or context of when I learned that knowledge but those sense memories are still there.
for example when I first tried riding a bicycle without training wheels. more than anything I remember the physical exhilaration that at any moment I might fall off and that the momentum of my body may drag me across the ground. I still get that feeling every single time I get on a bike but I have learned to accept that feeling and us it. The reason I have those feelings is because the experience was engaging. It may have been terrifying but engaging, and it's not limited to physical experiences.
In a maths class I remember solving a number of different real world problems and got a similar exhilaration in the process of executing different solutions to the problem and finding which one would work the best, even being challenged by other peoples solutions was thrilling.(although at the time I didn't want to admit that even to myself in case I got caught Loving MATHS!!!!) but now I ask myself why was I so engaged?
Why am so engaged when watching a good TV show, Movie, Video game? is it because of the exiting visuals and sounds? Maybe, but a painting could have those same visuals and music with the same sounds wouldn't hold my attention as long. It's how they come together to either tell a story that draws in me or an experience that challenges me or dares me to go deeper. (Sorry I may have not added books but they too give the same experience if they are written well)
It's no wonder students don't to learn sometimes with the stories and experiences we give then that don't have the same thought and care those movies and video games who have multi-million dollar budgets and years of preparation behind them, but we can create experiences that do the same.
Prensky (2001) shows an amazing example of that kind of teaching with "The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy". An instruction manual that is fun to use. The story is not just as set of instructions on a page but is you taking the role of a intergalactic secret agent taking on the evil Dr Monkey Wrench, and the only way to do that is create the tools you will need with the CAD software at your disposal. which would you be more engaged with. While "the Monkey wrench Conspiracy" is a good example of engaging educational experiences there are also examples out there that try to do the same thing and fail, and usually it's due to the fact that they even though they have bright visuals and an interesting premise they miss that fundamental engaging element which is how they tell their story, what kind of experiences are they offering.
I don't think that "digital natives" or contemporary students demand fun and engaging experiences. All human beings want to have fun and be engaged. It's just that the modern generation might be more aware that they can have fun. So why can't we give them those kinds of experiences and not just instructions on a page.
I tried to find the original Monkey Wrench Conspiracy but they seem to be out of action.
But I did find a teacher who tried to find what was more engaging, Narrative of Game Play with his students with interesting results
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