Week 9/10 Wenger and Prensky

Wenger and Prenskys idea's can relate to each other as they both talk about how technology helps people to learn.

Both of the ideas see technology and learning as beneficial to students, with Prenskys notion of technolocy having such a strong impact on the lives of"digital natives", and Wenger seeing Communities of Practice as a way for people to work together to get to the same place. E-learninf in incorporated into both of these ideas.

Both of the ideas could be critised though, as far too many assumptions are made. Prensky assumes that everyone who is under the age of 25 should have been bought up in a digital world, and therefore labelled a Digital Native. Assuming that everyone in this age range has top knowledge of technology is a negative thing, as many people challenge this. Also, in both Prenky and Wengers idea, they never consider e-learning to be a bad thing and put students at disadvantage. Does using the internet hinder students chance of reaching their full ability? Does the fact that there is limited face to face interaction mean that students are less likely to succeed?

Both of the ideas focus on techno-determinism, saying that we are shaped by technology, suggesting students need it to succeed and reach their potential. Although in many cases it shows that E-learning is effective, the whole idea fails to recognise negative aspects of technology, its completely one sided, thinking that it is 100% beneficial to students. Prensky and Wenger ignore the idea that the effectiveness of e-learning can be hindered by a number of things, and the notion of digital natives can be challenged.