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Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning
Prensky presents a model for 21st-century teaching and learning, in which students become learners and creators of knowledge through technology while teachers guide and assess student learning.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2010
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205 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 29, 2025
«Con frecuencia, especialmente al principio, lo que los profesores necesitan practicar más para tener éxito en la pedagogía de la coasociación es simplemente “dejar hacer”. Esto es, empezar a estar cómodos con no encontrarse siempre en la tarima y con los alumnos trabajando por su cuenta; tolerar un aula algo ruidosa, menos rígida en su estructura, y aceptar que los alumnos usan herramientas y tecnologías con las que los profesores no están completamente familiarizados (o nada familiarizados).»
No sé ni cuánto tiempo me ha llevado leer este libro. Lo he alternado con otros, cosa que prácticamente nunca hago, enfadada conmigo misma por no abandonarlo y punto (cosa que, por cierto, presumo hacer con facilidad).
Mark Prensky expone aquí su pedagogía de la coasociación, que consiste, por lo que he podido entender, en que las preguntas se planteen al principio del aprendizaje, dar autonomía al alumnado para que aprendan unos de otros y usar tanta tecnología como sea posible.
Excepto la última, las ideas no me parecen malas, pero el autor se limita a dar vueltas sobre lo mismo una y otra vez sin dar consejos realmente aplicables ni tampoco profundizar en el objetivo de esa forma de educación.
Y, cuando el objetivo no se explicita (ni se le encuentra), suele ser conservador, por mucha tecnología de la que se rodee. Y todo ese trabajo de continuo cambio sin un horizonte transformador no me interesa ni lo más mínimo.
No es que no me haya servido de nada: hay un par de cosas que intentaré tener presentes, pero con un artículo de un par de páginas habría bastado y sobrado. Tampoco puedo quejarme mucho: me negué a soltarlo voluntariamente. Así que me limitaré a dejar aquí constancia y pasar a cosas más divertidas.
No sé ni cuánto tiempo me ha llevado leer este libro. Lo he alternado con otros, cosa que prácticamente nunca hago, enfadada conmigo misma por no abandonarlo y punto (cosa que, por cierto, presumo hacer con facilidad).
Mark Prensky expone aquí su pedagogía de la coasociación, que consiste, por lo que he podido entender, en que las preguntas se planteen al principio del aprendizaje, dar autonomía al alumnado para que aprendan unos de otros y usar tanta tecnología como sea posible.
Excepto la última, las ideas no me parecen malas, pero el autor se limita a dar vueltas sobre lo mismo una y otra vez sin dar consejos realmente aplicables ni tampoco profundizar en el objetivo de esa forma de educación.
Y, cuando el objetivo no se explicita (ni se le encuentra), suele ser conservador, por mucha tecnología de la que se rodee. Y todo ese trabajo de continuo cambio sin un horizonte transformador no me interesa ni lo más mínimo.
No es que no me haya servido de nada: hay un par de cosas que intentaré tener presentes, pero con un artículo de un par de páginas habría bastado y sobrado. Tampoco puedo quejarme mucho: me negué a soltarlo voluntariamente. Así que me limitaré a dejar aquí constancia y pasar a cosas más divertidas.
July 20, 2014
Despite the title, this book is NOT all about digital technology. It is about changing the paradigm of education and showing teachers how to gently transition from TRYING to be the gatekeepers of knowledge to being facilitators, coaches, and mentors. Prensky's partnering model of education empowers students to own what they learn and helps teachers teach kids the skills they need to actually become lifelong learners.
January 1, 2011
Now I will change, adapt, modify a lot of the things I do with my students. When I was in school I would have loved to learn in the way Prensky suggests. I'm thinking this might be the answer to the question: how do I get my students to work harder than I do?
March 9, 2012
One of the most powerful books I've ever read! It's way beyond fabulous! Amazing blueprint for educators who want to reach students today.
June 27, 2019
Marc Prensky presents good ideas that can promote educational growth, although it is required for the teacher to step out of their comfort zone and be prepared to fail in some of the implementations and pedagogy.
The book is engaging and easy to read, nonetheless, it is very repetitive on the things he has to say about becoming a facilitator and build a partnership with the students.
I am not questioning his knowledge in education procedures nor criticizing his work but I wanted to find out more about his number of years teaching in front of students, in a classroom, in a diverse school. The information that I was able to find was obtained from his resume posted on his website, where he identifies only his experience as a Math and Special Reading Program at Benjamin Franklin High School from 1968-1971.
His views on technology implementation are very simplistic and in some cases hard to believe. We all know technology has become easier to use and more reliable. Nonetheless, I got from his book that students will immediately pick up the electronics and master them without being side-track or waste time. Yes, there are special cases where administration, teachers, and parents are shocked by how fast and effective some students are and how fast they can master technology. But as we all know most of the students have difficulties and presenting them with the opportunity to become in charge of their education will present more problems.
I would like to see more guidance on how to address students in special education that is mainstream or how to change the IEP requirements of prompting students, differentiated grading, reduced workload, and extra time.
In the book, he suggests different ways to set up the classroom to promote collaboration and discussion. That is one chapter that I really enjoyed. The suggestions are simple to implement and do benefit how the class is run.
Overall I enjoyed the book but it is missing a lot of current classroom practices and pedagogy requirements, aiming to help the teacher navigate and learn new techniques to teach our new generation of students integrating technology and become an active participant in their education.
The book is engaging and easy to read, nonetheless, it is very repetitive on the things he has to say about becoming a facilitator and build a partnership with the students.
I am not questioning his knowledge in education procedures nor criticizing his work but I wanted to find out more about his number of years teaching in front of students, in a classroom, in a diverse school. The information that I was able to find was obtained from his resume posted on his website, where he identifies only his experience as a Math and Special Reading Program at Benjamin Franklin High School from 1968-1971.
His views on technology implementation are very simplistic and in some cases hard to believe. We all know technology has become easier to use and more reliable. Nonetheless, I got from his book that students will immediately pick up the electronics and master them without being side-track or waste time. Yes, there are special cases where administration, teachers, and parents are shocked by how fast and effective some students are and how fast they can master technology. But as we all know most of the students have difficulties and presenting them with the opportunity to become in charge of their education will present more problems.
I would like to see more guidance on how to address students in special education that is mainstream or how to change the IEP requirements of prompting students, differentiated grading, reduced workload, and extra time.
In the book, he suggests different ways to set up the classroom to promote collaboration and discussion. That is one chapter that I really enjoyed. The suggestions are simple to implement and do benefit how the class is run.
Overall I enjoyed the book but it is missing a lot of current classroom practices and pedagogy requirements, aiming to help the teacher navigate and learn new techniques to teach our new generation of students integrating technology and become an active participant in their education.
May 5, 2017
A new pedagogy
The 21st century is here. Direct instruction is gone. Teachers must grow, adapt, change, and partner with their students to give them the 21st century skills thy need to prosper in an ever increasing digital world. Hardcore but thought provoking...and in most cases, right.
The 21st century is here. Direct instruction is gone. Teachers must grow, adapt, change, and partner with their students to give them the 21st century skills thy need to prosper in an ever increasing digital world. Hardcore but thought provoking...and in most cases, right.
December 30, 2017
Another book that I read for work. I very much agree with the educational philosophy that instead of teaching kids specific bits of information, we need to teach them the skills to find things out and solve problems on their own.
June 29, 2016
Marc Prensky discusses a shift in pedagogy for 21st century learners, called partnering and emphasizes with great optimism how educators can focus on teaching the skills (verbs) students need to succeed in learning by applying the latest technology tools (nouns) that continue to change every day. Three current trends are discussed in telling how digital technology can have a great influence on the shift of education because (1) students today are changing due to technology becoming a major influence outside of the classroom, (2) the traditional way of teaching and testing is becoming less effective in classrooms, and (3) many technology tools are becoming easily accessible in the classroom, and if used well, can contribute greatly to students’ learning the skills they need to make them successful now and in their future.
Marc Prensky is an American writer and speaker who is a prominent advocate for K-12 education reform. His global presentations have encouraged listeners to look at education from the perspective of students by challenging people to think about new ideas and approaches to education. He argues that education and pedagogy need to be reassessed where good and effective teaching is a combination of skills we have always taught with the technology tools that are available in classrooms today. Prensky has designed and built over fifty software games and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between games and learning.
The book introduces an effective pedagogy called partnering. According to Prensky, “In a partnering pedagogy, using technology is the students’ job. The teacher’s job is to coach and guide the use of technology for effective learning. To do this, teachers need to focus on, and become even more expert at, things that are already part of their job, including asking good questions, providing context, ensuring rigor, and evaluating the quality of students’ work” (Prensky, 2010). He emphasizes how mutual respect between students and teachers is necessary for partnering to succeed. A way for this to happen is by making students become more active and equal participants in their learning. Students and teachers must each play a role in partnering. Some of these roles for students are researcher, technology user and expert, thinker and sense maker, world changer, and self-teacher. The roles for teachers are coach and guide, goal setter and questioner, learning designer, context and rigor provider, and quality assurer. It is also mentioned how vital the roles are for peers, administrators, and parents by also playing the role as a leader, facilitator and/or partner in helping students become successful learners (Prensky, 2010).
In the 21st century for Prensky, a good facilitator in the partnering pedagogy is digital technology. In his book, he suggests to “think in terms of verbs and nouns for learning. Verbs are the skills that students need to learn, practice, and master. They include all the traditional things we want students to be able to do in the context of the content. Whatever subject we teach, we want students to be proficient at such verbs as thinking critically, presenting logically, communicating, making decisions, being rigorous, understanding content and context, and persuading. Nouns, on the other hand, are the tools students use to learn to do, or practice, the verbs. Nouns are the way people generally think of technology: computers, Power Point, Wikipedia, and so on. Nouns include both hardware and software – the actual technologies available to your students (Prensky, 2010).
Today, digital technology tools help students by teaching themselves more so than ever from the past. “Technology’s role, therefore, is to support the partnering pedagogy. For that to happen, partnering teachers need to know what modern technologies are (potentially) available to students, what they do, and how they support learning,” (Prensky, 2010). Some examples of these emerging technology tools mentioned are 3D printers, Blogs, Virtual Reality Games (VSG), Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools, E-mail, Internet, Podcast, Programming tools, Search Engines, and Skype to name a few.
In conclusion, Prensky reminds his readers that technology gives us great opportunities to close the digital divide by approaching technology with the access to share and help those who are limited with technology tools. He also reminds his readers to think about education in general, and how we, as educators can make our students’ learning experience more significant and real with the support of technology.
Marc Prensky is an American writer and speaker who is a prominent advocate for K-12 education reform. His global presentations have encouraged listeners to look at education from the perspective of students by challenging people to think about new ideas and approaches to education. He argues that education and pedagogy need to be reassessed where good and effective teaching is a combination of skills we have always taught with the technology tools that are available in classrooms today. Prensky has designed and built over fifty software games and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between games and learning.
The book introduces an effective pedagogy called partnering. According to Prensky, “In a partnering pedagogy, using technology is the students’ job. The teacher’s job is to coach and guide the use of technology for effective learning. To do this, teachers need to focus on, and become even more expert at, things that are already part of their job, including asking good questions, providing context, ensuring rigor, and evaluating the quality of students’ work” (Prensky, 2010). He emphasizes how mutual respect between students and teachers is necessary for partnering to succeed. A way for this to happen is by making students become more active and equal participants in their learning. Students and teachers must each play a role in partnering. Some of these roles for students are researcher, technology user and expert, thinker and sense maker, world changer, and self-teacher. The roles for teachers are coach and guide, goal setter and questioner, learning designer, context and rigor provider, and quality assurer. It is also mentioned how vital the roles are for peers, administrators, and parents by also playing the role as a leader, facilitator and/or partner in helping students become successful learners (Prensky, 2010).
In the 21st century for Prensky, a good facilitator in the partnering pedagogy is digital technology. In his book, he suggests to “think in terms of verbs and nouns for learning. Verbs are the skills that students need to learn, practice, and master. They include all the traditional things we want students to be able to do in the context of the content. Whatever subject we teach, we want students to be proficient at such verbs as thinking critically, presenting logically, communicating, making decisions, being rigorous, understanding content and context, and persuading. Nouns, on the other hand, are the tools students use to learn to do, or practice, the verbs. Nouns are the way people generally think of technology: computers, Power Point, Wikipedia, and so on. Nouns include both hardware and software – the actual technologies available to your students (Prensky, 2010).
Today, digital technology tools help students by teaching themselves more so than ever from the past. “Technology’s role, therefore, is to support the partnering pedagogy. For that to happen, partnering teachers need to know what modern technologies are (potentially) available to students, what they do, and how they support learning,” (Prensky, 2010). Some examples of these emerging technology tools mentioned are 3D printers, Blogs, Virtual Reality Games (VSG), Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools, E-mail, Internet, Podcast, Programming tools, Search Engines, and Skype to name a few.
In conclusion, Prensky reminds his readers that technology gives us great opportunities to close the digital divide by approaching technology with the access to share and help those who are limited with technology tools. He also reminds his readers to think about education in general, and how we, as educators can make our students’ learning experience more significant and real with the support of technology.
June 24, 2011
While agreed with much of this book, I disagree with some of the comments around teachers and technology. Although I was not born in the digital age, I embrace it. My dad and brother built Heathkit personal computers in our basement and by 1984, I was composing all my writing online. I don't think Prensky gives teachers enough credit! I agree with his comments around students and technology. As teachers, we need to give students opportunities to create and stay away unless needed. I can show a student a program and within minutes of use they have figured out how to do things I didn't know. They show other students, raising the level of expertise for all. I also agree with Presnky on the importance of developing good questions and focusing on learning vs. teaching. There are times, however, where carefully crafted teacher lessons are important. Such lessons need to be interactive and engaging, and with purpose. When teaching a new math concept, providing experiences to help learners make connections and derive meaning is critical. For example, students can discover algorithms in math through teacher created activities. Students could easily search the web to learn how, but this isn't deep thinking. overall, a good read!
January 28, 2013
If you're interested in the reform efforts going on in education right now, but don't know where to get started, this is a great book. Prensky looks at the skills and tools we need to be developing in students, the same core skills that are at the center of much of education reform right now, but looks at it in terms of the skills being the real part needing teaching so that students can adapt to the everchanging tools.
Once you're done with this book, look up "connected learning" to see the present form of these ideas in action.
Once you're done with this book, look up "connected learning" to see the present form of these ideas in action.
January 24, 2016
I have heard some academics do not like Prensky because he does not provide solid references for the suggestions he make and I was say that is probably true. However, I am aware of the research that does support the idea of Partnership (authentic problem-based learning) in teaching and it is solid. And Prensky writes so the material is easily accessible to a teacher. I found this book to be extremely helpful as an academic (to generate ideas) and as an instructor. In short, this book provides a number of solid suggestions for teaching students in the 21st century
September 5, 2011
It took me so long to read it because I had so many things I wanted to annotate from it. Problem: not my own copy of the book, so everything had to be transposed. I will be using this in my research, and would recommend this to anybody who is from the social constructivist point of view. This book is not just for those interested in technology, it is for those interested in the current generation of kids. Marc Prensky, you are my research idol.
October 6, 2013
Very helpful distinction made between ICT Literacy and Literacy with ICT: ICT are nouns. The classic skills we use them for are the verbs. The verbs will not change and actually have become even more important (critiquing, making sense, creating, communicating, etc.). The nouns or the devices change rapidly.
May 1, 2016
Agrees with what I see with middle schoolers, as far as technical savvy goes. But assumes much greater interest and motivation in student's learning than I experience.
Great partnering & technology ideas.
Great partnering & technology ideas.
April 8, 2011
This was recommended to help me with my dissertation by a faculty member. It doesn't really. Good book if you are more K-12. It's far more practice than theory.
July 28, 2013
Great book to use as a resource. Like the way it frames project based learning, I will use this to help communicate to my staff.
August 5, 2014
Great book. I need to read the rest and get a copy for my classroom for future reference
July 1, 2016
Great book with lots of verbs and tools.
December 9, 2016
PBE class requirement: one of the best and most useful ones, despite its age (2010)!
Want to read
January 10, 2012Picked up a paper copy of this at the Islander Forum.
July 17, 2014
I have mixed feelings about this book. Where are the case studies to make the concepts tangible?
January 7, 2018
Reviews the idea of using technology to turn education into a partnership between student and teacher with students being the workers and teachers being guided. Lots of discussion about lack of attention vs lack of passion.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews