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= = = Digital Natives =

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The students in Australian primary and secondary school have grown up with digital technology and the Internet, which distinguishes them from previous generations. [|Prensky] (2001) calls these students `Digital Natives’ and believes that they have particular brain development and thinking processes due to their lifelong use of digital technology. Prensky calls us `Digital Immigrants’, we don't speak the same language or behave in the same way. This difference has implications for teaching. Teachers can take cues from their students and use Web 2.0 tools and computer games for learning and teaching.======

= Web 2.0 tools - or Read/Write Web =

Web 2.0 tools allow users to network with each other using the Internet as a platform, and include applications like RSS, podcasts, MySpace, blogs and wikis.

These web based technologies and applications `enhance creativity, information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web' ([|Wikipedia], 2008) and have led to the development of web-based communities.

From a constructivist pedagogical perspective Web 2.0 tools meet the needs of learners and educators. They allow teachers and students to build knowledge, interact, and share ideas (Price, 2007).

The use of Web 2.0 tools by young persons is prolific and `forms an increasingly important part of their identity.' (Ring, 2007)

The Department of Education believes Web 2.0 `promises a fundamental change among users, from knowledge consumers to knowledge collaborators'.