"Brilliantly fundamental. Wonderfully different. Surprisingly practical."
- Michael Fullan, Emeritus Professor, OISE/University of Toronto
Powerful and forward thinking. Replete with opportunity and exciting possibility for young people."
- D.S. Engle, Former Superintendent of Schools
"Marc Prensky understands the implications of digital culture better than anyone I know."
- the late Sir Ken Robinson
Marc Prensky offers a very different take on young people than the doom and gloom, anxiety filled view of many observers today. Prensky is an unabashed optimist about kids and where they can be in 20 years-and has a plan for getting them there. Today, he argues, we dismiss what kids love, stress most enthusiasm out of them, stunt their imaginations, and desperately try to pull them back to a past that no longer exists. We don't allow them to accomplish anything that makes their real world better-when that's all they want to do. Young people are today gaining vast new powers to realize their dreams, fix problems, help others, and accomplish positive things for the world-if only we would let them. This book is our guide to doing that.
Coiner of the term digital native, gold-prize-winning author of a dozen books and a speaker in 50 countries, Prensky argues persuasively that our goal should be to help all kids adapt to and thrive in their new third millennium environment-and not our past. What they need to succeed, he says, are HIGH ENTHUSIASM, LOW STRESS, MORE IMAGINATION, BETTER SELF-KNOWLEDGE, and CONTINUOUS REAL-WORLD PROJECTS WITH IMPACT. The antidote to today's high anxiety and stress in kids, he argues, is finding each kid's intrinsic positive enthusiasm and imagination-and bringing it out. That means connecting young people to positive projects about which they say, "Hell Yes!-I want to do that!"
This book is a must-read for all parents, teachers and policy makers worried about today's young people and searching for a different, more optimistic path. Drawing on conversations with young people all over the world, Prensky offers a fresh analysis of the cross-millennial conundrums of our times. Humans, says Prensky, are evolving to fit a new and very different third millennium environment. They require a new "growing up path"-and Prensky provides it. The book brings
valuable enlightenment to anyone interacting with young people-or seeking a window on their future.
There is no rewinding the technology clock, Prensky says. This forward-looking volume helps readers bridge generations and understand how they can prepare young people for the future that they will live in. It showcases the unprecedented powers that young people now possess to radically improve their world. It's filled with both short-term and longer-term ACTION PLANS for adults and young people. The fresh and original ideas the book contains show how to put all young people firmly on the road to becoming successful third millennium people, and to thriving in their own times.
"Marc Prensky's ground-breaking book is brilliantly fundamental in both its analysis and solutions. Readers should understand the analysis, and then tackle the solutions using Prensky's breathtaking tri-partite recommendations. This is a wonderfully different, and surprisingly practical book!"
- Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto
"Marc Prensky's stunning book is a must-read for parents, teachers and the rest of us trying to understand just how incredibly powerful the next few years could be for today's kids-as technology-in partnership with kids' imaginations- leads them to real-world accomplishments."
- John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist and Director of Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC)
