Reading Boyd, he clearly identifies the misuse of the term "digital natives" coined from Prensky. While I do agree with Prensky in the fact that there is a divide between generations in technology. I don't think the line is as black and white as Prensky talks about. When comparing digital immigrants to digital natives Prensky argues that, "the importance of the distinction is this: As Digital Immigrants learn – like all immigrants, some better than others – to adapt to their environment, they always retain,
to some degree, their "accent," that is, their foot in the past," (Prensky 2). As I can understand where Prensky is coming from with this statement, I think back to my parents who were both born in Europe and spoke another language growing up. However, talking to them both today they do not have any type of accent showing that they were born in Europe. What I am saying by this is that while it's true there may be an accent for a while, the accent will eventually fade and no one would know what this person was like in the past.
Boyd also asserts that "a focus on today’s youth as digital natives presumes that all we as a society need to do is be patient and wait for a generation of these digital wunderkinds to grow up," (Boyd 197). What he is essentially saying here is that if we continue to make it seem like this technologically savvy generation has all the answers, then we don't, as teachers need to do anything to help them. However, "we cannot abandon them to learn these lessons on their own," (Boyd pg.182). With my students spending most of the school day on computers, I feel it is up to me to make sure that they are using the tool of technology in the most effective and efficient way. But how do we get the adults out of this mindset?
One of the first steps to change this mindset it to get rid of the terms "digital native" and "digital immigrant." Even though they are only words, they create labels and these labels often have a way of impacts peoples perceptions of other people and even themselves. What I mean by this is that if someone considers themselves a "digital immigrant" because of their age, then they can be ignorant to the fact that this can change and that they have the equal opportunity to be on the same level as a teen that grew up with the technology. We need to share our experiences with these students to help them continue to grow and learn with technology. For example, most of my students don't know how to use Google to gather research, but that is something that most adults will know how to do and show students how to do it as well. We need to combine our forces and only then can we work to become a cohesive digital savvy nation.
Hi Bianca,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your take on the articles. I will say I like the terms Digital Native and Digital Immigrant. But, like everything else, the definitions of the terms are more loose definitions that have room for change. I also can hear your thoughtful opinion on the use of these terms as yet another way to "label" members of society. You may be very right; I can appreciate your position, but believe this can be a segway for we as teachers and parents to modify our teaching and learning pedagogy present and future.
I agree with your suggestion to get rid of digital native and digital immigrant. They should be replaced with digital literate and digital illiterate in my opinion. Even those that use digital technologies to run businesses or produce may not understand how to search for information. Then there are people who can find information readily but may not be able to do it on a digital platform. These labels inaccurate the way they currently exist.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I can truly relate to the terms Digital Immigrant and Digital Native. I fall securely in the Digital Immigrant category. While I agree that these terms put labels on individuals, they pave the way to an honest discussion on what we need to do to adapt to this ever changing world in education.
ReplyDeleteHi Bianca,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy how you brought up the fact that somedays are students are on their technology all day long and how do we make sure that we do not abandon our students to have them learn on their own. I think this is where the idea of using technology as a supplement and as a resource is so important.
Hi Bianca, great post. I also agree that we should all come together in regards to sharing our expertise in technology. I've always believed that learning is more effective when sharing of information/experiences are involved.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Bianca, I enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that the terms "digital native" and "digital immigrant" create unnecessary labels and that we all need to improve our media literacy and technology skills.
Hi Bianca,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar idea about the negative impact on the labels of "native" and "immigrant." I think we can pick better words that don't create a divide between the generations with such negative connotations.