Discussion 4 - Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

 

• According to Prensky, what is the immigrant/native divide, and how has it affected how students learn?

Digital immigrants are defined as the people who learned how to live before internet and technology boomed - they have had to adapt to the introduction of technology and the internet as it grew in popularity. Digital natives are defined as the people who grew up familiar with the language and use of technology, and never had to adapt. The divide between the two shows a staggering difference in how digital immigrants and digital natives think and process information. This affects how students learn because digital immigrants have to change their learning style to adapt to the thinking process of natives, and natives have to navigate a pre-technology teaching style they aren't familiar with.

Here is a link to a study I had to review for a class some years ago, discussing the relationship between attention span and the development of mobile technology. Basically, with more information ready at the tip of our fingers, our attention span and patience diminish because we don't need to focus on a task or research for long periods of time. It's a little tidbit I thought I'd add that's somewhat related to this week's content.

• According to Prensky, what category do you fall into, and how has this affected your learning?

I fall into the digital immigrant category, but only because I was not able to use technology or the internet until I was in my late teens. I am slow to learning new devices and internet terms, but I am a fast learner and I pick up quickly. I believe I am a fast learner because of my age and willingness to learn. Sometimes I still feel like phone and computer software updates too fast for me, and I have to learn new things all the time to keep up - new Tiktok slang, new apps and features to customize and learn - but I am able to catch up with it eventually.