Digital+Natives

Digital Natives: Do They Exist and Should They Change Instruction? Dictionary.com defines natives as “one of the people indigenous to a place or country. “ A Digital Native is someone born into the digital age. A Digital Native is immersed in technology the way a baby is immersed in a certain language from birth. She feels comfortable surfing the web, playing video games, texting, instant messaging, and watching TV- oftentimes simultaneously. A Digital Native easily understands and interacts with technology- familiar and unfamiliar. She feels at home experimenting and exploring. Technology is an essential part of a Digital Native’s day.

Dictionary.com defines immigrant as “a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.” A Digital Immigrant is new to the digital world, in comparison to Digital Natives. The language of technology is new to a Digital Immigrant. He is not comfortable using a computer, receiving a text message, or joining social networking sites. Playing around with new technology is not something the Digital Immigrant is interested in. He would rather be shown the exact steps needed to accomplish his desired outcome, write down those steps, and use the technology for only that reason until he finds another purpose.

Marc Prensky used the term “Digital Natives” in his 2001 article //Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.// Prensky contends that there is a divide between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. Because of the Digital Native’s constant interaction with computer, cell phones, the Internet, and MP3 players, the Digital Native is continually inundated with information. Digital Immigrants did not have experiences that parallel these as they were growing up. As a result, Prensky says that Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants actually think differently. Digital Natives are more able to multitask. In fact, Digital Natives are often more productive when they are multitasking, in contrast to what the Digital Immigrant finds to be logical. As digital technology constantly gets more advanced, Digital Natives continue to progress forward with the new technology, as Digital Immigrants continue to fall further and further behind.

Prensky also writes about the impact that the differences between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants have on how students learn and how teachers should be teaching. Currently, many teachers teach in much the same way that they were taught. Math algorithms are taught step-by-step. Students are told to focus on one task at a time. They often are pressed to work independently, without help from peers or from any sort of technology (computers, calculators, etc.).

This can be at total contrast with the rest of a Digital Native’s day. A Digital Native may wake up and immediately turn on the computer. He may update his status on a social networking site, listen to some music that he previously downloaded, or check his email to see if his friend replied to a note that he sent the day before. Then, he may go straight to his cell phone to see if he missed any calls or texts while sleeping. After finally getting ready for school, he texts his friends to say he is on his way or calls a friend about an assignment that he may or may not have completed. He dreads the day because he will not be allowed to surf the web on his iPhone or Blackberry during class, but he will probably try to secretly text his friends during class anyway.

In Prensky’s article, he speaks of the need for Digital Immigrants to try and understand the differences between the way they used to learn and the way Digital Natives learn. Digital Immigrants need to cater their teaching to the new digital age in which the current students are growing up. This may mean that teachers need to utilize educational games, websites, and other forms of multimedia to reach our students today. Students need to see the ways that school and their education fit into their everyday life. If they see how learning in school can affect their lives, they may be more motivated. Teachers are failing to change with the times and are doing a disservice to the students.

There are many different names that are being used to refer to, what Prensky calls, Digital Natives. This group of people can also be called the Net Gen, Generation D, Generation Y, Generation Next, and Millenials to name a few. These names are all used to characterize the group of people growing up in the digital age, immersed and completely comfortable with the technology that surrounds them.

While most people do not debate that there are students who are tech-savvy and will continue to be for the rest of their lives, some dispute the fact that this label seems to be only applicable to those born after a certain year. In his blog, Barry Dahl is resentful of the fact that, just because he was alive when technology was just beginning to become what it is today, he is considered to be a Digital Immigrant. Since he has gone through so many versions of so many different types of technology, he feels he has a better grasp (and a bigger picture view) of technology than his supposed Digital Native daughter. Dahl references a speech made by Dr. Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. Dr. Wesch believes that technology is changing so quickly that no one can be called a native anymore. Young or old, we are all learning together as technology constantly is improved and transformed.

In the article //The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence//, Bennett, Maton, and Kervin urge educators and the public not to panic. The implications of teaching this new generation are unclear. Instead of having an instructional overhaul, these authors suggest taking a step back, gathering and measuring some evidence, and taking a more systematic approach in investigating how education and instruction may need to be altered.

What about the Net Gen-ers who do not have access to computers, the Internet, cell phones, etc. because of financial reasons? Can they be considered to be as fluent in technology as their more privileged counterparts? If not, then can a whole generation be called Digital Natives if they do not have all the same amount of contact with technology, and how does this affect education and instruction? It appears that not all students in the so-called Digital Native generation are fluent with technology. On the same token, not all Digital Immigrants are clueless. There appears to be, in general, a spectrum as to a person’s comfort level with digital technology, regardless of age.

In my own experiences, I have worked with both students and adults in the area of technology. I have taught second and third graders. Together, we have word processed, played online games, completed online simulations, and used the Internet as a study tool. I am unable to say that all of the students were comfortable and familiar with all of the technology we used, although they would all be considered part of the Net Generation or Digital Natives. Some of my students used a computer at home every day. Some only had access to computers and the Internet at school. I would say that there was a large range of abilities, just among the 25 to 30 students in my classes.

This year, I am working as an Educational Technologist in the same school district in which I taught. Instead of working with students, I am helping the teachers to integrate new technology into their classrooms. Specifically, many of the elementary teachers are receiving interactive whiteboards, projectors, document cameras, and classroom response systems. This opens up a whole new world in terms of instruction. Teachers are now able to use the Internet for help with instruction, show PowerPoint presentations, and create interactive lessons. The response from teachers has been mixed. Some teachers have taken the technology and run with it. These teachers feel comfortable experimenting with different aspects of the technology on their own, at home and at school. They end up teaching me different uses of the technology. For some other teachers, all of these new tools make them nervous and they feel reluctant about changing their current instructional methods. They have trouble integrating the technology with their everyday teaching, and it has yet to become a part of their everyday lives. For some of these teachers, it is the students who are helping them troubleshoot issues and urging them to do more with their new equipment.

While most of the teachers I work with are not part of the Digital Native generation, many of them are quite adept with technology and feel at ease adopting the new tools. Others would completely agree that they are Digital Immigrants. Nevertheless, with my limited experiences with a few more than a hundred teachers and students, I agree that the idea of Digital Natives does exist in that there are certain individuals who are familiar with and constantly using digital technology. However, I do not believe that the term applies to all children in a specific generation or that it excludes anyone above a certain age. With this knowledge, teachers should stick with what they already know: Classes and children change from year to year. It is our job as teachers to change and adapt our instruction based on our students; no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable they are with digital technology.

References Bennett, S., Maton, K., Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. //British Journal of Educational Technology//, 39 (5). 775-786.

Dahl, B. (2009, April 2). Kill All the Digital Natives. Message posted to http://barrydahl.com/2009/04/02/kill-all-the-digital-natives/

Digital Natives (n.d.) In //Wikipedia// online. Retrieved from http://wikipedia.org

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. //On the Horizon//, 9 (5). 1–6.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants part II: Do they really think differently? //On the Horizon//, 9 (6). 1-9.