Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
by Marc Prensky
When I first read the title of this article I really felt as though I was going to be reading about people native to a certain land and those that were coming in as immigrants.....however I saw the word 'digital', so I wasn't sure that was correct...
After further reading I grasp this: "Digital Natives" are the children we teach that have grown up with all things related to technology. We as teachers are the "Digital Immigrants" that consider some of these pieces of technology a foreign piece to our teachings.
When I think back to 26 years ago when I was in first grade and six years old, all I can say is, "My the times have changed!!!!" I remember a cassette player and an overhead and big desktop computers with a big floppy disk. My students would be lost in a world that only contained these items...they are so accustomed to CD Players (hardly knowing what a cassette is), cell phones, iPods, iPads, Laptops, Playstations, Jump drives, SMART boards, Projectors, flat screen TV's, and field trips on the computer. Do these children know how lucky they are to have so many different things to learn from? I now must wonder where we will be in the next 26 years when I will be retired?
Not growing up with these cool technological pieces can make us uneasy to learn how to use them. But we must remember that this is what our children know and this is the language our students speak. We need to speak this language to get on their level and educate them.
The second sentence in this article stood out as I began reading. Prensky (2001) strongly states, "Our students have changed radically. Today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach."
I know how you feel. I think it's crazy when my students think that my Mousercise LP is a giant CD.
ReplyDeleteSo true!! I also appreciate the second sentence, and agree that we have to speak their language. After all that has evolved in the last 26 years, it is hard to even imagine what children in 2035 will have. Will they have any kind of hard labor? It's not looking like it-They want even be using pens to sign checks within the next 5 years. They will be talking and typing out all of their commands. Should be interesting. We all need to do a time capsule to show our grandchildren how simple life is now, much less 30 years ago!!!
ReplyDeleteAt least you had computers in your first grade classroom. I did not have them when I went to college, well at least not the first time I went to college. I definately have them now an I am learning the language!
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