2. Digital Natives Debate

It is safe to say that society has gone through a number of changes over time. Children born into the technological world have a different way of learning, thinking and understanding; where as, people that were born during the time that lacked any technology advancements had encountered traditional learning without the use of a variety of technology. These people are referred to as ‘digital immigrants’ due to their lack of knowledge about new technology and no willingness to learn (Prensky, 2001).

In the lecture we discussed the different views of digital natives against digital immigrants. Digital immigrants view computers as a strange device that holds all the information that was taught by the teacher. On the other hand, digital natives see computers as a learning tool that enhances their learning through the use of various programs and the World Wide Web. Through the combination of the students as the designer and the computer as the mind tool, digital natives create ‘new knowledge’.

The two articles we read for ITTL were about a debate between Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. I truly do feel that Digital Natives have it a lot easier than Digital Immigrants. Digital Natives are born into the technological world and pick up on the new technological changes faster than the Digital Immigrants (Bennett, 2008). Digital Immigrants have it harder because as time goes on, technology develops consistently and it becomes difficult for Digital Immigrants to keep up with all these changes.

The Digital Divide

Although Digital Natives know about technology I think that Digital Immigrants are the ones that need to learn our way because the world is moving forward. If Digital Natives were to learn the old ways it would be like going back in time (Prensky, 2001). Digital Immigrants can learn all about these technology changes through experimentation. There are courses, text books, teachers and many more things that will allow them to learn the new way and become informed about technology as any Digital Native is. This would most definitely be advantageous for them because they will not feel like they are behind in time and they can begin to participate in many activities that Digital Natives participate in everyday.

When Digital Immigrants become familiar with the new technology they will be able to incorporate this in their classroom. It will enhance students learning because content will be taught the way that they have been born to interpret and understand information.

Digital Native

Teachers that thrive to become like digital natives will be able to involve students in a number of tools and activities that will keep them interested. Graphic organisers are an excellent tool for brainstorming and gathering student’s ideas about a particular topic. Creating graphic organisers on a smart board before each new topic will promote interactivity and hand’s on learning that will enhance students learning experiences.

The views of Digital Natives Vs. Digital Immigrants

Graphic organisers assist students with classifying ideas and communicating their thoughts more concisely. It is great to use graphic organisers to support logical-mathematical and spatial-visual learning styles that may be present within the learning environment. Utilizing graphic organisers for brainstorms, class debates (showing different points of view from each side of the argument), text-type plans, and summarising various texts will result in a representation of class idea’s and thoughts in a neat and logical way.

I believe that Digital natives are all individuals and they do have different learning styles, needs and wants that need to be attended to, therefore it would cause problems if all teachers began to suggest that just because they were born at a different time or during a different generation they think differently to those digital immigrants. Technology should aim to be combined with modern teaching in order for students to connect with technology as a tool for learning.

Reference List

Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). A ‘Digital Natives’ Debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal of Education Technology 39(5), 775-786.

Digital Divide [Image]. (2010). Retrieved April 4, 2011 from http://ircccanblog2.blogspot.com/2007/07/are-you-digital-native-or-digital.html

Digital Era [Image].(2008). Retrieved April 5, 2011 from http://michaelcorey.ntirety.com/Blog/tabid/51101/Default.aspx?Tag=Facebook

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. MCB University Press, 9(5), 1-6.