Having been
born at the end of the baby boom I am a Digital Immigrant. I just learned that this week - I am not a
Digital Native. I can’t say that I am
surprised, or upset since I had never heard the terms before and I kind of knew
this already. All I have to do is look
at my children to know they are light years ahead of me when it comes to
technology and its use. According to Marc Prensky (2006) “digital natives communicate,
share, buy and sell, exchange, create, meet, coordinate, evaluate, game and
learn, evolve, search, analyze, report, program, socialize, and grow up
differently” than digital immigrants. Really?
Am I that different from my kids?
I guess it’s time for me to catch up.
Which then
makes me go a step further and think about my classroom. How can I connect with these kids that are so
different than me? Can I connect with these kids who are so different than me? Do they look at me and just see a dinosaur
from the Mesozoic Era and I look at them and see Star Wars?
As the
saying goes knowledge is power. I now
know what I am. I can work on that. I can work on bringing my technology skills
into the 21st century. I
don’t think it will be easy, but it can be done. I want to be part of this new world and I
want to be an effective, productive, exciting, part of this world.
So here I am
, ideas are welcome!!
References
Prensky, M
(2006) The Emerging Online Life Of A Digital Native, “Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning!” (pp.40-51). St. Paul Minn. Paragon House
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