#prensky

There is no doubt that technology has vastly entered the lives of students within the last twenty or so years. Prensky (2001),  promotes the idea that these students who are immersed in technology, can be referred to as ‘Digital Natives’. These students know the language and jargon of video games, computers, coding, and the internet, allowing them to be ‘native speakers’. Prensky, refers the rest of us as ‘digital immigrants’, insinuating that we are late to the party and were not born into a society full of today’s technology. Prensky suggests that our habits are a form of ‘accent’. Although we may be stuck in our ways, this does not mean we don’t have these digital skills. For example, I know very well how to create a mind map on the computer, instead I’d rather draw one out on a big piece of A2 paper, so I can scribble and draw my ideas.

Bennett, Maton & Kervin (2008), argue that the way the new generation of students use technology is different from the way previous students used it. They argue that education has to change, and teachers need to learn to adapt these new and emerging skills that these students are already immersed with when they first start school. As a preservice teacher, it is up to me to change the way that ‘digital natives’ are being educated. It is my duty to keep up with the skills and technologies used by these ‘digital natives’, in order to ensure that they experience a respectable education in the 2019. Although I may have been a ‘digital native’ in 2001, in 2019 students in primary and secondary school are the new generation, and they are the future. It is the job of 2001 ‘digital natives’ to foster the educational experience of 2019 ‘digital natives’.

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.

I can use almost all digital tools I need without difficulty both in business and in my everyday life in the digital communication age but still I like reading anything printed and feeling on my hand instead of reading them from screen, storing important documents and keeping lecture notes also passed over 5-10 years even I can find thousands of them by internet. Therefore, I thought if I’m a digital native or a digital immigrant while reading the articles about them.

Social media is a part of our lives just we always say. And also we say a life without internet is not possible. But there is a different dimension to examine the generations academically who uses, follows, ignores the devoloping technology.

Firstly, what is the digital natives, who are they? What is called digital immigrants, who are they? It is useful to make a brief definitions. As it can be seen in the description digital natives are referred as millennium children whom are born into the digital world, know and use the nature of this world. The definition used for the digital migrants is then adapted to this technology. I see myself in the two crossing points as one of 1987 born person. The first mobile phones, first the USB memory, the first touch screen phone, the first iPhone and now 4.5G are the first witnesses and I can use them without difficulty I can not imagine a life without my mobile device like a millennium child but I think it is a separate value of everything that is printed ...

In the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants; Prensky divide people into 2 groups as “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” according to their tecnological abilities and perfections. According to Prensky people born before 1980’s are Digital Immigrants and born after 1980’s are Digital Natives.

And he refers to some important points; the environment digital natives and digital immigrants met, their communication patterns, if they understand each other or not etc…

Prensky argue that today’s students learning types are changed radically and they are no longer the people their educational system was designed to teach. They spend their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age. today‟s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors. These differences go far further and deeper than most educators suspect or realize.

So; the teaching methodology and content must be changed for the learners, “digital natives”. Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, needed to be invented using the students’ guidence.

Ellen Hellsper and Rebecca Enyon in the article “Digital natives: where is the evidence?” define digital native as someone who multi-tasks, has access to a range of new technologies, is confident in their use of technologies, uses the Internet as a first port of call for information and uses the Internet for learning as well as other activities.

Hellsper and Enyon examine to determine what native is by exploring the importance of variables age, experience and breadth of use. As one of the result of the survey generation/age alone does not adequately define if someone is a digital native or not. It appears that younger people do have a greater range of ICTs in their household, tend to use the Internet as a first port of call, have higher levels of Internet self-efficacy, multi-task more, and use the Internet for fact checking and formal learning activities.

In some respects these findings do support the arguments put forward by Prensky and others. A larger proportion of young people use the Internet, they are more likely to come from media rich homes are more confident about their skills and are more likely to engage in online learning activities.

As a result at the research, in terms of formal education seem to be two key messages. Firstly, it seems that adults, specifically teachers can “speak the same language” as their students if they want to. Younger people are more likely to have a wider variety of ICTs at home, use the Internet as a first port of call for information, multitask and use the Internet first for school / work information but many adults do as well.

The research data also helps to add to the debate in terms of what or how to teach young people in schools. While it is important to understand what young people are using new technologies for in debates about future developments in pedagogy and curriculum; we cannot assume that just because young people do more of something it is always a good thing.  

Hellsper and Enyon don’t dispute the Prensky’s learning and teaching arguments directly. According to them it’s needed to understand learners in order to teach them well. They don’t dispute the change of education but debates about change must be based on empirical evidence and not rhetoric. 

Bibliography 

Prensky, M. 2001. “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. On the Horizon MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001

An enthusiastic of Prensky a year ago and happy to buy into such labels having lived with them in advertising and marketing where extensive qualitative research labels consumers with all kinds of spurious, though fact based terms and categories to help sell products and services. However, with the concept of ‘Digital Natives’ ;’Generation Y’ et al we fall into the trap of wanting to believe we’re…

I came across this 'Cyberspace Independence Declaration' from John Perry Barlow just now. In it he says:

You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole, the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air upon which wings beat.

As mentioned in the previous post, programming and coding is an important skill that must be taught to children in order to enhance their skills and open up whole new possibilities for them. 

Marc Prensky is an American writer and speaker on learning and education. He has a vast variety of literature regarding education and learning. It can be said that he is the creator of the terms 'digital native' and 'digital immigrant'. Prensky is also a designer of learning games, and a well-known expert in the use of games in education.

Prensky states that programming is the key skill necessary to have 21st Century literacy. What is meant by 21st Century literacy is the ability to rapidly decode print and non-print text, pictures, music and written text. Being literate has moved past just being able to read and write. Prensky also states that teachers and schools are stuck in the ancient times.