When I was being oriented to interactive technology, I was introduced to the concept of Digital Natives, a phrase used to describe most young people born after 1980 that have literally grown up in a world of internet, computer games, mp3s, PDAs and cell phones. Marc Prensky , who coined the term, has published some really interesting material describing, from an educator’s perspective, the challenges faced by those of us born in another era (Digital Immigrants) in relating to the language, culture and different mode of thinking of Digital Natives.
I’ve always loved technology. Envious of the latest gadget and interested in exploring new and better ways to get things done, I’ve usually been the person in the office that other folks come to when their computer is behaving strangely or their PDA wont synch. Definitely a geek, but nevertheless I remain a Digital Immigrant … just another Digital Native wannabe. I understand the unique advantages of collaborating digitally, but it’s unnatural for me. My conversations are linear, between me and another person. I get overwhelmed by trying to sort out simultaneous inputs. From my perspective, multi-tasking involves rapidly cycling between two or more tasks and trying desperately to remember where I am on each when I return to it. My baby-boomer brain can’t seem to open two ports at once.
On the social front, I feel somewhat out of place with the Facebook/Twitter culture. I’ve achieved some level of comfort with LinkedIn, because it replicates and expands the ease of conducting the kind of business networking that I’ve learned is valuable in today’s labor market. But, I can’t for the life of me grasp why many people (or any people)would care what show I’m watching, where I’m going this afternoon or want to see my family pictures. So my page fills up with Digital Native’s entries and I visit it increasingly less often these days.
It looks like I’m doomed to remain a Digital Immigrant, a prisoner of the era of my birth, but despite that knowledge, I will continue to covet the latest and coolest new thing. Have you seen what was in the latest Gizmag? Maybe that will prove to be the ticket to my eventually becoming a Digital Native. Then again, probably not.
I’ve always loved technology. Envious of the latest gadget and interested in exploring new and better ways to get things done, I’ve usually been the person in the office that other folks come to when their computer is behaving strangely or their PDA wont synch. Definitely a geek, but nevertheless I remain a Digital Immigrant … just another Digital Native wannabe. I understand the unique advantages of collaborating digitally, but it’s unnatural for me. My conversations are linear, between me and another person. I get overwhelmed by trying to sort out simultaneous inputs. From my perspective, multi-tasking involves rapidly cycling between two or more tasks and trying desperately to remember where I am on each when I return to it. My baby-boomer brain can’t seem to open two ports at once.
On the social front, I feel somewhat out of place with the Facebook/Twitter culture. I’ve achieved some level of comfort with LinkedIn, because it replicates and expands the ease of conducting the kind of business networking that I’ve learned is valuable in today’s labor market. But, I can’t for the life of me grasp why many people (or any people)would care what show I’m watching, where I’m going this afternoon or want to see my family pictures. So my page fills up with Digital Native’s entries and I visit it increasingly less often these days.
It looks like I’m doomed to remain a Digital Immigrant, a prisoner of the era of my birth, but despite that knowledge, I will continue to covet the latest and coolest new thing. Have you seen what was in the latest Gizmag? Maybe that will prove to be the ticket to my eventually becoming a Digital Native. Then again, probably not.
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