Native, or Immigrant? Does it matter?



If you grew up with this thing, are you a native or immigrant?

Prensky's article this week has me a little befuddled. I'm 41, and I suppose Marc (at least when this article was written) would classify me a digital immigrant. I didn't necessarily "grow up" with all things electronic. We went outside and played more, for sure. However, we did have access to some electronics. And by the time I was 16 or so cell phones were fairly commonplace. We also had computers from the time I was in middle school, albeit very different obviously than what we had today. 

So, in a sense, I sort of grew up with technology. After reading this week's article I was wondering, "Am I a native, or an immigrant?" Maybe somewhere in the middle? I certainly speak the language, and feel as though it's always been a part of my life. Perhaps I'm sort of like the young immigrant child who ventures to a new land with his parents, raised in the cultures and norms of that country.

I guess, in a way, I couldn't help wonder, "Are there any digital immigrants left among us at this point?" Perhaps our parents, or grandparents? But even they seem to have assimilated into this tech oriented culture. My in laws are near 75, and both text and embrace all things digital. They can Facetime, and have an assumption that most everything can be handled in the digital realm. 

Kirschner and De Bruyckere suggest that perhaps there's not a whole lot of difference in how these "natives" learn versus the "immigrants." Our ability to process information is really no different than that of those who came way before us. Our brains can only process so much information. I think this makes sense. There's a reason the tried/true method of classroom instruction has, and likely always will be the ideal. A teacher can mitigate the distractions of multitasking and cognitive overload by controlling the environment.

I think this is a little bit of naivety on my part, but I don't necessarily think it matters a lot to consider the "native" or "immigrant" when designing instruction. I do see how, perhaps 20 years ago, there was usefulness in examining the characteristics of the two. After all, the immigrants were sort of coming to terms with how they were going to be able to adapt to a new, and somewhat scary world. But today, we've all sort of seemed to blend into one, and the expectation of how we learn now seems to have more of a universal reach across both spectrums. Shorter chunks of information, delivered in multiple ways, accessed through various forms of media.







Comments

  1. Megan W.May 26, 2023 at 5:56 AM

    Hey Dude! Great post. I asked myself the flip side of you question the other day: "Are there really digital natives anymore?" If everyone moving forward is a "native," does the category really matter? I've been thinking a lot about the children in and around my family as we explore ideas about generational trends and tech competency. One thing I see a lot; my Gen X family use their phones as their primary computer. A few of them don't even type, everything is verbally dictated through speech-to-text. I see it in my Freshman orientation class. Lots of assignments and screenshots turned in from mobile. Is this the same kinds of "nativity" as mine (in terms of Prensky?) I don't think so... which means maybe the term doesn't matter here either.

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    Replies
    1. Vanessa CMay 26, 2023 at 10:06 PM

      Megan you bring up a great point. My students no longer take notes; they take pictures of things we do in class (even of my slide presentations). At this point we are dealing with an overwhelming "native" population, but there will always be a generational difference. Coming up with Web 1.0 would give you a different experience and attitude to technology use than someone who grew up with 2.0 or 3.0 technologies. The next generation will not think of artificial intelligence the way that the current one does, and they will be immigrants to that new way of life/thinking.

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  2. Brett F. May 26, 2023 at 4:13 PM

    The lines have really blurred as technology becomes more and more /mandatory/ for our everyday life. You used to be able to isolate from it - not anymore. I can't grocery shop without my Winn Dixie app and account, and can't sign into my gym without my Gympass QR code. I'm not even sure you can take the subway without a metro app anymore in some places.

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