Digital Native and Digital Immigrant

Digital native and Digital Immigrants are very different in many ways.
Digital Native:
• They are faster and less step by step
• More parallel and random
• They multitask and twitch speed
• Graphics first before text
• Thrive off instant gratification
• They instant message, download music, play video games
• Grow up watching Sesame Street or TV
• Crave interactivity
• Type by keyboard
• Correct papers on computer screen without printing
• Live on Digital world
• Communicate by VOIP, Web 2.0,Youtube, blogs
Digital Immigrants
• Learn step by step
• Think learning is not fun
• Think music and TV can’t help with learning
• Assume that learners are the same as they have always been
• Fairley new to the internet
• Did not grow up in the digital age
• Write by handwriting
• Note take by hand
• Print paper or email to edit
• Live on paper land
• Communicate through phone
• They lose reflection


Being Digital immigrants is not as bad because you can learn and adapt to the Digital native world. Digital immigrants usually learn about technology when they are in their adult years. Some digital immigrants were not raised or brought up in the digital world. Teachers are more comfortable in their traditional curriculum in the digital immigrant way. This is a reason why some student’s attention span is short because they are not use to the teacher’s immigrant’s way. Some teachers can’t even send email, send a text from the phone, fax, blog, or even use a cell phone.
"Digital Immigrant "accent" that manifests itself in a number of ways—printing out a digital document to edit it rather than editing it online.” (Prensky, 2001, p. 4).
The Digital Natives are brought up in the digital world. They grow up watching TV and using computers. They are more faced pace and parallel. Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They can figure all the features on a cell phone, camera, website, and they can search t a faster speed. They were born in the era of technology.
“They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to "serious" work.” (Prensky 2001a, p.1)

I am a.............

After reading the articles from Prensky’s I have determined I am a Digital Native. I may have not been born in the time where PS2 were used, but Atari’s am Nintendo’s existed. They are what we considered old technology, but they were technology in my time. I loved playing the shooting the duck game, and space games. The sounds and images of Atari and Nintendo are unforgettable. The Nintendo came with the Mario games and then they became addicting .Now technology has advanced and I have grown with technology on my side. I have not stopped but followed technology and have adapted to the faster route. I love the old ways, but the new ways are much faster and advanced. I love downloading music and prefer graphic before text. I never understood why I am a visual learner and some people were the opposite, but now I understand that I am a Digital Native and it all makes sense.

Difference

What makes them both different is the methodology, content, and thinking. They are both very different and I have provided some examples based on the Prensky’s article. Digital immigrants learn differently then digital Natives because the Digital immigrant learns at a more slowly paced level with less technology and old ways. The digital Native learns at a faster way finding more advanced technology to make life easier. Children who are raised with computer develop hypertext minds. However they both use the left side of the brain. In my opinion they learn and think differently depending on how you were raised.
Web 2.0 is more effective on Digital learners because it’s more graphic and more advanced. Web 2.0 enhances the way we visualize and story tells through images. Digital storytelling has improved in such way that we can weave images and give deeper dimensions. Our old way of viewing a simple picture will turn digital and dimensional. It will give us a more in depth picture and a more dimension angle with deeper color.

Web 2.0
The way you can teach digital learners effectively in your classroom is to adapt to their ways and teach in their level. This adapting to their level does not mean change your teaching, but be creative and use the technology that has been given in their time. I could be more graphic and digital with less text. Like Pesky’s article said “We have to invent, but not necessarily from scratch” (Pesky, 2001) I have to think of ways how to teach legacy, future content, and thinking in their language and ways.


DISCLAIMER: This blog is an assignment for an interdisciplinary Studies course at National University. It is not a real blog.


References
Prensky, Marc. (2001a, September/October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Prensky, Marc. (2001b, November/December). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-6. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

Interdisciplinarity. Unit 3: Lecture 6. Retrieved June 16, 2010, National University website