From a Digital Native to a Digital Immigrant

I thought that this article by Marc Prensky was very interesting because I was able to relate to it from several angles. Growing up, I considered myself to be a "digital native," someone who grew up with technology and found it easy to use and implement in my everyday life. I was always being called upon by parents and grandparents to help them figure out how to use their shiny new piece of technology they were convinced by society that they needed. I could never understand how they were unable to see how intuitive the software or hardware was and how simple and easy the manufacturer made it for the consumer to use. It seemed that the older generations just didn't "get" it. And even if some older people were able to get the hang of technology, these "digital immigrants" still carried an "accent" with them, often being quick to revert back to their old-fashioned, tried and true methods of doing things if the technology began to act up. When viewed in a technological light, it is easier to understand why the older generations might have had difficulty reaching this "digital-generation" back in 2001, because there were so many differences in the way they had come to view the world and information based on the environment in which they were raised.

However, as I've gotten older, I've started to feel like the technological "language" is evolving and that I'm becoming more and more of a "digital immigrant." It's becoming more and more difficult to keep up with the newest technological trends, and I have begun to realize that I'm having trouble picking up new pieces of technology and being instantly able to use it, while younger kids have no problems whatsoever. Unless you are constantly keeping up with the newest digital trends, it becomes very easy to quickly fall behind due to the impressively fast rate at which technology evolves. The lives of today's children in 2017 are more intricately entwined with technology than any previous generation, and it will require new and creative pathways to reach them educationally. With the way technology is headed, my future classroom will most likely be based entirely around the use of technology, a further progression of what is already being seen in schools today with the replacement of textbooks with e-readers. As a future educator, it is important that I remain fluent with this digital "language" in order to effectively reach my students and relate information to them in their "native tongue."