For class Tuesday, September 10:
Read and take notes on:
- Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Marc Prensky (web or Digital Divide)
- “Generation Myth” by Siva Vaidhyanathan (on Readings page)
- Respond to the readings on Twitter and in the comments section of this blog. Which author do you agree with? Do you see a point of view neither of them see? Where do you see yourself in their paradigms?
Write:
- Based on peer comments, revise your blog introduction. Add an image.
- DUE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, Media Diary (must have hard copy and be emailed to me by start of class).
i find myself right smack in the middle of a digital native and a digital immigrant. Sure you can call me tech savy, i know how to surf the net, send tweets, post pix and videos on FB, and instagarm, navigate a computer with ease. But that doesnt mean im to fond of it. More and more often i find myself seeking a more relaxed, slower paced kind of life for myself. That explains why i love to camp, go on hikes and simply talk to older ppl ie my mom and older coworkers. I yearn to learn how it was living back when all this technology didnt exist. How did ppl just walk out of there houses without a cellphone? You mean to tell me i had to wait around my house for a phone call?, and even more amazing you had to memorize peoples numbers? this is probably why im so inclined to moving back to guatemala, people over there arent too caught up with the fast paced life that technology brings. So i guess to conclude i find myself agreeing more with siva and her paper “Generational myth” that not all young people are tech savy, and i would add that not all young people are tech fond.
however mark prenskys and his stand on weather the immigrants should adapt to the new digital language or should the natives learn the old way of learning ( and i would say living), i say both. Immigirants actualize yourself because its inevitable and natives learn the old ways, it may not be fun to sit around a campfire and tell stories (no wait a minute, yes it is) but its very relaxing and very necessary for the soul and body to power down and be one with nature.
The world we live in is a different place than it was even as little as ten years ago. Having a conversation with an older person he brought up an interesting point; “The world has all of the sudden gotten really small with the advances of communications and the technologies married to it”. I couldn’t agree more with that idea. We have access to almost any information we need in a blink of an eye, whereas ten to twenty years ago it was a longer process to be able to acquire information if even possible, that fact alone makes Marc Prensky’s article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants relevant. The reality is that we live in a time in which technological advances are not only part of our daily lives whether we like it or not, but its the direction in which everything is headed, that’s our future. Another fact is that this generation (yes I’ll call it a generation even if Siva Vaidhyanathan thinks otherwise) is married to the current technology and what’s to come in the future, therefore why not build a bridge between the digital immigrants and the digital natives? Prensky puts it in simple terms : It’s not actually clear to me which is harder- “learning new stuff” or “learning new ways to do old stuff” Prensky as well as I agree with the second. When we think about it this makes sense, there is an apparent communication problem between digital natives and immigrants these two groups speak a different digital language and this is affecting not only the instruction because its not being understood but the way this new digital generation is learning is making that task of teaching even harder. No one is at fault for being born into this generation, that is constantly bombarded with this new media. It is the culture they are born into therefore new teaching methods and strategies have been implemented and will keep evolving and improving as we change along with this digital age.
On the other hand Generational Myth tries to convince the reader that no change is necessary and that the Digital Generation is nothing more than an exaggeration of a small group of people who are tech savvy. I must disagree with this article for three simple reasons. First of all its more than obvious that digital media has affected the entire world and the kids that are born and living in this age are walking hand in hand with this new media. Secondly Vaidhyanathan only talks about the negative aspects of digital media and gets technical about what defines a generation, as if she were knit picking at the idea that because there is no such thing as a Digital generation no change should be done with the way ‘the youth” (as she puts it) should be instructed, schooled or taught. Third and last is the proven history of mankind and our endless creativity and genius to make life easier and more efficient. That is exactly what digital media has done to our lives easier and efficient. Of course that could be counter argued but just like the inventions of automobiles and aircrafts have caused some negative effects they have also facilitated they way we live our lives and we have adapted to them for our benefit. Having that in mind why would anyone oppose the new digital age? I wouldn’t!
I agree with Marc Prensky. He has a point when he said whether the Digital Natives should learn the old “language” or for the Digital immigrants evolve and keep up with what’s new. The truth is, as the world keeps evolving so should the ones getting left behind. No ones going to take a step back, its always about that step forward. One needs to adjust to the world, because the world is not going to wait on you if it can get to its destination faster. Its like a race, the slowest one, is the one that loses. But what does he do? A real champion trains and trains and practices until he can keep up, or better yet win! I find myself on the side of Digital Native. When it comes to learning, I see no fun and the class seems to take an eternity to end. But when I take my phone out and clos myself to my own little world, time seems to go by faster than normal speed. If teacher could just have an open mind set and become creative as to the way a class is taught, students will begin to listen and have no other choice but to include it in their daily lives. Yes, we still need reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. and yes we as Digital Natives will try to learn, but for it to stick to our brains that easily? Its not going to happen. Finding a way to better the future and make our lives easier, is what the future is about. Imagine if we kept the original and the old and never evolved from it. We’d still be making fire with sticks and stones. To make our future brighter and easier, Digital Immagrants should have an open mind and adjust to the Natives, because this is our world now. The world of Digital Natives. You want a citizenship in the Native world, practice and take the test.
When it comes to both selections , I say I’m mutual to both selections. Although they both have some good arguments , I feel like they’re both trying to support they’re idea so supportingly that they’re focusing on just that. I feel I’m mutual in the sense that I grew up along side all this new technology , although it doesn’t come so naturally to me. I guess you can say I use it, because I feel that I have to, and well unfortunately without it sometimes I feel completely distant from everyone else. I can actually go a day without my phone, or watching tv . My mom on the other hand ” digital immigrant” knows how to work her way around digital gadgets more than I can, she can’t even put her phone down for a split second . I believe that there’s young people that can accommodate to this fast digital generation of ours and there’s some that just don’t find it as easy as others do. I think same goes to our past generations, there’s some that adjust , and there’s some that find their past techniques more beneficial and more convenient. I don’t think it depends on the generation rather than more on the person , young people or our elders. Technology doesn’t have an age group .
Should we whom Marc calls digital Natives like to count multiplication table with pebbles like the digital immigrant instead of using quick smart calculator? Off course the clear answer is no technology changes every seconds of the day so i think the immigrant should catch up and don’t fall behind because at the stage we are now in our society is like the prime stage of technical development, technology will continue to develop every day by day. Immigrants should know that most that the world they find themselves in wasn’t the one they were born into so many things has changed in the past decade not technology wise but all social wise. this days in our society you can easily see a 6 years old with a cell phone or tablet walking down the street which has not been there in the past years. In the passage Dr Bruce D. Perry said that the digital native brain have physically changed from the Immigrant this statement kinda illustrate the changes in our society about the technology. We process informations fundamentally differently from our prodecessors. My idea about technology so far is that it doesn’t discriminate about natives or immigrants, most native do not know how to speak the language and the immigrants are much better at the language so with constant practice you can actually become perfect and excel.
I feel that both articles have pros and cons to them. I don’t think of myself as a digital native but i also do not categorize myself as a digital immigrant. I think that these generalizations of either are stereotypical and i certainly disagree with some of the statements of both. I myself love online books and think it is amazing to be able to carry 100 plus books in my tablet but sometimes i love the comfort of sitting by the fire with a warm cup of hot chocolate and turning the pages to a book. The first article “Digital Immigrants” states a lot of point there are new great technologies out there that were recently invented that can help kids/students learn. A great example are leap frogs for children these games help kids to learn to write and read all with games so a child can learn while playing. The second article made a point in stating that there are kids who can’t afford to buy computers, phones, or other new media devices but now a days almost all public libraries and school now have computers that kids can access for free. I feel that the second article made it seem like only rich kids are the ones over using media when it is a lie now a days everyone has some contact with the internet and if they don’t have it at home they will find a way to be able to access it. Media is beginning to play an important role in everyday life due to technology increases. I don’t feel that media hurts us in any way i think that what hurts is people not wanting to put effort into things due to all the answers to things being on the internet and if you aren’t able to decipher something you can look it up online and find the answer without you hurting your head. If you are a hard worker and love to learn you will put all your effort into learning the information no matter where it comes from.
After reading “Digital Native: Digital Immigrant”, I struggled with what to identify with. Am I a Digital Native, or a Digital Immigrant? I speak the “language” fluently, I scoff when I hear obvious digital accents, my patience for retrieving information is beyond thin, and I expect instant communication. On the other hand, I did have to learn this “new” way of communicating at one point. I was not born into it. However, since the transition happened when I was very young, one could argue that I have earned my “Digital Citizenship” through years of learning in this new form. I agree with Prensky. I believe that instructors need to shift and mold their teaching methods in order to encompass all of their students. Change is good and necessary. More and more students are being cheated out of a valuable education because of the lack of connection and information retention with today’s teaching methods. By implementing the vast amount of resources available today, teachers can accommodate all their students learning styles. Just as teachers acknowledge the “visual” or “hands on” learning style, acknowledging the “digital” learning style is imperative to reaching all of today’s students.
Digital Native is what I would be consider according to Marc Prensky and I agree. Other people like Vaidhyanathan say that it is not such and thing and they couldn’t be more wrong. People like that are just upset at the fact that the world is changing and they don’t want anything to change around them. Or he could just be a little confused on what a Digital Native is. Being a Digital Native is all the kids and young adults (K-College) that grown up and is growing up in this fast pace world so for him to be able to think we can all learn the old fashion way with black and white printed books and a pen and pad is still kind of true. Which is the only thing I agree with when it come to Vaidhyanathan. Our pen and pad just turn into a laptop and tablet. Black and white printed books just turn into readings online which make it easier for the student and teacher. As long as the world is turning it will also be changing. Five years ago I would have never thought a cell phone could do everything it does today. Marc said it the best “The single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” -Marc Prensky We need to find a way to connect the Digital Natives and the Digital Immigrants of today fast pace world so we can all learn together because I don’t see tech in this world slowing down anytime soon.
The digital immigrant makes strong statements. Sometime I truly feel like a digital immigrant because new and ongoing technology. Soon as you learn one thing another invention happens. The children today are almost force to catch on fast so they prevent from getting “left behind” sort of speak. But the teachers that are technology challenge also have to learn todays technology. There is a huge difference between todays language and past language. Instead of being nervous about learning new technology, I try my best to ask questions and pay attention. But as I learn more and more about technology I see how beneficial in my everyday life.
I will find myself as a Digital Native because I admit I do use my phone a lot. Mark has a well thought-out perspective, we have different styles of preference when it comes to learning. The Digital Immigrants come to think that we are degrading our education by a cheat known as the internet. A counter-argument would be how my brother has come to captivate knowledge without continuing his education after high school. He gathers information from various sources and has surpassed my expectations in different subjects. I’m amazed to what he has come to know. Siva mentioned that it’s within the parent on whether Digital Natives “dumb down”. I do agree with statement “We are loosing our humanity” because sooner or later, all of the Digital Immigrants now will become Digital Native. They will find each other using technology because it’s easier then manual labor such as finding apartments, or advertising. Our world is changing and we have to adapt.
I like Marc Prensky’s article better than Siva Vaidhyananthan. In my opinion Vaidhyananthan’s article had a lot of negativity. It was focusing more on the bad than the good of the growth of technology. I was a little disturbed by some of the information/comments she cited. For example on pg 10, she said Postman, “blamed television for restructuring our thought patterns and retarding our ability to think complex thoughts.” How do they come to that conclusion? Not all programming is bad, in fact there are a lot of educational shows and networks. Not all the information/ sites or things Digital Natives do on their phones/ tablets / computers are negative. YES, we all like to be able to have technology at the tip of our fingertips because it helps as a distraction, but there is more to technology than social medias and gaming. For most it is the source of information, how else would we be able to communicate speedily or get news or information in a matter of seconds. It is also imperative for everyone to keep up with technology or new forms on how to succeed or in a sense survive. Therefore it is important for the Digital Immigrants to work on getting their Digital Citizenship. It is much harder to teach an old dog new tricks, but it is possible! Digital Immigrants must align themselves to the new technology otherwise they will be left behind and replaced just like the old methods of teaching.
I think some people are stuck with technology being a luxury, to a certain extent it is but a lot of professions require you to be at least a little tech savvy, thus making it a necessity.
Even though I am considered as a “Digital Native”, I also embrace some characteristics of the “Digital Immigrants”. It is true that I have grown up with the internet by my side and if I needed anything to know, I had google.com to help me; I find that some of the ideas that Marc Prensky points out are exagerated, based on my opinion. On the other hand, I also agree with Prensky that “Digital Immigrant” teachers should get familiar to new teaching methods. The reason why I firmly agree with this point is because when I was in school, some teachers would bore us (the Digital Native class) easily by just standing there and reading the book. Classes in this time and age should be interactive. Just look at kids these days, carrying their iPads and iPod everywhere because they feel that it is more interesting than the world around them. Imagine those same kids in class rooms, my guess would be that not a lot will pay attention because on the back of their minds, they are thinking of the interaction-filled games they have in the palms of their hands. Now, I do not agree with Siva Vaidhyanathan at some points. One main reason is that Digital Natives are not an exaggerated group of people that are “tech savvy”. Honestly, that just sounds pretentious. All in all, I see that there is no reason why Digital Natives take some traits from the Digital Immigrants and vice versa.
Two generations, two sides, The Digital Native and Digital Immigrants both have good arguments. Half of my digital immigrant side believes learning the old fashion way is the best way and cannot go wrong, even thou extra steps must be taken and extra time is being use at the long run it is the safest way because in the event technology goes down for example the power goes out, your brain will slow down, you would probably be stuck and wouldn’t know what to do. Half of my Digital Native side is still being trained and uses technology 50% which is the shortcut to take the speed initiative in my daily life. The truth is the Digital Native side has a lot of benefits to help speed and improved our daily careers or jobs. Working in the medical field I can say (What would we do without the speed of technology) the hospitals would be more crowded and patients would be more frustrated. No doubt I am 50/50 to both sides.
I agree with Marc Prensky article because I consider myself a “digital immigrant”. I see myself in the paradigms that Marc has described in the article. When I was going to school we did not have IPad’s, smart phones or Google. We had to do more research then student have to do now. As a “digital immigrant” it takes me more time to figure something out on the computer then it would be if I had a book to read it from. I have had to adapt to this new way of learning because if not I might be left behind by the new generation. This new generation has a lot of information at a click of a mouse when in the past few years it took us longer to find the same information. I do not think we will ever teach the digital natives how to learn the way the digital immigrants did. I agree with Marc Prensky article because we are in different time and the way technology is advancing books, newspapers and encyclopedias won’t be used as much.
The author I agree with is Marc Prensky because it’s true when he says, “today’s students – represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology.” Now you can do anything with technology for example you can read a book through your phone and you wont need to waste time and money to go to the store and buy the book. Most people now and days can’t live without their phone and they have to have it on them all the time because their life revolves our their phone. I agree with “digital immigrants don’t believe their students can learn successfully while watching TV or listening to music, because they (the Immigrants) can’t.” I feel like I concentrate more when I listen to music and do my homework and or classwork because I get distracted easily and if I hear other people talking about other things besides the work we are doing my mind tends to wander off to other things like what I’m going to do after class. My dad would always tell me to turn off either my music or the TV if he saw me doing homework and I would tell him that I work better this way and he wouldn’t believe me and now I can see that he is a digital immigrant. I see myself in between digital native and digital immigrant because I know some things about technology like what I learned in either a class I took or what I learned on my own by playing around with the program. I think everyone still has much to learn about technology because it expands everyday and you learn new things. Everyone learns in different ways so I don’t think that digital immigrants will get everything that the digital natives know. Digital natives can’t learn the ways that digital immigrants know because technology is the way they learned and if they tried doing everything like the immigrants they wouldn’t get use to it.
As I was reading “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, I started generalizing my friends, family, and myself. I’m really not that computer savvy, I use the my laptop to do the school work that needs to be done. However, I do use it to surf the internet, social network with family and friends, and even listen to music. At first, I was thinking to myself that I fell in that “Digital Immigrant” category because I’m very old school about certain things. I really don’t like the cost of some hard cover books, I just don’t have a choice in what it cost because I need it for my scholastic work. I’m the type of person that needs to physically have the book and read to be able to understand what I’m actually reading. I might be reading, but not paying attention when its something similar to E books. Technology is increasing on a daily basis and its so important to be able to keep up with it.
In the article by Siva, I realized that I’m not categorized as neither one. It really comes down to what works for individuals. Watching TV or listening to music has nothing to do with the fact that I’m not digitally prepared or not. It all comes down on what helps me concentrate or focus more efficiently. I choice not to listen to music or watch TV while I’m reading something online because I lose focus and I feel my eyes daze off somewhere else. At this point, I don’t agree with neither one of the articles because I know I have friends that are computer savvy and could sit there and write a 10-page essay in a matter of couple of hours while the music is blasting really loud in their ears.
It is strange for me to read about these “stereotypes” that are labeled on to the apparently called “digital natives”. First off, my friends and I do not refer to ourselves as digital natives and we definitely don’t refer to our professors as “digital immigrants”, in fact I doubt none of my friends will even know the term existed when I tell them. A big issue I have is that we are being labeled, and most of the time labeled by people from another generation. Just because I play Call of Duty doesn’t mean I need a new special learning environment. How has technology made us unable to learn the way past generations have? It hasn’t. Technology is our friend, it is the future, but for some reason it is seen as a weight on us that is pulling us back or that is making things more difficult. Professors should be overjoyed that technology exists today because it makes their life, as it does to their students, much easier. Personally I say save the old teaching methods because if you make new ones it’s not like they’ll be helpful 7 to 10 years from now because that will be a whole new world than today. I haven’t let technology get into the way of my education at all and I don’t see everyone else thinks it has.
“In Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, Marc Prensky begins by identifying a Digital Native and a Digital Immigrant which to be quite honest these terms struck me as odd. “What should I call these “new” students of today?” and “They prefer games to “serious” work” were two of the quotes that made me feel as if though growing up in the digital age made me a whole different person from those who grew up in the pre digital era. Indeed we are a new generation that along with every other generation have witnessed their own advances at the time, for my generation the evolution of technology and the continuous advancement of tools and their new functions are very amazing things to witness. The fact that we have more tools that facilitate the way in which we communicate with others does not necessarily mean that every “Digital Native” has lost interest in books or that we find Digital Immigrants heavily accented and unintelligent. Quite the contrary, I admire and respect anyone who got through school before Google was even around, surely it must have made their learning experience much different from the students from today. I do agree that today’s learners are different, surely the way we obtain information, present our work, and even the way we think is different because we have grown up in a society that is much different from the one seen years ago. Instructors should find different ways to present lectures to their students but that does not necessarily mean adopting Digital Native Methodologies (even though it would be much more efficient).
Perhaps, this is a matter of adapting to this new Digital age, because we are moving forward in time and we will all come across a moment where we will have to be familiar with some of this new technology . Even though Marc, might classify me as a Digital Native my experience with technology is very much similar to the experience of a Digital immigrant. Siva, mentioned in her article, ” Once we assume that all young people love certain form of interaction and hate others, we forge policies and design systems and devices that match those presumptions. By doing so, we either pander to some marketing cliché or force an otherwise diverse group of potential users in to a one size fit all system that might not fit their needs”. I couldn’t agree more! Of course, I would happen to be part of the young crowd that would prefer a simple hard cover book over a kindle any day which brings me back to the Digital Divide by Mark Bauerlein where he talks about how the real evaluation of the Digital Age depends on how we think, what we expect, how we relate to others, and our standing in the universe.
I believe both writers possess valid points for their personal points of view, however, I feel that there might be a third perspective in which the subject can be approached. I strongly agree with Siva through this statements which imply that generations are merely illusions used to differentiate age gaps within society and that a generation is irrelevant when the topic at hand requires a personal opinion as compared to a group settlement. As Prensky focuses on, digital media has become a part of our living to what I would say are drastic measures, but his classifications of “natives” and “immigrants” seems quite shallow. I feel as if we have let digital media slip through our radar and have now slowly taken over how we perceive the world and interact with it. Generations was truly irrelevant when it came down to whether our “generation” has been raised by and adapted technology in our everyday living. As Siva stated, not everyone is truly comfortable with technology ranging in all ages as well as how minorities have been left out due to social status. Technology all though handy at times, is just a trend, like any other technological advancement that has happened through out history, it runs a course of hype and “necessity” then burns out and becomes outdated. This trend seems though it has gotten the best of us by how we require some form of knowledge to these devices in everyday living or through our work environment. Whoever has been categorized as a “digital immigrant” has seemed to be able to keep me optimistic in both ability to not let a trend rule certain aspects of our living but also with knowing that there are still people who subconsciously prefer physical social interactions as compared to staring at a screen waiting for a text or email. Such habits such as calling to see if someone received an email or having someone come to you so you can show them a webpage instead of sending them the link seems to show me that we still subconsciously desire face to face interactions regardless of how simplistic or convenient it is to reach someone by media. Another sign that I feel shows that digital media is a trend that has been intertwined and portrayed to be essential to everyday living is how public library visits increased by 61% from ’94 to ’04. Some material cannot be found on the internet and does not have the same effect as going to a library for research or personal whereabouts. Regardless of how long this trend last, it will surely be forgotten just like previous trends in past “generations” before ours, how long we choose to let this happen and how much of a necessity we allow it to become just depends on us as a society.
According to “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, by Marc Prensky there’s a divide between those tech-savvy folks and those that hardly know how to use technology. I find myself feeling more like a “digital native,” although i truly really fall under that class. I have been around tech gadgets and several different sources of technological advances and have seemed to always fall right into the groove of things. Although thinking back now, i have been around since the heavy ibm computers with black screens and white lettering. So naturally for me, its been a way of just going along with the changes and advancements. Now it goes to show that regardless if one is into technology for recreation of as a career move, one will eventually adapt. Sure, Siva says that not all of us are comfortable with technology, but eventually we tend to fall into whats going on around us and adapt. We are creatures of adaptation, which is why we (humans) have come so far. However, the divide between the people who have readily used and adapted to those technological changes compared to those who haven’t is only a small factor in a larger spectrum. Hard cover or e-book, is a serious matter. This is because i don’t believe i am neither a “digital native” nor a “digital immigrant” because having a tablet with a digital copy of a specific book not only simplifies the matter but causes me to lose focus. This is because subconsciously i know that the tablet of whatever kind of digital platform i am using is most like internet capable and can “distract” me from the real task. Now I’m a bit uncertain as to which i will be classified into, but I’d have to agree with Bauerlein. However, i believe the choice is ultimately up to us whether we conform and adapt or just let it pass us by.
I do agree with Marc Prensky that we do learn differently due to all the technology. We have a differently outlook on everything because of all the true and false information that is posted everywhere. It amazes me that kids as young as 2 are already influenced with technology. For example, my 2 year old dauhter got an iPad for her birthday and she would rather be on her iPad playing games then playing with her toys or even watching her favorite tv show. I must say that when she is on her iPad she does learn alot but I just wish that she was learning more without it. Technology is slowly taking over everything. Soon alot of jobs will go out because they will have figured out some way to replace it. Technology is good but when you use it too much i believe that it is bad. You should never surround yourself with too much of something.
Interesting articles which are informative of our world today. Prensky and Vaidhyanatha have great points and differences on a new generation deemed Digital Natives. Prensky presents his idea of the Digital Natives vibrantly and acknowledges Digital Immigrants. I like how Prensky presents Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants real world situations. Prensky doesn’t put down the Digital Immigrants but states the differences that exist. Marc defines Digital Natives as what they do and how they use technology in their daily lives. Marc is very descriptive of how he believes Natives think and react to old methods of teachings which he believes slows them down in their success. At the same time he defines Digital Immigrants and to real immigrants trying to learn a new language. Marc also believes Natives brains are developed different. Vaidhyanathan in the other hand is bit bitter of the term Digital Natives. He states if generations truly know when their generations begin and end. He also makes a point that Natives are being served platters of new devices by digital companies knowing they will consume it. Siva believes this Digital Natives generation belong to the elite and spoiled.Siva doesn’t think this Natives should be catered to by educators. After reading both articles where do I stand? Am I a Native or Immigrant? I believe I’m neither.I do use technology and mostly my cell phone to stay connected. The computer for homework such as a class as this one and for my music library. I don’t got out of my way to download books or use video games to learn a job as Natives are described to do so by Marc.I hate staring at a screen for hours it strains my eyes eventually. It’s easy for me to learn new devices as they come a long. Although I program my folks DVD player and microwave every time I visit them. Mom does only speak Spanish and I’ve though her how to do it herself ten million times. I get it that there labeling of generations is necessary in order to historically timeline society. One can say “Hippies” and you think of the 1960’s everything that fell historically within that era. There were also those who embraced the hippy culture and those who thought it was frivolous to grant them as an important historical generation. If society has thought me anything hype leads to labels. I recently heard the term “Chipster” which apparently is a blend of a “hipster’ and “Chicano”.
Marc Prensky article was very interesting. That is the main one that caught my attention because there is a new digital generation. I have witnessed it first hand looking at my little niece growing up. All she plays with is her Ipad, Ipod, computer, and much more digital things. For god-sake she plays candy crush and is only four years old. In the point of views, both of the authors have greats views but Prensky has a more realistic view for the reason that, you can’t teach the modern kids with just reading out of text books. That is simply boring now. We are accustom to a very fast pace of work and news now in days that just reading the text book in class won’t cut it for us anymore. Like Prensky says, the digital natives have a new language that the digital immigrants need to learn. In the paradigms I see myself in both situations, one being that I grew up right on the peak were technology was booming and the other that I still saw a little bit of the non technological world. One thing is for sure, we live in a way different world then the one back then. over all I would consider myself a digital native because most of my time in this world has been with technology.
I am agreeable with both readings. I am agreeable with Marc Prensky’s, “Digital Natives and Digital Divides” because i do feel that you get acclaimated to your surroundings. For instance, if from an early age you are taught to use computers and other digital tools, then you will grow up with technology and find ease and practicality in using anything related to technology. When i was in in Elementary school we had computer class, but it was a very short period of time that we were allowed to use it. I didn’t have as much practice with computers until i got to Junior High. Nowadays, kids have Ipads in their classroom as part of their lesson plans. that is where i am agreeable with Siva Vaidhyanathan “Generation Myth.” I think that there are some things that need to be kept as they use to be. By keeping certain technology aspects our of our learning curriculum we can help our children’s mental growth.
I can relate to both authors regarding the changes of the “digital and techno” ways of life. I agree that knowledge and information moves faster through the web and to move into the next era. One will have to learn how to maneuver in cyber-space. They both bring out good points and make me think of how far off I am regarding the digital era, even though I do use some electronic gadgets.
Some teachers will have to step up to the plate and adjust their teaching ways to help people get all the information and training they need to qualify for great careers, and a better way of life. Changes will have to be made on how things are taught to give the people the best opportunities to succeed.
Young people have, from my experience, grown into a different type of maturity. Their communication skills have exploded over the last few years. They are way more social than ever, and have grown in their boldness, some which is good and some that is bad. The older generation is either yea or nay. Some will move with the new technology, and others will fight tooth and nail not to learn; which is really unreasonable, considering even watching TV has become digital.
In the field of work I am in, I see some of the down side to social networking and how people have and will be hurt.
If a person wants to gain a great paying job, they will have to be technically savvy and able to maneuver through the webs social networks. As businesses grow to adapt to all the new software in this digital world, they will be looking for people who have the knowledge and can change as quickly as technology.
Being in this English class, this is going to help me to move into the social networking world which I have avoided. It will allow me to learn and talk to others in the field I am pursuing along with help me become more social. I might be a little sluggish getting started, but I know in the end, I will have way more confidence in the social network.
Marcy Prensky mentions how todays students (who represent the first generations to grow up with new technology) think and process information fundamentally differently from the older generation. He even includes a quote by Dr. Bruce D. Perry who claims “Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures” and how technology impacts their thinkings patterns. But the question remains on whether it has made an impact in a positive or negative way. Siva Vaidhyanathan on the other hand has a great point as well. Siva believes this Digital Natives generation belong to the elite and spoiled. How he doesn’t think this Natives should be catered to by educators. Which I would agree and disagree in some ways. He also mentioned that it’s within the parent on whether Digital Natives “dumb down”. And how “We are loosing our humanity” because sooner or later, all of the Digital Immigrants now will become Digital Native. Which I do agree and disagree at the same time. But overall when it comes to technology, I believe that this generation has been given a gift, but it all depends on whether or not we use it as a way that makes it beneficial to our lives. It’s obvious that we have gotten so used to having the ability to access the cyber world so easily that we have forgotten the value of having this power, the power of technology in the palms of our hands, and whether we use it as something useful is our decision. It all depends on how that individual is motivated or ambitious in using it for good purposes. Too much of something good can backfire and this also goes for how much a person chooses to be entertained by the media itself and how well they can balance that from their priorities. The way these devices have made it so easy to connect with our loved ones is indeed extraordinary, and how we can view the most beautiful parts of the world simply through a television screen is one enlightening experience. But like I said, it all depends on what the persons intentions are. And how well balanced they are when it comes to the technology they possess.
I agree with Marc Prensky(Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants). He states his ideas and then has examples or analogies for one to understand what he’s talking about. It makes so much sense when you think about it. Technology IS an entire entity of its own. I think of trying to explain how to check email to someone’s grandmother. Quite frankly, the very thought makes me cringe. That goes both ways! Imagine that grandmother trying to teach English? Her method’s will indeed be out dated. Due to technological advancement. We become blind to how integrated it is in our everyday life and how much more it will be in the future. We must never take the language that feeds us for granted.
I don’t like Siva Vaidhyanathan’s(Generation Myth) approach. I feel as though he’s attacking the “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” concept as opposed to trying to understand it. He makes some valid points, but, because of his condescending tone they don’t do any justice. It reminds me of what Marc said about the immigrants rejecting the new. I feel as though I am an immigrant, however, I learned “Digital” young enough to be fluent and not have an accent. I feel as though I have the best of both worlds. I speak fluent digital but still understand that it was analog before.
After reading the articles about the people in the age of new technology, I came to understand that the author referred to today’s students as “digital natives” and the teachers or educators are portrayed as “digital immigrants”. It was implied that “digital natives” think differently and are more technology savory than “digital immigrants” because the former have more exposure to new technology than the latter. “Digital natives” grow up with all kinds of digital tools and they function best when networked. They are used to receiving information really fast. The author suggested that teachers should change the method of teaching by going faster with random access.
I disagree with the above assessment of the two classes of people in the academic field. As a student, I did not have any experience of the instructors speaking outdated language and are struggling to teach students that speaks new language. I agree with the writer of “Generational Myth” who strongly believe college students are not as digital as the authors have written. Among the students, there are a large number of students who cannot care less about been digital. He argued that some critics who wrote that the reading levels of today’s students are declining and they are not reading any literature anymore, is not true. I agree with the author regarding the fact that students read books when books work for them but they prefer the bound book to the Web page when the books are very expensive.
In “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky the era of technology is discussed. Prensky described a “Digital Native” as a person born into the era of technology, one who knows how to work the technology, and in “plugged-in”. A “Digital Immigrant is one who was not born into the era of technology but now has to adapt to current media. I would say that I was a digital native only because I was born in 1993 and technology was growing as fast as I was. Although I was born into the digital era, I personally was not very involved with computers and other digital devices until I was in high school. The only piece of technology I knew how to work well was a cell phone and games on a PC. And sometimes I couldn’t even figure that out. So I would be a native because I was at least exposed to the technology. An immigrant probably didn’t even get that opportunity.
I do agree with the author that there is a disconnect between native students and immigrant educators. I feel technology can propose effective learning styles, but only effective if both parties know how to operate the technology.
In conclusion, Prensky makes valid points on the effects of fast pace technology. I’m left with questions such as is there a date in time where a a person is a native and a person is an immigrant? 1992? 1993? Or is it solely due to the exposure to technology and how much an individual uses it the deciding factor? I suppose that call is up to the reader.
I actually agree with the two authors Prensky and Vaidhyanathan. Yes, we are becoming addicts for technology and new devices. I am a tech freak i love my iPad and cell phone and most of all this advanced technology; but don’t judge a book by its cover, i also love being with friends and family, going out, experiencing new things and learning from others. Prensky makes a good point when he says that the “digital immigrants” should adapt to this new technology which i agree. The reason why i agree is because they can do a lot of things. For example communicate with their families in other states, wouldn’t have to ask for help all the time, learn something new, and make good things out of it. But i also agree with Vaidhyanathan. The older generation can adapt to the new technology and know their limit but young children don’t know their limit. Some kids just want to be on the internet, tablets and computers all the time, and i believe thats not good for them. Sure its ok for them to use it once in a while but not all the time. Kids are kids, they need to play, interact with others, be active since we have a lot of young kids that suffer from obesity, experience new things, learn from the other kids. Some kids now in days are just sitting behind the screen and it is unhealthy for their physical appearance and their vision as well. So i agree with both but there are a lot of things that i disagree with both authors. This is more of a debated topic and i believe that neither side will ever be right just because there are many things both sides can argue that are very strong. So i believe we should learn how to live life with technology and without it and learn our limits.
I agree more with “Generational Myth” by Siva Vaidhyanthan than Prensky. I think Vaidhyanthan took a more realistic approach to the Digital Era. Vaidhyanthan brought up points of social class, convenience, and the fact that just because a person was born into technology does not mean they properly know how to use it. After reading Prensky’s article I was left with the question of what I was? A digital immigrant or native. I previously stated I would probably be a digital native since I was born into the era of fast pace technology although I was never properly taught how to use it. Vaidhyanthan answers this question for me and takes that into consideration; even though you’re young does not mean you are a digital native like the previous article implies. I agree with Vaidhyanthan that it isn’t the actual bound book I don’t like to learn from, but cost of the books turn me off to them. Also when classes require the use of technology is can cause an inconvenience to the student if they don’t have a home computer or laptop. Either way, expenses come with college and that’s something the student should invest in. The cost will not go away and the student should expect to be required to learn from one or the other, text or a computer screen.
In all I like Vaidhyanthan’s point of view presented in the article. I think he took a closer and more practical look at the digital and who it effects.