Digital Native or Immigrant?

I consider myself in the first wave of digital natives. The reason I say this is because computers, video games, cell phones, CDs and then mp3s and ipods were all made available to the public throughout my life. My generation easily grasped these new technologies versus older generations that had to learn about each of these items. However, I believe the true digital natives are the children of today. They will have never lived without a computer. They will all have cell phone before they leave elementary school, which are more powerful then many computers. They will be able to text faster than they can talk, while downloading music and studying for a history quiz all while watching TV.

Computers were introduced in my elementary school and that is when my family bought our first home computer. Every year in school we took computer classes, all of our papers had to be typed and research was to be done through the internet. The reason that I say that I was in the first wave of digital natives is because teachers were not using technology in the classroom until I entered college. College was the first time teachers used power point presentation and had all classrooms equipped with technology podiums. In college teachers had websites, they podcasted of lectures and classes we offered entirely online. This improved my leaning tremendously. We were able to contact teachers quickly. Exchange papers online and create group projects without ever meeting outside of class.

“…no matter how much the Immigrants may wish it, it is highly unlikely the Digital Natives will go backwards.” (Marc Prensky, 2001)“As educators, we need to be thinking about how to teach both Legacy and Future content in the language of the Digital Natives.” (Marc Prensky, 2001)

As a teacher I will use PowerPoint presentations to clearly state the important facts that I will be covering in class.Having a PowerPoint will keep my on track and also give me the option of integrating quick movies, diagrams or models. PowerPoint’s are easy to read and can be given to students that need assistance with note taking. I will also have a website for parents and students to visit. It will have all assignments with descriptions and due dates. It will create an easily accessible tool for parent to use to check in with their students’ progress. Students and parents will also be able to email me with any questions that I will check after hours to make sure no student is struggling with homework. Adding these elements to the classroom will help stimulate the high speed brains of today's digital native children.

“They have been adjusting or programming their brains to the speed, interactivity, and other factors in the games, much as boomers’ brains were programmed to accommodate television, and literate man’s brains were reprogrammed to deal with the invention of written language and reading (where the brain had to be retrained to deal with things in a highly linear way.)” (Marc Prensky, 2001)