Digital immigration is the notion that “previous generations” aren’t technologically able in the sense that they haven’t been brought up surrounded by new media, therefore new media hasn’t shaped their lives. Mark Prensky constructed this concept, and it’s conflicting notion ‘Digital Natives’, which refers to newer generations and the fact they have been surrounded by technology since they’ve been born. Therefore they are more likely to source information from the internet, in comparison to those of older generations who will source from books and print orientated media.
Prensky believes that Digital Immigrants are incapable of teaching Digital Natives as they are out of tune with technology, he believes that younger generations should be taught through interactive media, i.e. video games as they would be able to grasp and get more out of teaching through that media. However, I think that Prensky is over-emphasising how much technology actually effects young people in terms of media, students will be missing out on invaluable experiences through real life education because they are seen to be more capable then they actually are. Therefore, it has to be questioned whether video game learning is as effective as Prensky claims, as there have been criticisms. There is a difference in how older and younger generations use and interact with new technology; however they aren’t speaking a completely different language which Prensky is insinuating.
To question the concept of ‘Digital natives and Digital immigrants’ further, there has always been a difference between teachers and students, surely technology is just another element of this clash of statuses. Teachers don’t necessarily grasp the latest technologies that students bring in with them to school, but this is because they haven’t grown up with it all. Is it fair to compare ‘natives’ and ‘immigrants’ when they come from different social contexts? However, technology isn’t something that as a society we will go back on which society has to accept, just like the differences there will be between pupils and teachers.
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
2001. MCB University Press. Vol 9.
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OK, but what happened to the rest of week 8's postings -your disagreements with the academic articles?
ReplyDeleteWith regard to this week 9 posting, I think there's also the issue of how much one wants one's leisure activities to be 'polluted' by education? As a kid, my 'out-of-school-activities' were opposed to school and my role as a student -I needed them to be separate. I'd guess that was the same for most of us?
Sorry, please ignore the first part of my comment above. My browser was displaying posts in alphabetical order, not chronological (as an Immigrant I didn't know it could do that -and I've been reading blogs since 2002!)
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think there does need to be a separate place for education, and out of education activites, (as I will discuss in the forthcoming blogs) by merging the two together I think can cause students to diverge away from the main points of education. By keeping them separate it gives a 'reward' for doing educational (less appealing) work.
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