Background

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Digital Natives?

I have always been a bit skeptical as to the notion of digital natives. The term itself suggests that today's children are born knowing how to use technology. This is certainly not the case. Just a few days ago, I asked my eleven year old brother to email something to me, and he did not know how. Sending an email should be easy for a digital native right? Children and students might be able to pick up on and learn how to use technology more quickly than many "older" adults because they have likely had more exposure to it, but that does not make them native to technology. They still need to be taught about digital citizenship, online safety, how to email, netiquette, how to use the G-Suite, etc. They are most definitely not born with this knowledge. 

I found the information from Professor Thomas C. Reeves to be really interesting. There is such a push to change the face of education and to use technology in instruction, but Reeves contradicts this idea. That is not to say we shouldn't be using technology in our classrooms, but there is a time and place for everything. I love how Reeves suggests we should not be tailoring our instruction to a particular generation, but rather we should "identify the needs of any given set of learners" and design a learning environment that would be most beneficial to them (Reeves, 2006. p.21). As educators, part of our job is determining how to best meet the needs of our learners, and this is going to look different in every classroom because no set of learners is the same.

References
Reeves, T.C. (2008, January 22-25). Do generational differences matter in instructional design? Online discussion presentation to Instructional Technology Forum.

4 comments:

  1. I liked that you pointed out that digital natives do not automatically know how to use technology because they were born in an era of technology. Just like I teach my students to read, add, subtract, and tie their shoes; I also have to teach them how to use technology. Sure, they may pick up on it faster than a digital immigrant, but they still need to be taught. I also liked that Reeves made the point that we should be teaching to the needs of the learners and not the generation. As teachers, our job is to teach each student, not the generation. Educators need to identify each learner's needs, so we can adequately teach each student. Schools should not be a cookie cutter education, but rather one that is shaped uniquely for each learner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Brittni,

    I agree with Kendal, the observation you made about your little brother not knowing how to send an e-mail is a good example to disprove Prensky's "digital native" position. While I definitely believe the abilities of most children to use modern technology is trending upward, the notion that someone will need it just because he/she is born into this "digital age" is nonsense. I was born in the age of the jackhammer...does that mean I need one in my life or even know how to use one? I think we are all safe if we make our best effort to incorporate technology into our classrooms in meaningful, and most importantly, beneficial ways for our students.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that children's abilities to use technology are trending upward, and I think we could find another name for this. I just disagree with the term "native" because I do not think anyone is born with such skills.

      Delete
  3. Being shown and taught how to use something, often is the most viable course in obtaining the skills necessary to understand the object presented. As you discussed, just because someone is born into technology, doesn’t necessarily mean they will spontaneously contract mastery of said technology. It takes time, practice, and commitment. And, if these are neglected, it’s often on to something else because access to “something else” is never a shortcoming with technology. Now, is society and younger generations becoming more reliant on the use of technology? Absolutely. Data from the Pew Research Institute on the digital divide and mobile device usage has been trending upward for the past twenty years. Of course, technologies in that time frame have rapidly changed, even for those considered digital natives. The challenge is finding a way to integrate technology as a tool to assist in learning, but not to look at it as “the” tool for learning—a mistake I feel many younger teachers, who are “digital natives” make when entering the teaching profession.

    ReplyDelete