Digital Natives

Session one introduced us to, amongst many associated ideas, issues and questions, the notion of 'digital natives' - a term used by Marc Prensky to describe people that have grown up immersed in the technology of the digital age.

I'm not sure if, as a 27 year old, I exactly fall into the 'digital native' definition, or whether I'm a 'digital immigrant' (computers emerged in the classroom during my time at primary school, but there was always some kind of games console at home).

However, having seen my two younger nephews grow up over the past 16 years, there is no doubt that Prensky's definition describes them well. Ever since they were very small, they have had the latest technology at their disposal; from hand-held gaming devices to their current iphones and ipads - if they're not engrossed in these, then they are sat in front of you-tube watching clips of skateboarders or people falling over. They are certainly in demand of the 'instantaneity' Prensky describes, and I have witnessed, along with their grandmother, the difficulty in truly engaging their attention in something that wasn't as fast paced or interactive as some of the computer interfaces they are used to.

That's not to say that we've never been able to engage them in anything non-digital, though; one has a fondness for reading (both reading himself and being read to) and the other has always been keen on sport. Although, the recent trip to the art gallery didn't go down too well - it seemed like there was nothing more boring than pictures on walls when we were there. Is Prensky correct when he says, in ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’, that we are ‘struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language’?

Dan Pontefract would most likely say no, as he does not believe that this (‘Net’) generation ‘actually prefer learning in an all-digital way’. Pontefract accuses Prensky of oversimplifying matters, which I feel it is important not to do. In terms of my nephews, there are so many factors influencing their tastes and interests – one being access to computers and handheld devices, and various other lifestyle and environmental factors for children born in 1996. I would need to examine this much further in order to fully decide who I agree with most – but, like the way that I feel as if I have a different grasp of technology to my mother, in some ways I don’t think we can ever say that two generations are ever the same.

In terms of the role technology can play in contemporary education, this resource tells us that accepting it is "not really a choice". Serious questions are facing education as we know it, as young people are developing skills and ways of thinking that may be a world apart from their teachers.