Howdy Readers! This week I am planing on talking about the big divide between humans on media. Many times you have the young generation using social media platforms, the internet and technology much more efficiently than the older generation. Digital Natives is a term that is used by Marc Prensky he defines them as people who are native speakers of the digital language (tends to be the younger generation, people who have grown up with email, texts, chats, and various social media platforms). Prensky also uses the term digital immigrants, people who also use social media and technology but were not apart of the digital world at some point in their lives. Prensky talks about a digital divide between digital immigrants and digital natives he also discusses the impacts that it has on the student teacher relationship and how education and students choose to learn. In his article "The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native: What they do differently because of technology, and how they do it" Prensky explains how the internet and information is now free, accessible and abundant in any information that a student is trying to learn. Usually in the classroom teachers were the only ones teaching the information, most times it is not the information that the student is interested in, and if the student is interested in the information why listen to a lecture that has selected information that the teacher only knows or has prepared when you could access all information with a few clicks on a computer or smart phone. This has led to a divide in the classroom. not to mention the lack of ability that teacher who tend to be digital immigrants lack in using social media or technology in a way that effectively engages a digital native and attempts to assist in their learning as a student.
Another author named Paul Kirschner discusses the "myths" that Prensky's addresses in his article. One myth that is discusses is how being a ‘digital native’ doesn’t necessary mean one is ‘digitally literate’ what Kirschner is trying to get at is that even though someone might be a digital native, they might not understand the 'social rules' or how to interact on a media or internet platform making it difficult to connect with other fellow digital natives making them 'digitally illiterate'. Kirschner's article is called "The myths of the digital native and the multitasker"
I think that due to recent events many people had an online present that thrived during the COVID pandemic. Many digital natives found comfort in communicating online and began to become more comfortable living their lives this way. For example online exams, SATs, and virtual classrooms have become preferred by some students rather than in-person tests, group work, and attending in person office hours. So many students have become so much of a digital native that they prefer only interacting and learning as a digital native. I understand that this is an online course and we have all chosen to take the course online due to any amount of situations that we are all in, but I wonder if there was a day where all classes had to be in person, how many people from this class would show up to actually meet our fellow peers in the flesh? To be honest, maybe I think that it would be a waste of time or maybe it is just a cover knowing that I am okay with communicating through a screen rather than in person. I know I would like to think that I would be the first person to show up to an in person lecture but if I am being truthful I am not sure if I would be biting at the bit to be permanently in person.
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