It is easy for me to immediately gravitate toward saying I am a Digital Immigrant. I don't want to upgrade to an iPhone, I still make my husband download pictures from the camera on the computer - because I don't want to learn how, and still have CDs, but couldn't load them onto my computer to save my life and don't own an iPod to load them onto. My children are speed demons on the iPad and I don't like it, because I it doesn't have a mouse; however, I do love my email, I live on Facebook and have every recipe I have any desire to make pulled onto my Pinterest Board. I grew up with Cable Television, remember MTV when it actually played videos all day long and have always used a microwave to heat my leftovers. Okay, so does that make me a Native? My parents didn't grow up with Television, let alone MTV nor a microwave . . . but they learned to embrace all of them. I might be slow to embrace certain technology, but nevertheless there are many things that I do embrace. I wouldn't dream of doing a research paper and not log onto the Internet to do so!
So, perhaps Professor Schwab was right - maybe we all are Digital Immigrants, just at different locations on the path. Will everyone be a Native in this ever evolving Digital World? I think not . . . Why ask this question? Because as teachers we need to be aware of where our kids are on the path, and do our best to keep in step . . .
After reading these blogs, it seems to me that people are both Digital Immigrants and Natives. You might be a Native to one technology and an Immigrant to another. There are so many technologies out there. Like you pointed out, the important thing is that we realize this and that the students need to keep up. We as teachers need to keep up too and like you said "be aware of where our kids are on the path".
ReplyDeleteatravers: I definitely agree with your statement "You might be a Native to one technology and an Immigrant to another." I feel I am a Native to most technology (i.e. iPhone and computers) and embrace it as it comes. I also feel I am an Immigrant when it comes to things like Blogging or some of the tools we have been introduced in this class so far.
ReplyDeleteSarah: We are all going to be a different levels as teachers. What we will need to do is try to adapt to the evolving technology. Yes, many teachers that are tech immigrants will not want to adapt or think it's not useful in the classroom. If our students and society is evolving with technology, teachers have to evolve with it.