7 Responses

1. final prison fish

   September 16th, 2013 at 3:53 pm

   1

   In my opinion, I have always been a digital immigrant. I used to go to a British school for 14 years in Mexico, and I was taught how to work with computer systems in english. When I used to go to internet cafes, and all the operating system were in spanish, I found it very hard to translate certain terms.
   I think that anyone who does not speak English is a Digital Immigrant. I think this because all the major technology companies use english as their default language. Sometimes the meaning of a term in english can be lost in translation, resulting in an odd term in the certain language.
   By the time Prensky wrote the article to this moment in time, a lot of things have changed. Computer systems and technology have developed incredibly, to be able to suit different cultures and languages needs.
   I agree that english should be the main language used in technology these days, and that should be the international tech language, like english is to the aviation industry.
   I don’t think there would be much of a difference between my and my parents opinion on the article, as they have had the same scenario as i have. Although my mother is 100% british, and found it very hard to learn spanish and then to have to learn all of the key terminology used in technology these days.

2. bamboozle

   September 17th, 2013 at 12:17 pm

   2

   I believe I am a digital native according to Prensky since he defines a digital native as “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet. I also believe ALL of my friends are also digital natives just like me.

   Even though the article was written about 12 years ago, the problem argued still exists. The students usually are the digital natives, where as the teachers are the digital immigrants. However, these days, all teachers have adapted to how we, digital natives, learn and arranged their own teaching styles accordingly, e.g. there is a huge use of magic boards, PowerPoints, diagrams, games, etc.

   I strongly agree with Prensky’s argument. Because I am a digital native, I do know how hard it could be to learn new things in the way our teachers were taught. I do believe that the teaching styles should change and lean towards using many more technological devices for us to enjoy and learn more at the same time. Furthermore, in the article he writes, “Often from the Natives’ point of view, their Digital Immigrant instructors make their education not worth paying attention to compared to everything else they experience.” I agree with this statement because the technological world my friends and I are living in right now enables us countless opportunities that were not available 20 years ago e.g. searching for a picture of a place/person/thing, getting directions, etc. Since we are used to these opportunities that fascinate the Digital Immigrants, we are not at all fascinated by their ways of learning or any other act for this matter (the ways of having fun, socializing, etc.) Basically, they seem too dull (boring, if I may) for us.

   If I was to show this article to my parents I do not think they would have a different point of view because they are changing from a Digital Immigrant into a Digital Native every day. They learn more and more technology related information that allows them to see our point of view. As they learn how to take a “selfie” or how to tweet, they start entering our state of minds and see what we mean when we say “The olden days were so boring!”

3. rabbit_eater

   September 17th, 2013 at 9:27 pm

   3

   Personally I am positive that I am an obvious digital native as I have grown up along side digital technology for most of my life, which I believe would make most of my friends digital natives (few exceptions to people who lived in rural areas of course and did not have access to this). – making these people digital immigrants.

   I do not think that this particle post is out dated, it may be in the future however as people born in this year or in the past 2 or years will definitely grow and learn along side with the help of digital technology.

   Presky’s argument that the teaching style should change makes complete sense to me. Which oddly enough links in with what Darwin said a couple hundred years back about competition, and that the prey who adapted will be remain one step ahead of the predator.” Thus we must change our education system and look forwards not backwards.

   I think my parents will have the same opinion on this as they have lived to adapt to these changes and have already become quiet digitally native.

4. King Maverick

   September 18th, 2013 at 9:05 am

   4

   In my opinion I am a digital native, i may not have been born using technology instantaneously in South Africa but I grew up with technology all around me when I moved to England. Prensky describes digital natives as ‘native speakers’ which to me means you grew up knowing technology and how it works. I believe most of my friends are digital natives.

   Even though this article was written quite a while ago it still expresses a problem which still exists today, more and more students are becoming digital natives whilst teachers are the immigrants and this poses a lot of problems back then and even in today’s society.

   I agree with Prensky’s argument because I myself am a digital native and most of my family including my parents are digital immigrants and this does anger me as well as make me annoyed sometimes. The worst however is when the teacher is a digital immigrant but you can’t build up the courage to tell the teacher that what they are doing is wrong, there is nothing more frustrating than being a digital native in a school run by digital immigrants.

   I think that if I showed my parents this article they would most likely say something different, because they are digital immigrants and they find me being a digital native very helpful for them as I can tell them what they’re doing wrong and they can benefit from it.

5. kiki

   September 18th, 2013 at 9:28 am

   5

   I feel that I am an digital native because digital technology has been a part of my life which I believe makes me a digital native. However many of my friends in the Caribbean did not have access to digital technology so some of them are not what I consider to be digital natives.
   I don’t think that this post is dated, however it is growing to be more dated as anything and people born within the past few years wouldn’t even question if they’re digital natives or not.
   Presky’s point about the teaching style changes is understandable and valid. It We much change our education system to continue moving forward.
   If I were to show this article to my mum I don’t think she’d have a different view on it because she is becoming a digital native and uses technology a lot (although she isn’t the best at understanding it). She is in-between, appreciating what technology allows us to do, but prefers a book over her kindle any day.

6. Spaz

   September 18th, 2013 at 9:39 am

   6

   I quite believe that I am a digital native, but on the lower end of the list. I know how to do everything that I need or want to do, but not things that everyone else knows. An example of this is my experience in the use of Adobe Photoshop. I removed a white background from a futuristic plane when I was in the 6th grade; other than that, I hadn’t done any Photoshop work, while everyone else in the class knew what they were doing and were done in ½ the time it took me. My friends and close relations, for the most part, are all digital natives, as all of them know at least what I know, if not more.

   I do think the problem mentioned still exists. I agree with bamboozle in that, even 2 years ago, students tended to be digital natives, while teachers were the immigrants, however, we have come a long way in using technology in the classroom. I am sure that all of us students have, at some point in time, sat there and thought ‘don’t click that’, ‘its right there’, or ‘WHY ARE YOU USING IE?!?’ We have grown up using these systems, which were not around, nor available, to some of our teachers. This requires teachers to become more native to the extended use of technology, although I do not believe that they are all natives yet, only more knowledgeable immigrants.

   My thought on if my parents are digital immigrants or natives is sort of mixed. My father is quite good at computers, even more so than I may be. In this, I believe that he is more of an immigrant turned-native. My mom, however, still constantly needs hep with simple things like putting a picture into a Word document. She is defiantly digital immigrant.

7. Lesbian

   February 9th, 2019 at 6:47 am

   7

   tubemarco