Digital Natives
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants:
Some Thoughts from the Generation Gap by Timothy VanSlyke | | | | | | | | |
In a two-part series entitled "Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives," Marc Prensky (2001a, 2001b) employs an analogy of native speakers and immigrants to describe the generation gap separating today's students (the "Digital Natives") from their teachers (the "Digital Immigrants"). According to Prensky, the former are surrounded by digital media to such an extent that their very brain structures may be different from those of previous generations:
Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics beforetheir text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to "serious" work. (2001a, p. 1 [print], ¶ 11 [online])
In contrast, those not born in the digital world reveal their non-native status through a "Digital Immigrant accent" that manifests itself in a number of ways—printing out a digital document to edit it rather than editing it online, for example (Prensky, 2001a, p. 4 [print]; ¶ 8 [online]).
Prensky's analogy struck a chord for me. I could easily identify with the 12-year-old boy who moves with his family to the "new world," quickly assimilates into the new culture, and learns to speak without an accent. As a 30-something, I am a bit older than the generation that Prensky describes, but like that generation, I spent my share of time on television and video games, and I have assimilated into the digital age relatively easily. Until recently, I was employed at a U.S. university where I played a dual role: Part of my job was to help faculty integrate technology into their teaching practices, and the other was to teach technology courses to candidates in the teacher preparation program. In this dual
Some Thoughts from the Generation Gap by Timothy VanSlyke | | | | | | | | |
In a two-part series entitled "Digital Immigrants, Digital Natives," Marc Prensky (2001a, 2001b) employs an analogy of native speakers and immigrants to describe the generation gap separating today's students (the "Digital Natives") from their teachers (the "Digital Immigrants"). According to Prensky, the former are surrounded by digital media to such an extent that their very brain structures may be different from those of previous generations:
Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics beforetheir text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to "serious" work. (2001a, p. 1 [print], ¶ 11 [online])
In contrast, those not born in the digital world reveal their non-native status through a "Digital Immigrant accent" that manifests itself in a number of ways—printing out a digital document to edit it rather than editing it online, for example (Prensky, 2001a, p. 4 [print]; ¶ 8 [online]).
Prensky's analogy struck a chord for me. I could easily identify with the 12-year-old boy who moves with his family to the "new world," quickly assimilates into the new culture, and learns to speak without an accent. As a 30-something, I am a bit older than the generation that Prensky describes, but like that generation, I spent my share of time on television and video games, and I have assimilated into the digital age relatively easily. Until recently, I was employed at a U.S. university where I played a dual role: Part of my job was to help faculty integrate technology into their teaching practices, and the other was to teach technology courses to candidates in the teacher preparation program. In this dual