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Question from Will Richardson's Book

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Hopefully you have had a chance to start diving into Will Richardson's Book "Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts.". After reading the first chapter, take a minute to respond to the following questions as a comment!

What is your opinion of the term "Digital Native" and "Digital Immigrant"? Which do you think that you are? Do you really think all of your students are "Digital Natives"?

Please post your comments by October 1.

Comments

acrider said…
My opinion in regards to digital immigrants and digital natives is that it exists and the gap is wide. By definition, I would be a digital immigrant, although I have, use, and rely on technology in many modes. I believe that educators sincerely want to help children and that most are willing to learn and use tools that will make children successful. However, there will be some teachers and students who will not want to adapt to all changes in education. For example, I've worked with a few children in the school get on a blog or I've helped them to navigate a wiki. Therefore learning; when it comes to technology goes both ways. Why is that sometimes seen as bad? Where does it say that educators must be knowledgeable in all aspects of life/school/careers/etc. Schools are a community in which everyone should learn from each other. One of the things I love the most about being a teacher is learning something from a student!
September 28, 2007 at 3:37 PM
Mr. Boone said…
Digital Native and Digital Immigrant are very applicable nicknames. At 37 years old I consider myself a digital native. I don't believe it is simply based on your age. No matter what your age may be, if you kept up with advances in technology and utilized the tools as they developed you could be considered a native. I believe immigrants are those people that have just recently moved into the realm of the digital world. This would include many students in our classroom as well. To assume that all of our students do use technology and can use technology effectively would be a huge mistake. Just like other immigrants in our community, never assume they know what to do!
October 2, 2007 at 8:21 PM
Anonymous said…
I agree with both of the previous comments. I would like to add however; that just like our assumptions about our kids, our kids assume we are digital immigrants and don't believe we are as savvy as they are. Either way we should be very careful about assuming who does and who doesn't know how to use technology, we might just be surprised!
October 8, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Jeff Krause said…
I personally have easily adapted to the use of some technology, probably more than most teachers in the district but I still don't think I'm a digital native. I easily have adapted the use of some forms of technology, but have to admit I haven't found uses for some like podcasting.
I also don't think all of our students are necessarily digital natives. Some of them may be, but many really don't know much beyond cursory knowledge or use of software suite bundles (MS Office), cell phones, iPods, gaming devices, etc.
Like different teaching strategies, technology definitely has its time and place in classes.
October 9, 2007 at 9:44 AM
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