An Expatriate in a Digital Nation

As a member of Generation X, I have witnessed the rise of computers from the Commodore 64 to the Netbook. It was my generation that was responsible for putting computers in millions of homes and schools across this country and the birth of the Internet. We irreversibly changed how people view, connect and interact with the world around them. Although we are responsible for this incredible explosion of technology we are still the product of blackboards, text books and lecture halls. Unfortunately much of our teaching styles still reflect this. This fact separates Generation X for the Digital Natives of today. These natives have been born into the digital Gen X created, for better or worse, and have evolved to take full advantage of it.

The digital input that today’s youth have is astounding and while I can readily assimilate into this culture there are certain traits and characteristics that make me stand out as a Digital Immigrant. For instance, I do not have the ability of the Digital Native to immerse myself in technology. That is, to share my unfiltered thoughts and feelings across Internet. I can utilize email and texting; however, phone calls are my preferred way to connect with friends. As an expatriate of a brick and mortar, paperback country, I travel in the digital world frequently feeling like an outsider. The Digital Natives; however, “are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet” (Prensky, 2001,p.1). Their cultures use of technology is intuitive and they do not require the mental guides books that I carry with me.

My experience with technology in the classroom has been very limited. High school in the 80’s did not have the technology that is present today. We were primarily limited to overhead projectors and VCRs. Most of my learning experience, with modern technology, has come from the corporate world where Power Point is king. This has lead to corporate communication to being very one sided and it is only in the past few years that companies have invested in interactive net-meetings and on-line training, connecting people from all over the world into meetings and presentations. The two areas that I have experienced the greatest amount of digital learning have been here at Concordia and in funniest of all places, the historical reenactment community. While preparing for graduate school I engaged several levels of media including pod casts, blogs and eBooks. This has allowed me to receive information quicker and more precisely than I have ever before. People involved in historical reenactment also rely upon these tools of the digital age. They are deeply immersed in learning and teaching. Many rely upon technology such as, YouTube, email, message boards, and all other manner of media to connect and share information in the study of history.

As a future teacher, I understand the need to change and develop teaching strategies to keep pace with the changes our students are going through. Prensky writes that “our children are furiously changing their brains in even newer ways, many of which are antithetical to our older ways of think” (2001). Their learning methods are the end product of the information revolution began by Gen X and we have not kept pace. We have created a world where students are constantly connected to the flow of information. The education that my generation had will not meet the needs of today’s children. “The fact is that even if you are the most engaging old-style teacher in the world, you are not going to capture most of our students’ attention the old way”(Prensky, 2005,p64.). These articles did not change my mind on that; however, it does impress upon me that we need to increase the pace on developing tools for the teacher. The common text book needs to be on the way out of our classrooms. New modes of presenting information need to be utilized and many of the old ways tossed aside. As school boards, administrators and teachers Gen X ignores this need at our own folly. The choice is ours to make; to ignore the Digital Native and continue the suddenly-much-less effective traditional methods or to accept the fact that we are Digital Immigrants and turn to our own creativity, the students themselves and other resources to translate knowledge into the world’s new language (Prensky,2001,p.7)

The use of technology will be essential in my future classroom. As teachers we need to embrace the learning styles of the Digital Native and realize that technology has enabled us to create a more exciting and engaging learning experience. Innovations are coming to teachers daily. As new teachers it is our responsibility to recognize the needs of the “digital learner” and fold them into our understanding of learning modalities and strategies.

References

Pensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On The Horizon , 9 (5).

Prensky, M. (2001, December). Digital Natives,Digital Immigrants Part II: Do They Really Think Differently? On The Horizon , 9 (6).

Prensky, M. (2005, September / October). Engage Me or Enrage Me: What Today's Learner Demand. Educause Review.