When in Rome... native or immigrant?

Note: This post is in response to Week 2, Module 2 Blog 4

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do”

This old saying (attributed to Saint Ambrose) implies that if you are visiting a place you should generally try to follow the lead of the native population. How is this relevant to technology? There has been a lot of debate over the years since the terms were coined about “Digital Natives” (those who have grown up with technology) vs “Digital Immigrants” (those people who grew into adulthood before digital technology was widely accessible) (Prensky, 2001a). 

Prensky (2001b) argues that digital natives think fundamentally differently to digital immigrants and that, as a result, they need to be taught in ways which take advantage of these changed thinking patterns. Many teachers are Digital Immigrants, visiting the world of students who are Digital Natives and it is imperative that we are open to doing as they do and learning from them, as well as them from us.

In a later article, Prensky talks about the concept of “Digital Wisdom” (Prensky, 2009) which I found to be an interesting concept. The idea is that we’re extending human thought and capability via digital technology and that by embracing this extension in an active, prudent and positive way we can both acquire and teach digital wisdom. Digital wisdom includes the use of technology to delve into areas of thought not previously accessible by humans alone, as well as positive interaction of the human mind and digital technology to enhance knowledge or broaden capabilities. Prensky suggests that educators should put themselves in the “role of guides, context providers, and quality controllers”, allowing students to take advantage of the technology which is embedded in and critical to their world.

By age, I’m certainly a digital immigrant, though I would say that I have learned the language of technology reasonably well and have used it heavily in both my work and social life. Is this enough though? Just like “getting fit” via exercising isn’t a once off thing (who knew?!?) neither is technology use. We need to actively engage with and embrace new technologies as they develop, and be aware of both the pitfalls and the advantages they can bring.

References

Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424816

Prensky, M. (2001b). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 2: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424843

Prensky, M. (2009). H. sapiens digital: From digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom. Innovate: journal of online education, 5(3), 1.