Boyd and Prensky

What do you make of the (divergent) positions Boyd and Prensky?  What do you hear each of them saying about who youth are?  Where do you stand on the "digital native" terminology?

Prensky believes that today's youth are "digital natives," meaning they are learners who can easily pick up on the language of technology they way one would pick up learning a new language.  He uses the term digital natives and compares it to the group, coined "digital immigrants," as the older adults who had to learn technology as it has developed.  The comparisons he made between digital immigrants and digital natives seemed quite accurate, and I found myself relating to the "digital immigrants" more than I would have expected to. Although at 41 that is certainly the category I belong in.   I could also see many of the characteristics of a digital native, such as moving at "twitch speed" and noticing graphics before words, represented in my 9 year-old daughter.  

Boyd believes that it is dangerous to assume that youth have these innate technical skills.  She says that educators have an important role in helping youth navigate all the internet has to offer.  She feels that if we as educators support the notion of youth as digital natives, then we "absolve ourselves of or our responsibility" to help teenagers develop necessary skills such as understanding biases, critically assessing information found on line, and developing technological familiarity.  Furthermore, access to technology is far from equitable.  So if we were to take on Prensky's assumption of digital natives then we would be, however unintentionally, perpetuating the gap between various socioeconomic groups.  

 I must say that I agree with Boyd's position on the term "digital natives."  While today's youth do seem to make use of technology in a way that seems natural and intuitive, they truly do have a lot to learn.  And the "digital immigrant" teacher (or parent) can have a lot to offer.  My nine-year old daughter thinks Google has the answer to everything...literally everything.  At the very least she needs to learn how to discriminate the information that is out there, and she also needs to learn how to make an informed decision for herself - rather than relying on Google to give her the answer.  Internet safety is another important consideration.  Yes today's youth are exposed to technology at a very young age, but they have no idea of the scope of the internet and how dangerous it can be.  That's another important role for us digital immigrants- to teach children how to stay safe while online.  

Comments

  1. Neale RossJune 29, 2020 at 5:22 PM

    Leigh,

    It is scary to think that our youth is so dependent on google for everyday questions. Boyd's take on digital natives really brings to light the dangers google poses to keeping our youth, and people of all ages informed. Insightful post!

    - Neale

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick MansonJune 30, 2020 at 4:42 AM

    I think google and the internet are invaluable sources of knowledge, but agree "learning to discriminate the information" is an important role of educators.

    ReplyDelete

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