Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants- Unit 1

This article discusses how the development of technology in the past decades has led to a new generation of student learners, or Generation NeXt. This new generation of college students is far different from past generations of learners, yet the education system that exists in most universities has failed to adjust to a new mode of instruction. So-called Digital Immigrants, the professors and teachers from the Baby Boom generation, have not been raised with the same technology that today’s generation has. They are familiar with what would be considered a more traditional style of education, one that is highly inclusive of books, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Generation NeXters, or Digital Natives, have developed their learning abilities and styles in a completely different world that values fast-paced, instant communication. Use of technology, from instant messaging to instant online access to virtually any library of information, has resulted in a student generation that is not only bored with traditional instruction, but often confused and discouraged by it. Digital Immigrants are either ignoring the necessity or finding it extremely difficult or irrational to adjust their teaching strategies to accommodate the new learning style of the Digital Native. Researchers and faculty have been addressing this issue by encouraging Digital Immigrant instructors to develop technology-based equivalents to their traditional methods of teaching, including the creation of computer-based gaming, web-based activities, and a more fast-based delivery of information.

Prenskey, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

I found this article very interesting, considering that I am a part of Generation NeXt. Although I have been raised using technology, I feel that this article makes general assumptions that all college students learn best through technology. Although I do use the computer as my first source of information, I also enjoy more “traditional” ways of learning, such as textbooks and lectures, to understand the material I am presented with. Such a fast-paced, technology-centered approach to education may help capture and attain the attention of so-called Digital Natives, but in the end it will never be able to replace some of the instructional approaches that have always worked well.