Before
answering the question, we need to know what does being an “Immigrant” or a
“Native” mean.
According to
Marc Prensky (2001), Digital Natives represent the first generation to grow up with
new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using
computers, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all
other toys and tools of the Digital Age. Computer games, email, the Internet,
cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives. On the
other side, as Digital Immigrants learn to adapt to their environment, they
always retain, to some degree, their “accent”, their foot in the past.
Taking into
account that this article was written in 2001, we could assume that the gap
between teachers and students was broader than now. We were born in the 90s, so
as children we didn’t grow up surrounded by technology, but as teenagers, and
young-adults, we did. And that is why we believe that we are not fully
Immigrant, neither fully Native, we are somewhere in between those terms.
We are
familiarized with technology, but we also need to constantly keep up with it,
since it changes and evolves all the time. Also, we are not afraid of it, we
learn by trial and error, and by using and experimenting with it.
That is why
we think that since we are not one or another, we could use our knowledge and
experience to reduce the gap that has been present between teachers and
students.
To sum up,
we’d like to share this video and invite you to reflect upon this topic and
have some fun. As Prensky stated, Immigrants are not going to change
everything; there will always be some remaining features. As teachers, we need
to be open to learn from our students, and at the same time, provide them with
opportunities to use some techniques or tools that have been discarded. Digital
natives and Digital immigrants should not be opposites; instead, they have to
co-exist, to complement one another.
Here you
have the video, enjoy!
