Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

1. According to Prensky, what is the immigrant/native divide, and how has it affected how students learn?

        

        The immigrant/native divide is described by Prensky as people who were born before and after the digital era. 1980 is known as the start of the digital age, so digital natives would be Generation X and younger. The divide between these two groups isn't necessarily negative, it just shows the difference in internet comprehension between younger and older groups of people. This divide has affected how students learn within generations. Immigrants had to learn without the internet which encouraged thorough comprehension and adaptation. This differs from natives, who learn from reading online articles, doing homework on Canvas, and watching videos. A common point of difference is digital immigrants do not understand how digital natives can learn with the use of technology. This is because it's not something they know how to do, which forces them to learn new skills.

2. According to Prensky, what category do you fall into, and how has this affected your learning?

        

        After reading Prensky's article on digital natives and immigrants, I would say that I'm a digital native. This is because I am someone who was born into a world with functioning technology, and I never had to learn how to use technology later in life. Someone who would be a digital immigrant would definitely be my father, who takes eons to send a single text. I don't necessarily think that being a digital native has affected my learning, in fact, I think it's helped. Due to the internet, I can find secondary sources when learning, which has been something I've used in school for my entire life. One issue that I find with being a digital native is that I have a very short attention span, and I believe that we're seeing a rise in ADHD diagnoses in children because of technology use at a young age.