Is the Net Generation Tech Savvy? Part I: "Digital Natives-Digital Immigrants" Categorizations

Prensky (2001a, 2001b) branded the Net Geners as “digital natives” because “digital” is their native language. They are “native speakers” of the language of computers, video games, and the Internet and have spent their entire lives surrounded by computers, cell phones, and all the gadgetry of the digital age. As you walk across campus, you will notice that these teen and 20-something students have wires coming out of every part of their bodies. Attached to those wires are MP3 players, iPods, Zunes, Zens, iPhones, RAZRs, BlackBerrys, or the latest techy gizmo or thingamajig.
Professors are the ones without the wires. Prensky (2001a) calls us "digital immigrants" because many of us still have one foot in the past and “digital” is our second language, as we continue to learn and sometimes struggle with it on the fly. For example, immigrants may still print out an e-mail, print a document to edit it, or phone someone to see if he or she received their e-mail. Do you know any colleagues like that?
Having grown up with the technology, the Net Geners’ familiarity with most forms of technology is second nature. It affects everything they do and buy. They expect information to be at their fingertips. Their experience with the technology has enabled them to master complex tasks and make decisions rapidly.
The generalizability of these characteristics to all Net Geners and "immigrants" has come under scrutiny. VanSlyke (2003) argues that such a categorization of “natives” versus “immigrants” homogenizes the characteristics of the members within each group. The composition of each group is far more diverse in abilities, attitudes, values, and demographics than Prensky suggests. Not all students fit Prensky’s mold; for example, many do not have PCs at home or have an interest in playing video games. “Not all technology-assisted learning needs to fit the stereotype of the digital native” (p. 6). Further, digital immigrant professors do not need to speak a new “language” in order to be effective. Some are excellent teachers who have adopted learner-centered methods with and without computers. The incorporation of technology in the learning process should be context-specific.
More on this issue in future blogs.

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