From looking at the website, I would call myself a digital native. We’ve always had a computer in my house. Both of my parents would use it for work purposes and I would always look over their shoulders to try and figure out what they were doing. Then whenever it was free, my brother and I would fight over who would get to play computer games on it. I also remember that I spent many schools nights sitting at my computer chatting to my friends through MSN Messenger. Until high school, and now into college, I don’t remember using the computer for many academic purposes. My teachers didn’t ask us to go to certain websites to get information or participate in discussion boards or make blog posts. So in some respects, I can actually feel more like a digital immigrant. There are times when I would rather have a hard copy of an article instead of reading it electronically, but I like to think that I’m a quick learner and fit more into the “native” category than the “immigrant” category.
In the Tompkins chapters, she talked about the 3 stages that young children go through when learning about to read and write. They are 1) emergent, 2) beginning, and 3) fluent. During the emergent stage, children begin to develop and interest in reading and writing, learn about concepts of print, start to identify letters, and will begin to read and write high frequency words. Tompkins also notes that children’s parents can impact how children work through these 3 different stages. When looking over the website, I found a connection between emergent literacy and “emergent” digital literacy when it said, “Prensky uses this dichotomy to raise awareness of differences in technology usage and as the basis for recommendations for changes in approaches to educating students at all levels.” This shows that there are different stages the people go through when developing their digital literacy, just like when learning how to read and write. I think my parents helped to spark my “emergent” digital literacy because our computer was a big part of their daily activities at home. If I hadn’t had such a big exposure to technology when I was young then I would probably not feel as comfortable about calling myself a digital native.
From my own experience with digital learning, I’ve noticed that I have a much easier time learning and remembering what to do if it was first modeled for me by a teacher or someone else more familiar with the task at hand. From my LLT classes, I’ve learned that this is also a beneficial strategy to use with English language learners. The repeated exposure of first having someone model it once or twice and then having to do it on your own helps me to transfer the information into my long-term memory where I can more easily recall it later. I think it is really interesting to compare emergent digital learners to ELLs. Digital learning can be said to be like learning a new “computer language”. By thinking of it in this way, it helps teachers to better understand that steps and processes that learners go through when learning something new.
I found Alice's response to be very interesting, due to the fact we share a lot of similarities in regards to our experience growing up with technology, and also our views on how "digital learning" is similar to second language learning.
ReplyDeleteMy first memory of digital technology came when I was 8 years old. I attended a private school until third grade, and I remember having a Macintosh (I believe??), in which we were able to run math programs on. I had a friend at the time who shared my interest in the famous television show MacGyver, and we used to enjoy attempting to make codes and connect with other people out in the digital world (this was before internet). Being that I'm about 4 years older then Alice, I am not sure if she remembers the famous "word processing" machines. It was in the fourth grade that my mother purchased one of these, and this was the time I made the transition from "type-writers" and traditional form of hand print, to digital. I don't believe I ever wrote another paper by hand. This word processor was my life. One of my most fondest memories of the processor was one evening, upon returning from bible study, I decided that I would re-type the bible onto my computer (why I do not know). That did not go that far, as I did not get past the creation story.
It was in 1996 (I was in the 7th grade) that my mother bought our first computer (A Gateway). I've had and owned computer's ever sense this day. My mother was never to fond of the computers, in fact a lot of my memories consisted of my mother being extremely frustrated with the technology (she still is to this day). As a teacher, she rarely integrates technology into her pedagogy. Much like Alice, I can define myself as a "digital native", but in some respects I still have to consider myself a "digital immigrant". I very much prefer the traditional hand outs and the ability to have an article or book in hand, instead of reading it on a computer screen. I enjoy to make notes and highlight particular lines of interest. The computer does allow this feature, but it is not the same.
Accessing websites or particular articles (or anything else) is confusing at times, and like Alice said, it's understood better when I have an instructor model what it is we have to do. I think in many ways I'm still in an "emergent digital literacy stage", because the traditional ways in which I read, are no longer applicable in many ways to the digital reading experience. Having taken many LLT courses as well, I can very well see the connection Alice made, in regards to learning a second language, and becoming more "tech savvy", when having to do digital reading.
I feel very much like a digital immigrant having to do much of my coursework these days on line. I do not recall having to ever read a pdf file, or aritcles online until I was in college. These readings were only intensified as I took courses at MSU. We live in such a technological era, and the more I grow into this culture (of technology), I become more fluent. So, I guess in many ways I am digital native, due to the fact I've grown up with technology, and I feel comfortable using it. I intend on integrating a lot of digital readings or blog posts into my teaching strategies someday. Students these days (for the most part) are more of an advantage and are comfortable using technology.
I would have to agree with my friends on this one and say that I consider myself a "digital native" due to the fact that we've had a computer in my house since I was a kid. However, my parents rarely used the computer. I think they got it so that my sister and I could play computer games, and as technology evolved and we grew up, we began using Instant Messenger, AOL, writing papers, etc. I only used technology (or the computer) for a few purposes: to play games, communicate with friends and write papers. I really started learning more and more about the internet and technology when I entered college and had my own laptop. It was at college when I finally was able to have high-speed internet, so the computer was much more fascinating to me. I would definitely say that my parents are much more hesitant with the computer and other technology and I am often teaching them how to use everything. However, it's interesting that the children I babysit for, who are 5-9 years old, are so much more advanced than I am when it comes to the computer or technology in general. They know how to do so much on the computer, and are often teaching ME how to do things.
ReplyDeleteI see that Tompkins describes three different stages within literacy as emergent, beginning and fluent, but I think that this can be applied to digital literacy as well. For example, I would say that my parents could be defined as "emergent" in digital literacy because they are just recently becoming interested in technology and purchased a new computer. They are starting to ask questions and explore what they can do on a computer. I would say that I am a "beginner" because of the fact that my knowledge of the computer/technology did not grow until college, and I still need help with a lot of things. However, I find it almost funny that the kids I babysit for (who have computers in their homes) would probably be "fluent" in digital literacy because they are glued to the computer as much as possible. They have so many interactive games now and educational activities online that it is their main form of entertainment.
Within our class, we've discussed really getting to know our students so that we can help them as much as possible. Because I am a TESOL minor, I have had a lot of experience working with ELL students. I also can't help but think about our book "No English" where the main character had trouble communicating with the teacher and other students. However, the students ended up researching the country she came from to make her feel more at home and more comfortable. This is a great example of how technology can improve a new, scary situation for an ELL student. Also, I have worked with a migrant summer program where my students used the computer to practice their spelling, reading and reasoning skills. I would say that these students fit the "emergent" category in both literacy and digital literacy, but they were learning in a new way, and it seemed to really help. They actually enjoyed this practice because it was a "fun" way to improve upon their literacy skills. I think that technology gives these students another way to look at learning and make it more interactive for their busy minds!
I'm fascinated with all the posts from this and other groups. Almost everyone has commented that they find themselves in the role of teacher to their parents. At the same time, Kelly points out here that the 5 - 9 year olds are "teaching," her! I LOVE this aspect of the new technologies, that is, that they tend to blur the boundaries of who gets to be an apprentice and who gets to be an expert--and that is constantly shifting.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the recognition in this group of bloggers that none of are at one, fixed stage of comfort with technology, and I also note that you are asking wonderful questions. I agree with Dominic about the possibilities that printed materials may sometimes hold in comparison to digitized materials. I'm SO frustrated with PDFs because you can't mess with them as you can with regular word documents. If I want to highlight a section for my students, I can't.
A huge question I have is that pretty much the whole class has identified as a digital native. Will that mean you will be good teachers? How so? How not?
I can't help noting that Gibbons stresses the need for students to be doing meaningful tasks and talking to learn. How might we use technology to facilitate both?