Blog # 1- Prensky, Boyd and Digital Natives

 

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 

* Disclaimer: Firstly I would like to begin this blog post by saying that I do not believe in the deficit language of using terms like "native" and "immigrant" to describes one's ability to be digitally literate- as someone who is a "naturalized" citizen to the US and who plagued by discerning looks from customs agents when crossing the border coming home from traveling- the second I see their eyes land on the work "Russia" on my passport I tense- all the while knowing that I do not present as an immigrant to this country. These descriptive terms initially bring up from my a resentment of the fact that they equate "Native" and "literte" to be synonymous- because I know that in all my visits to other countries, i've meet countless children who, although born in that country and speak the dialect, were never taught to read or write in their native language. I understand this language to be harmful and hurtful and a misrepresentation of the youth it is meant to describe.*

In my opinion Boyd was right about Pensky, and Pensky was right about the examples he described of people who are "digital immigrants" and their "accents" (ugh, I hate that metaphor). Boyd rightfully describes Pensky's digital narratives rhetoric as "worse than inaccurate: it is dangerous." Boyd explanation that accessibility to technology , while an important start, it not enough to create fully educated and literate digital natives. 

I've seen Penksy's theory of a digital immigrant illustrated many times in my various workplaces by older, and more senior staffers than I. Much of the leadership that I have worked under throughout my career in non-profits had not been born into a time when they internet was utilized and programs that I was taught in grade school like Excel and Word, they took introductory courses on at the local community college or at in-office professional development trainings. Now in 2022- year past the age of retirement, theses senior "leaders" are leading these orgs into the ground with their ineffective business practices, their inefficient meetings, their unclear emails, their convoluted email practices, their paper planners, their inability to convert  a PDF to a JPEG and yes, oh yes, their CONSTANT PRINTING OF EMAILS!!!! (I am traumatized daily by seeing how many trees my supervisor kills daily to print out email chains to then stack on her desk to collect dust....) I am then struck by how unwilling these digital immigrants are, to become digitally literate- to change the way they do things, or to take a step back and allow staff who are digitally literate post on social media or change that paper document into a Google form. 

While I think that Pensky got the "digital immigrant" descriptors right, then I reflect on what he theorized about the "digital natives". I think about how yes our youth understand "intuitively" how to use an iphone, which buttons to press, which ways to  swipe, however I agree with Boyd in that this is a passive understanding and that this does not necessarily mean that they are active and engaged in understanding with the technology that they are using. I instantly think of my partner- a middle class white male, a "techie" who always has to have the latest iPhone and Apple watch, who constantly watching videos and reviews about the newest tech products, who is a New England Tech grad and understands how to put technology together, from a truck engine to a computer drive, to a gaming device. He is who I think of a a digital native, because besides just being born into the accessibility of their technology, he is also privileged enough to have the money to purchase the latest and greatest, and the luxury of time to learn about it as a hobby and utilized it as a career path.  

I compare my "techie" partner to the youth i've worked with who Pensky would also describe as "digital natives" I think about all the youth who were given Chrome books throughout the pandemic and now have unlimited accesses to all the media and all the influence that goes along with it. As we had briefly  mentioned in class yesterday- these youth now have access to consume everything, without even knowing what it is. That level of discernment is up to we as educators, to teach the youth we work with. It goes beyond just showing them how to use a Canva or post a Youtube video, but rather how to understand what they are seeing, reading or watching, how to read the comments, how to see other peoples opions and not to just listen to the most popular influencer or just to follow someone because they are verified on Twitter.