Digital Natives--Digital Immigrants

     Saying something new about Prensky's "Digital Natives Digital Immigrants" is now almost impossible.  I'm not sure if I know of any piece of writing that has produced more discussion or agreement.  Prensky spawned cliches and forced educators to take sides, to declare themselves.

     So what does my digital passport read?  I'm 27, so I was growing up when the promise of the personal computer was beginning to develop.  I remember tying up my parents phone line on AOL, playing the earliest version of the Oregon Trail, and downloading programs to hack Instant Messenger.  I was always more comfortable working with text on the screen, typing rather than writing.  Organizing my thoughts, files, and life, always seemed easier on the computer.



    As a teacher, I'm fascinated by how the internet can help my students enjoy my classroom and learn more effectively.  I organize my class for the kind of student that I was in high school: curious, defiant of structure, always wanting to move at my own pace.

     I have really moved back and forth when it comes to the extent I should turn my classroom into a "digital classroom."  The source of this is the catalyst for change in any good classroom: the kids.
   
    As I've tried some new things  in my classroom--blogging, wikis, visual projects, and the like--I thought that my students would be all over it.  The more freedom and ownership I gave them, the better they would do.  The reality was that I found many of my students were not comfortable with my vision of the classroom.  They needed a lot of linear explanation of my expectations, in order for them to be happy with the class.  They wanted to know exactly how their grade would be formulated.  Many of the students would have been happier with assessments that they had done before--essays and tests.  You would think that technology would be liberating, but in many ways the more I stepped outside what the students were familiar with, the more handcuffed I was to trivialities and cheerleading.  Change isn't just hard for administrators and districts, it's hard on a personal, everyday level.
   
  Though Prensky and his ilk seem to suggest that young people are adept at teaching themselves new applications, I found that many students could not just jump right in.  And if everyone can't do it, it's very difficult to not spend that time in class being very deliberate when going through instruction.  I can't tell you the amount of times that I've thought to myself, "So many teachers are afraid to use technology because the kids will 'know more' than them.  I wish my kids knew more than me about this stuff."

      In my experience, Prensky's black and white depiction of digital natives and immigrants as a "with us or against us," "you are or you aren't" is dangerous thinking.  I've had more problems assuming my students have skills and experience that they don't have.  Some are great with software but struggle with any kind of creative assignment.  Some can teach themselves anything, but aren't disciplined enough to control their own learning.  Some eagerly adapt to new methods of instruction.  For some its uncomfortable and students don't buy in.  IChat during lectures: yes.  Reformatting a file: no.  Tweet objectionable media: yes.  Using help to figure out software questions: no.
   
    Teaching effectively with technology would be a lot easier if Prensky was dead-on.  But the one universal about kids is that they are all different.  You need a range of strategies and techniques to create the kind of digital classroom you may have in your mind.  With any movement into the great unknown of new pedagogy or tools you need a lot of breadcrumbs to help these kids find their way.